In just a couple of days, teams will be passing through the Yentna Station checkpoint at mile forty of the 40th Iditarod. Sixty-six mushers drew bib numbers night at the Musher Banquet. Joe Redington, known to all as the father of the Iditarod has a pair of grandsons who’ll be the bookends of the mushers leaving the starting line. Ray Redington, Jr. drew bib number two and his brother, Ryan Redington drew bib number 67. The memory of founder, Joe Redington, will be honored as Ray, Jr. leads the teams down 4th Avenue for the Ceremonial Start and across Willow Lake for the Restart and with Ryan as the final musher to leave the chute.

Emmitt Peters of Ruby attended the musher banquet this evening. He is considered an Elder in his Athabascan village, likewise for Iditarod. In 1975 during Iditarod III, Peters claimed the honor of champion AND rookie of the year. He is the last rookie to ever win the race. They call him the Yukon Fox. In the first two races, it took twenty days for the champion to reach Nome. Using races from the two previous years, Emmitt planned and strategized.   He is credited with turning Iditarod into a race when he claimed victory in just fourteen days. Peters has reached Nome in thirteen of his 14 fourteen attempts. In seven of those runs he finished in the top ten.  Emmitt’s last and best race was in 2000 when he reached Nome in 12 days.

God Speed to all the mushers.

Born to Run,
Sanka