Mushers, family, friends and fans gathered around the Mukluk on Thursday night. The Musher’s Banquet attended by almost 1,800 people was held at the Dena’ina Civic Center in downtown Anchorage. The main course of the banquet was the Mukluk. The appetizer was Hobo Jim, soup was recognition of the Honorary Musher and the Founder’s Award then dessert was the live auction.
Nate, a 4th grader from Edgemont Elementary School in Edgemont, South Dakota had a goal of getting every musher to sign his race shirt. Once the mushers were called to the stage to reach into the Mukluk, Nate lined up at the far end of the platform along with plenty of other dedicated fans. More than two hours later, the Mukluk was empty, all the bib numbers had been drawn and Nate had completed his mission.
Here’s a brief summary of musher demographics. Of the sixty-six mushers taking the trail on Sunday, twelve will be rookies. Eight mushers from foreign soil including Canada, Jamaica, Norway, Russia and New Zealand are in the 2013 field. Sixteen of the 2013 contestants are female. Six mushers from the lower 48 states will go to the starting chute at Willow. Do the math and you have 52 Alaskans running The Last Great Race.
A couple of veterans are the bookends for this year – Martin Buser wearing Bib #2 and Sonny Lindner wearing Bib #67. Martin is starting his 30th Iditarod and Sonny his 21st. Sonny has run in five decades, Martin in four decades. Wondering about top ten finishes? Sonny has five and Martin has eighteen.
Bidding was hot and heavy for a couple of great Alaskan experiences. A PenAir bear viewing trip to Katmai National Park hosted by Dallas Seavey was the first on the auction block. When the trip was pronounced SOLD, the second experience went up for sale, an Idita-Ride with Gerry Willomitzer.
Jan Newton is being honored for her 40 years of exceptional volunteerism during the Ceremonial Start of Iditarod XLI. Jan, the heartbeat of the Takotna checkpoint, baked pies and served up steak to mushers for 40 years before she passed away last fall. The Iditarod Tail Committee honors Jan and thanks her for making everyone feel special and at home in Takotna.
Joe and Norma Delia received the Joe Redington Founders Award. Joe and Norma ran the Skwentna checkpoint from the very first race up until Iditarod 39. Joe Redington turned to Joe Delia for help in opening up the trail on the eastern side of the Alaska Range. In later races, he broke trail and then served as the checker at his home, Skwentna checkpoint. Norma cooked and ran the checkpoint cabin. Hospitality at the Delia homestead and checkpoint is second to none.
Folks left the banquet humming The Iditarod Trail Song and looking forward to Saturday morning and the excitement of the Ceremonial Start. Keep track of your favorite mushers and dogs at Iditarod.com.
