“Coming to you live from beautiful, downtown Nome, Alaska on Friday, March 16, here is the 2007 Iditarod Wrap Up show.”
Allen Moore, number 71, arrived in Nome at 11:45am, almost exactly 25 hours after Aliy arrived. He passed through Safety at 9:11am, just 12 minutes behind Rick Casillo. Aliy, Bridgett, Allen’s mom
Donnie and the crew went out to the road crossing to cheer Allen on, and by that time, Allen was about a minute behind Rick. As we were standing on Front Street, we didn’t know who was in the lead. When the musher popped up on the street from the pack ice, we saw someone with ski pole in hand, kicking and poling. We knew then that Allen had passed Rick and we erupted in the shoot. Allen had passed him about 50 feet from the ramp onto the street. He had Imac and Doña in lead. He also had Girlfriend, Mouse, Blossom, Heidi, Rose, Snickers, Petunia, Reeses and Betty in harness. He dropped Hera in White Mountain with a shoulder injury.
After settling the dogs in, we headed off for lunch and laughs. He said he still didn’t know what was coming at him when he was hallucinating. He just said they were coming from every direction. When he told everyone the story of catching the sled seat on the tree, it sounded even worst! I am sure that when he wakes up from his nap, he won’t even be able to move. That is how Aliy was yesterday.
Aliy got lots of sleep since she got in. She is now up working with the dogs. Her hands are still swollen twice their normal size and her hip is very tender and blue. She doesn’t even remember doing that. Waking up this morning, she came out of the room asking if it were morning or night. I think she thought that she missed Allen coming in.
So how did everything go this year. Aliy started the race with what she thought of as the best team she had ever brought to Iditarod. Unfortunately, her team was plagued with injuries. I am so proud of her for not following the trend. Instead, she made it all the way to Nome. Her knowledge, love and ability to care for her dogs allowed her to fight through and finish her journey to Nome. I am so proud of her and her dogs.
Allen’s team did so much better than we expected. He made it all the way to Kaltag with 15 dogs! Of the 11 he finished with, he had rookies on the team. What an education for the dogs as well as for Allen. He ran an excellent race.
This year’s Iditarod is over for us. With positives and negatives, this race was difficult. It lacked snow and was bitterly cold. The wind was a constant challenge. But I am so proud of both of them. Aliy dealt with what was handed to her with style and grace and Allen just forged on, bringing along the future of the kennel. I hope you have enjoyed following this race with me. I will try to get some pictures up as I get them.Thank you.Labels: Iditarod