Libby here! 

I’m the little one, next to my pal, Wicket.  This photo of us was taken when we went on a boat ride one lazy summer afternoon.  But, while I was spending my summer days taking boat rides on the lake with my human and k9 friends, mushers were making their plans for the next racing season.

The mushers started to sign up last June.

Some of the mushers are veterans.  Some of the mushers are rookies.

A veteran is a musher who has completed at least one Iditarod.

A rookie is a musher who has not finished the race.  The rookie might be racing in Iditarod for the first time or the rookie could have been signed up before but for some reason, didn’t make it to Nome.

Not every rookie musher gets to Nome on the first try.

Getting to Nome and finishing the race is not easy.  Rookies and veterans train all year long and make lots of goals.  Their dogs don’t get to lounge around like me.  I am a reporter.  They are athletes.  I write.  They train.  I can’t wait to read all about them during the next several months.  On the first Saturday in March, the rookies and the veterans will have their 16 member dog team ready to leave the starting line in Anchorage, Alaska.  What an exciting race to Nome it will be!`

I hope you look at the musher listing.  Count the rookies.  Count the veterans.  Check back every month.  Keep watching the list of rookies and veterans to see how many of each will start this year’s race.

Just Spinning D’Tails!

Libby

PS.   I love summer boat rides!  They are almost as much fun as riding in a dogsled!