The Power of Passion, the drive to win.
Interviewing mushers has been interesting, and I start to enjoy it as much as taking pictures. Before the Quest I was asked many times about my pick of the top 5, and I got pretty darn close. Of course I had Lance Mackey in there, who surprised the heck out of everybody to prematurely end his race in Dawson City.
Besides the experience level of each musher and their team, is their motivation I look at, when taking my pick. Many things can affect that motivation. And I can relate to that. In 2010 “ the outside “ world had some pretty high expectations when I came into Iditarod after placing 35th, 22nd, 10th and 2nd, there seemed to be a trend. But by the time Iditarod came around that year, I was barely hanging on mentally, after dealing with all kind of problems that fall and winter. Winning or even the remote possibility of that, was the furthest of my mind, although not a dismal finish, it showed in the fact that I placed 7th in that years race, but notably also stayed away from any other pre season race other than the Denali Doubles. Other years I had raced any race I could possibly get my hands on.
Long time Idita-Riders Claudia and Lee Nowak of Michigan.
Of course the problems each musher encounters in training season and leading up to the race can have many faces, from financial troubles, to relationship problems, to logistical issues of vehicles breaking down, key dogs getting injured and dog handlers not working out and or quitting. Most mushers who have been in the game for a while, and you need to be in the game for a while to have a chance to reach the top position in Iditarod, has had their share of experiences with the above issues, the question is only, how many of those came within one season.
The other part is, how BAD does a musher want to win? How driven is he or she by that goal. And than, once you talk to a musher, you can tell a lot by their voice and language, of where they mentally sit. I use an example from the Yukon Quest. Dave Dalton is an accomplished Quest Musher, who gave Iditarod a shot once. But Dave has never won the Quest and although he is en route to run the Quest more times than any other musher. Talking to him pre season, I never sense any urgency in his voice. Dave is out yet for another trip, which he usually finishes with a nice looking team. But in order to come out on top, he would need a different mindset. In the 2008 Yukon Quest, Ken Anderson really wanted to win, he was “ out to beat his wily neighbor Lance “ and the two of them only finished minutes apart battling each other for the majority of the race, without another musher even being close. Allen Moore and Hugh Neff did the same in this years Quest, pushing each other, where other mushers had a hard time keeping their pace, although they ran very competitive schedules themselves.
After a long 650 mile drive I made it to Anchorage . Today all the mushers have to sit through the mandatory Mushers Meetings in the Millenium Hotel. On the upside, there is Pizza for lunch and usually the first time each Musher meets their Idita-Rider. Aaron Peck just left the door to drive downtown. Tonight is the Iditarod Banquet. I am looking forward to see and talk to some of the mushers I had no chance to see yet, to get a bit more of in impression of their mindset.
Of course in this context, the mention of Aliy Zirkle ( picture below in the Yukon River in 2012 ) is a must. There is no doubt that Dallas Seavey is driven. Born into the world of Iditarod mushing, after swimming himself free from the shadow of his dad, Dallas´s kennel and breeding program had one single purpose. To win Iditarod. And he did so last year, being the youngest Champion to date. Aliy and Allens focus is about the same goal. To win Iditarod. Looking at Aliy in the Quest 300. it was noticeable, that she was fitter than ever. Her voice and behavior are as dynamic as their dog team. There is no doubt, that Aliy will try to do what her husband just accomplished in the Yukon Quest: Reverse the placing of 2012, to come out on top. Allen did this with masterful patience in the Quest, giving Hugh a 2 hr lead leaving Circle, just to already nip away one of those two hours on the subsequent run to Central. Dallas played the game of patience last year, with giving his dogs an extra rest in Nulato, although a short rest, he made sure to leave extra gas in the tank. It is going to be interesting to watch the strategies on the Southern Route to unfold and to see who finds the right mix of racing aggressive, yet showing patience at the right moments.
I am certain the front group in Iditarod will be much larger than 2 mushers only in the Yukon Quest. Just from talking to him, I know that Aaron Burmeister has the right mindset. Ramey Smyth for sure does, Ramey is always out to win, he plays the patience game sometimes a bit too much and time will tell, if he will try right of the get go, to stay a bit closer to the front pack. Last year he most likely wished he could have, but his dogs got sick at the beginning and it took him a while to nurse them back. And once he did, boy did he make up some time. It was impressive to watch him climb from the mid 30th standings to 3rd place. Talking to Mitch the other day, I did not quite sense the urgency in his voice, but than again, Mitch is always calm cool and collected.
One thing is for sure. No musher will win this race, who has any doubts in his mind that he or she can do so. I will wait a few more days to do my guess for the Top 5 Mushers in this years race.
Sebastian
