The Race, This Year (16/31)

  16 of 31 - SOLSC 2021

One of the things that makes March such a packed month is The Last Great Race. This year's Iditarod has had many things to make it stand out. Last year's race started before Alaska had much idea about COVID-19 and teams arrived at checkpoints along the trail with procedures having changed from what was expected. This year the race was designed with protocols in place, including a race route never considered in the 48 prior races. I appreciate the priority on keeping isolated communities safe, as well as every individual involved. So, in addition to the route going Willow to Willow, and being 200-ish miles shorter, there have been other memorable bits as the race has unfolded.

I am an Aliy Zirkle fan. About a month before the race Aliy announced that she would be retiring after this year's Iditarod. I appreciated knowing that going into the race; a chance to pause over her final time at different points in the process, even though this year was going to have so many firsts by nature of the pandemic as the underlay.

Somewhere around 180 miles in, on the evening of the second day of the race, Aliy had an accident. The next we knew, all the dogs were safe and being pampered in Rohn and Aliy was being medevaced to Anchorage. With the first announcement we knew that she was in stable condition and the dogs were fine and not really any other details. (She has been released from the hospital and is home, though the head injury is still causing some issues. The dogs are all fine and happily back in Two Rivers.)

So many details of the race could be recounted. I will end with the finish line. There are several people who have won the race more than once. Up until this year there was only one person who had won it five times. Dallas Seavey, and ten dogs who love to run, joined Rick Swenson for that distinction. We will have to wait for the 50th running of the race to see if Dallas becomes the first person to win six times.