Idita-news
As the start of the Iditarod approaches, I thought I would take this time to break down what my plans for the event are. What else am I supposed to do on a saturday evening when I’m running the board for a basketball game?? Here are the plans, we can look back and compare to what I was actually able to accomplish!
This Tuesday (3/1) evening I’ll be flying down to anchorage for Wednesday’s press briefing. There we’ll receive our media passes and be told appropriate behavior and expecations during the start of the race.
Thursday (3/3) I’ll bum around anchorage doing some shopping and stocking up for the rest of the winter & spring. I also need to get a hair cut. In the evening there is a 2005 Iditarod Musher’s banquet. This is where the mushers draw for their starting positions.
Friday (3/4) I think I’ll continue shopping, and spending time around Anchorage. I might find out about some leads and work related things to do on Friday once I get to the Media briefing.
Saturday (3/5) I’ll be getting up early and heading down to downtown Anchorage for the ceremonial start of the Iditarod. For those of you who aren’t Iditarod savy, the mushers will leave from 4th Ave in anchorage and mush to about 11 miles out of town. From there they will travel via truck to the re-start (this year in Willow). As part of my coverage for the Iditarod I’ll be collecting interviews from mushers and families to air during race coverage once I get back to Nome. I’ll also be interviewing the Wells Fargo “Teacher on the Trail”. This teacher is selected from thousands that apply from all over the US. They will follow the leaders in a helicopter and submit reports online to about 5,000 classrooms that will be following the race. I’ve proposed a partnership with Wells Fargo hoping that we can get some of the updates phoned in to us from the Teacher on the Trail.
Also at the start of the race I’ll be working with OLN (The Outdoor Life Network). They bought the rights to Iditarod coverage this year, and have decided to film KICY’s coverage of the race and use it to tell the story of this years’ event. Also, as of today our friend Hannah will be coming up to Anchorage for the weekend to help me out with all the stuff on Saturday. It will also be fun to have someone to hang out with all day.
Sunday (3/6) Hannah & I will be driving out to Willow where the restart will be. Willow is about 70 miles out of Anchorage. Here the musher’s will actually start their times, and leave in the order picked at the musher’s banquet.
Monday (3/7) I leave for Nome at noon. Once I get back to Nome I’ll start processing all the interviews and audio that I got over the weekend, and start planning out when to air it.
Our Iditarod updates will come multiple times a day, and hopefully I’ll be able to make each of them fresh and interesting. I’ll be getting most of our information off the internet and our partnership with OLN will provide me with regular updates from former Iditarod winner, Joe Runyan who will be on the trail and at each checkpoint. Also if the Teacher on the trail updates work out, they will be included in our coverage.
That will continue until about the 13th when I will fly down from Nome to Unakleet and using KICY’s satellite phone that I got on trade (free in exchange for advertising) will be about to report when the first musher comes in to the coast. I then plan to fly to Koyuk, following the leaders up, from there I’ll meet the mushers in White Mountain. I’ll have about 18 hours from the time that the leader gets into White Mountain until he will win the Race in Nome. Hopefully weather will be clear and I’ll be able to catch them before they get into Nome, most likely in the middle of the night.
It looks like the leader will come in on March 15th, sometime in the evening. Lydia’s parents will be coming up on the 18th while all of the Iditarod action is still in the air, there will still be a lot of mushers coming in and they will probably be able to see the red lantern winner (last person in). The Nome version of the musher’s banquet will hopefully be while they are here also.
Its going to be a very busy and hectic few weeks, but I’m sure it will be VERY fun. I’ll make sure to take lots of pictures and keep you as informed as possible. Perhaps I’ll post lots of audio as well.
So how come they start in Anchorage go 11 miles and then restart somewhere else? Do those 11 miles not count? What’s the point?
Well Amanda, no, the start in Anchorage does not really count. The offical race start is the next day (usally in wasilla). The start in Anchorage gives most people in Alaska’s largest city the chance to view the start of the race, and a chance for the mushers to celebrate a little bit before the big event. Also, the trail usally requires packing everything up and taking it about 50 miles up north for the start as well.