Hi Boys and Girls,

Now that the race is over- what’s next??? Many of you will be busy writing the musher you followed in the race. I know you are really excited about doing that and many of you are hoping for a return letter and maybe even some goodies.  I thought this would be a great time to go over some rules for writing.  

First, if you would like musher addresses, go to 

http://iditarod.com/teacher/writing-to-mushers-must-read/

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.  So 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 hope that helps everyone. Have fun writing to your favorite musher.

Gypsy