Target Iditarod Teacher on the Trail^™ 2008 Musher Meeting

by Jane Blaile

Thursday was a big day here at the Millennium, headquarters for the 2008 Iditarod. I got up early and took my computer down to the lobby because the mushers were coming in for their mandatory meeting and I wanted to see who was out and about. Jeff King sat down on a couch across the lobby, and when it looked like a quiet time, I went over to him. I introduced myself and he said he knew who I was from reading the website. I have found that many people have kept up with all aspects of the race - from mushers, to pilots, to Iditarod personnel. It's nice to know that the people involved with the race honor the parts which might not directly affect them. I told him I'd been reading his book and noticed that he speaks a lot about an intimate relationship with his dogs, so I asked him if he sees himself as one who holds on to the experienced dogs rather than bring new dogs into the team regularly. He said he is just the opposite and gave this excellent analogy. When a new student comes into a classroom, the class is still a unit and functions as a whole. And it will continue to do so until one has to leave for some reason. So, as teachers look at the group of students as a whole functioning team no matter the mix of new and old, a musher sees the team as one unit, no matter which dogs are newer or more experienced.

I entered the meeting room and immediately was asked to help pass out the 2008 Iditarod caps to the mushers; that meant that I was able to personally meet and shake hands with most of the mushers. That was a unique experience I didn't expect to have. Enjoy the pictures!

Click on images for a larger picture: