2003
Junior Iditarod was a great race. Ellie Claus won!! Dallas Seavey
placed second.
The
mushers all pulled into Sourdough halfway checkpoint last night
by midnight. They were required to stay 8 hours, not ten. They were
not allowed to have the traditional bonfire due to a peat moss ground
cover under the snow that could've caught fire and spread. Instead
they had a barrel of wood burning where many of the kids congregated
and talked shop. A birthday cake was seen passing around to celebrate
Ellie Claus's birthday. Check our cooldreams photo page for Junior
Iditarod to see lots of great shots from the evening.
Today, Ellie Claus, won the race with a great looking team of dogs
around noon. Dallas Seavey came in second, Nikolai Buser third,
Tessa King fourth and Max Kornmuller rounded out the top five. The
final statistics can be seen at www.dogmushers.
com/03jriditarod/jr-finish-lakelouise.html
There were lots of fans, parents and volunteers around Lake Louise
enjoying the race. Brenda hooked up with Idita-Support members,
Marlene Daniel, aka Montana's Lurking Granny, and Brenda Sperry
from Colorado. John Baker's son, Alex Westlake, finished sixth and
is seen here sharing a big hug with his proud Dad.
Fourteen mushers were in by the time the Finishers Banquet began
at Wolverine Lodge at 5PM. Fifteenth place finisher, Elisabeth Haberman,
came in while everyone was enjoying their lasagna dinner. There
were lots of neat prizes this year including $10,000 in scholarships
from the Alaska College Savings Plan. Dallas Seavey was awarded
the Sportsmanship Award, Tessa King received the Humanitarian Award
and Vanilla (Elllie's lead dog) received the Blue Harness Award.
The
kids retreated outside for a bonfire built by Martin Buser and his
wife, Kathy, while waiting on the final finishers. A bit of comic
relief was provided when Tree Farmer and other interested parties
set the poles of the finish line ablaze with Heet to welcome an
incoming musher seen only by headlamp. It turned out to be Iditarod
Rookie, Ellen Halverson, who was out on a trainging run. Jacob Gauthier,
Jeremy Hoover, and Katrina Rix all finished before midnight. Katrina
Rix was named Red Lantern.
February
28, 2003
Start Position — Musher —
Hometown
1 — Howard and Julie Farley — honorary
2 — John Baker — Kotzebue
3 — Ted English — Willow
4 — Cali King — Denali Park
5 — Perry Solomonson — Whittier
6 — Jason Barron — Lincoln, Mont.
7 — Tyrell Seavey — Seward
8 — Jessie Royer — Fairbanks
9 — Ed Iten — Kotzebue
10 — Dexter Kancer — Nenana
11 — Blake Matray — Two Rivers
12 — Ben Stamm — Argyle, Wis.
13 — Jim Lanier — Chugiak
14 — Paul Gebhardt — Kasilof
15 — Martin Buser — Big Lake
16 — Karen Land — Sand Coulee, Mont.
17 — Cim Smyth — Big Lake
18 — Jeff King — Denali Park
19 — Vern Halter — Willow
20 — Lance Barve — Willow
21 — Frank Sihler — Wasilla
22 — Gerald Riley — Nenana
23 — Robert Sorlie — Hurdal, Norway
24 — Cindy Gallea — Seely Lake, Mont.
25 — Aaron Burmeister — Nome
26 — Lynda Plettner — Houston
27 — Charlie Boulding — Manley
28 — Ray Redington Jr. — Two Rivers
29 — Todd Capistrant — Emerald, Wis.
30 — DeeDee Jonrowe — Willow
31 — Jack Berry — Salcha
32 — Debbie Moderow — Anchorage
33 — Ramey Smyth — Big Lake
34 — Carla Kelly — Anchorage
35 — G.B. Jones — Wasilla
36 — Ken Anderson — Fairbanks
37 — Bruce Lee — Denali Park
38 — Karen Ramstead — Perryvale, Alberta
39 — Randy Chappel — Arlington, Texas
40 — Peter Bartlett — Willow
41 — Linwood Fiedler — Willow
42 — Ramy Brooks — Healy
43 — Mitch Seavey — Seward
44 — Sonny Lindner — Fairbanks
45 — Aliy Zirkle — Two Rivers
46 — Melanie Gould — Talkeetna
47 — Rick Swenson — Two Rivers
48 — Tim Osmar — Ninilchik
49 — Gerald Sousa — Talkeetna
50 — Ellen Halverson — Wasilla
51 — Mike Williams — Akiak
52 — Bill Pinkham — Glenwood Springs, Colo.
53 — Palmer Sagoonick — Shaktoolik
54 — Adam Scott Gibler — Chugiak
55 — Dean Osmar — Clam Gulch
56 — Jon Little — Kasilof
57 — Jim Gallea — Sterling
58 — Bob Hickel — Anchorage
59 — Keith Aili — Ray, Minn.
60 — Jessica Hendricks — Copper Center
61 — Russell Bybee — Willow
62 — Kelly LaMarre — Geneva, Ill.
63 — Lachlan Clarke — Colorado Springs, Colo.
64 — Robert Bundtzen — Anchorage
65 — Clint Warnke — Bonnie Lake, Wash
The
mushers all pulled into Sourdough halfway checkpoint last night
by midnight. They were required to stay 8 hours, not ten. They were
not allowed to have the traditional bonfire due to a peat moss ground
cover under the snow that could've caught fire and spread. Instead
they had a barrel of wood burning where many of the kids congregated
and talked shop. A birthday cake was seen passing around to celebrate
Ellie Claus's birthday. Check our cooldreams photo page for Junior
Iditarod to see lots of great shots from the evening. 
There were lots of fans, parents and volunteers around Lake Louise
enjoying the race. Brenda hooked up with Idita-Support members,
Marlene Daniel, aka Montana's Lurking Granny, and Brenda Sperry
from Colorado. John Baker's son, Alex Westlake, finished sixth and
is seen here sharing a big hug with his proud Dad. 
The
kids retreated outside for a bonfire built by Martin Buser and his
wife, Kathy, while waiting on the final finishers. A bit of comic
relief was provided when Tree Farmer and other interested parties
set the poles of the finish line ablaze with Heet to welcome an
incoming musher seen only by headlamp. It turned out to be Iditarod
Rookie, Ellen Halverson, who was out on a trainging run. Jacob Gauthier,
Jeremy Hoover, and Katrina Rix all finished before midnight. Katrina
Rix was named Red Lantern.