/ 2008 Archived Material / Iditarod XXXVI Musher Sign-up

Target Iditarod Teacher on the Trail^™ Iditarod XXXVI Musher Sign-up

by Jane Blaile

A cool, but dry day invited Iditarod mushers and volunteers to the annual volunteer picnic and musher sign-up at headquarters in Wasilla.  Add race fans and tourists to the mix and you get hundreds of people.  These professional athletes put themselves in the midst of something as common as a picnic.  They wore their names for all to see and to be recognized.  That is one thing that sets the Iditarod apart; the people, even the greatest champions, are real.  I would say that applies to all the people of Alaska.  The governor herself came to show her support.

 

What that does for fans is gives them time to talk to the mushers when they aren't in the midst of training or the heat of the restart.  Most of the mushers I talked to won't start race training until October.  Right now many of them are working their jobs and leading a regular lifestyle, which of course includes hours of dog care.

 

Any teacher attending the conference spent their Saturday with Martin Buser, Jeff King, Mitch Seavey, Rick Swenson, Aliy Zirkle, Dee Dee Jonrowe, Gary Paulsen...and the list goes on.  A record 71 mushers have already signed up for Iditarod XXXVI.  They have until Nov. 30 to sign-up.

 

The Insider crew is already producing new video segments and I'll be posting lesson and activities regularly, so keep checking the website!