The Iditarod, “The last great race” as it’s called, has been underway since this past Saturday. Lance Mackey, Official Balladeer’s Blog Nickname: The Mad Musher, is the defending champion, having won the past four Iditarods in a row! (My favorite win of his was the classic “tortoise and the hare” finale in 2008) The history and fanfare accompanying this race is very underappreciated so by all means check it out at http://iditarod.com/learn/
The standings as of right now, first place through tenth place, complete with the participants’ Official Balladeer’s Blog Nicknames:
1. Robert “The Nome Terror” Norris
2. Trent “The Human Husky” Herost
3. Cim “Captain Cold” Smith
4. Kelley “The Snow Leopard” Griffin
5. Martin “Below Zero” Buser
6. Lance “The Mad Musher” Mackey
7. Sebastian “Schneemeister” Schnuelle
8. “Highway Hugh” Neff
9. Ray “The Rohn Rascal” Redington, Jr
10. Mitch “Pop” Seavey (His son Dallas “The Kid” Seavey is racing, too)
Other famous nicknames of big-time participants: DeeDee “Juneau” Jonrowe, Rick “The Swedish Assassin” Swenson, “North Paul” Gebhardt, Jeff “Yukon” King and Billy “Snow Miser” Snodgrass. Keep checking back for more details.
Balladeer's Blog 
How long does this race usualy run before the finnish line. Is it a matter of days or weeks?
Well, not to sound flippant, but “it’s over when it’s over.” Even after the winner crosses the finish line it takes about 2 additional days for all the stragglers to finish. Overall it’s usually about 11-13 days til everybody is done.
I remember watching a really good movie when I was younger about the Iditarod, and really enjoying it. You don’t happen to have any clue what it would be, do you?
Thanks for making me remember!
Thank you for the comment! Offhand the Iditarod movies I can think of are 1. IRON WILL, 2. MUSH: THE MOVIE (A documentary about the Iditarod, different from the TV coverage of the event that used to air on Versus each year) 3. BORN TO RUN: THE IDITAROD SLED DOG RACE and 4. MURDER ON THE IDITAROD TRAIL with Kate Jackson. There was also the animated movie Balto but since you didn’t say it was a cartoon I figured that wasn’t it.
Hey, I saw ‘Born to Run’ ages ago, and I remember I really liked it.
I also watched a documentary about the Inuits in Greenland not long ago, and they seemed to love taking part in races like this one. It’s part of their tradition, they said. I was very impressed with the strong bond they seemed to have with their dogs, but I guess this is essential in a sled dog race.
Love the photo!
Thanks! I love that photo, too! Getting to hear about the closeness of the racers with their dog team is my favorite aspect of the Iditarod.
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Thanks for the pingback!
Really enjoyable! Mush madness should be they’re official anthem!
Thank you for the comment!