Hi Boys and Girls,

I’ve been trying to find Iditarod things to do since the end of the race.  The race is over, the mushers and teams are home or heading home, and all is quiet at the checkpoints.  So what now???  I’ve decided to write a letter to some of my favorite mushers.  I bet some of you are doing that too.  If so, I bet you’re really excited thinking about a return letter and maybe some goodies like a photo or a bootie.  This is a good time for me to write about the rules for writing to a musher.  Please read carefully and follow the suggestions below.

First if you would like musher addresses, a teacher or parent needs to go to:

Writing to Mushers? READ THIS

You will find a form to fill out at the bottom of the page.  It will ask your name, school name (if your affiliated with a school), and email address. You must complete the form and send it back to the Iditarod Education Department.  The easiest way to do this is to copy and paste the form in a new email. You will not receive the addresses until you return the form. 

There is not an address for every musher. Not all mushers are able to receive mail and/or are able to respond to mail. Please respect this.

Here are a few tips when writing your letters.

• Make sure your letters are friendly and supportive.
• Don’t ask too many questions. First read the mushers bio on the Iditarod website and if the musher has a website, go there to see if you can find the answers to your questions. If you can’t, pick only one or two questions to ask.
• If you hope for a response you MUST send a self addressed stamped envelope with your letter. If your musher lives in another country (ie Canada, Norway etc), you must have the correct postage for that country.
• Do not send mail to the Iditarod Headquarters. Mushers do not get mail there and there is no budget to send the letters to the mushers.  Send the mail directly to the musher. 
• You must use correct postage on your envelopes. This will increase the chances your musher will receive your letter.
• Don’t ask for booties, autographs, pictures or anything else. All these things cost the musher money to buy and send. It is unreasonable to expect the musher to send out these items. Some of them do, but don’t expect it.

Please remember that mushers receive hundreds of letters every year. It takes time for them to go through them and answer. Please be patient and realize the response may come during the summer.

I’m off to go write my letters.  They all did such a great job this year and I want to make sure they know that.  Have fun with your letters.

See you on the trail,

Gypsy