14B--April 24, 2003
Explore the adventure of the Iditarod
Continuing the adventure the students of Cuba Middle School wrote stories about the
Iditarod. More stories will appear next week.
Jeff King and the Iditarod race
By daimie Donahue, Umberto Ramirez, Billie
Crider, and Brad Gruver
Jeff King, a three time Iditarod Champion,
moved to Alaska in 1975 in search of an adventure.
He was drawn towards mushing in 1976, and that's
when it all started. He won twelfth place in 1991 in
the Iditarod Dog Sled Race. In 1992 he decided to
put full time and energy into training and racing.
His first victory was in 1993, and he won first
place. His second victory was in 1998. King has
logged more than 100,000 miles on a dog sled dur-
ing the past twenty years. His family consists of a
wife named Donna Gates and three daughters,
Cali, 18; Teresa, 16; and Ellen, 11. Cali is a Jr.
Iditarod Champion. Her place is thirtieth. She also
has raced against her dad in the Yukon 300. She
personally got to watch her dad win. Cali will be
joining her dad again this year during the Iditarod.
She may be the only King running before long.
Before the Iditarod Race Cali and Jeff put their
dogs booties on, hook the dogs up, and pray that
they will be all right and make it through the race.
This year Cali and Jeff hope towin the race.
Jim Lanier
By Jeremy Prince, Julia Willmann, Brandy
Pohlmann, Mike Fey, Dillon Halbert
Can you imagine at racing the Iditarod at age
63? Jim Lanier is still racing in the 1000 mile
Iditarod race in Alaska and keeping a job as a med-
ical doctor. His interests are music, medicine, and
mushing. Jim and his wife Anna beth race in the
great Iditared. He has four children in his family
too. They are Jimmy, Margaret, Kim, and Willy. Jim
now lives in Chugiak.
Jim was born in Washington, D.C., in 1940 and
then moved and was raised in Fargo, North Dakota.
He then got a medical degree in 1967. Jim later
became involved in mushing after hearing about it
from a friend in 1977. He became a musher in the
Iditared of 78/then mushed in 79,' 84,' 98,' 99,' 99,'
01 and finished in the forties. His best race was in
02. He came in twenty-fifth place.
Jim is now going to race in 2003 for the win.
Since Jim likes challenging adventures, his motto is
"Never go first class!"
Ken Anderson
By Jill Libhart, Erin Stubblefield, Josh Pilkenton,
and Holden Alvey
Ken Anderson, Iditarod musher, started mush-
ing at the age of three. Both of Ken's parents were
dog sled mushers. Now Anderson is racing his third
year in the 2003 Iditarod. Ken Anderson was born
in Minnesota. He didn't get interested in dog sled
racing until his dad bought him a book on the
Iditarod when he was fourteen.
Anderson began college in Minnesota, then came
to Alaska in. 1993 and finished at the University of
Alaska in Fairbanks. The reason he came to Alaska
was to volunteer for the Iditarod. Anderson worked
for three-time champion Jeff King.
Ken Anderson ran in the Iditarod for the first
time in 1999 and finished 26th. After that he won
the Canadian Championship in Yellowknife, fol-
lowed by the World Cup in 2001. Then in the year
2002, Anderson was about to finish 14th place in
the Iditared, but he got frostbite on his foot.
Anderson stalled; therefore, he finished 18th place.
This year for the Iditarod he is training a kennel
of 60 dogs. The lead dogs for this is are Oreo and
Nuik. Now he has a wife named Gwen who also ran
the Iditarod race in 2001.
Lead dog training
By Courtney Groom, Amber Johnson, Danial
Hinson, Samantha Love
Gary Paulsen, an author, has trained dogs for
the Iditarod. At eighteen months old, Storm, Gary's
dog, is finally old enough to pull the sled. He is the
lead dog of Gary Paulson's team. Storm begins
training for the lead dog position. Gary has been
working all year for the Iditarod. He feeds Storm
raw meat and fat. None of the dogs can be fed dry
dog food because when they run, their stomachs
tighten. Then the piece of hard dry dog food cuts
them inside, and they can bleed.
Gary goes out on different trails and works on
the dog's commands. Then depending on the day of
the week the dogs receive bones. They receive bones
every other day of the week. Gary Paulson trains,
feeds, and takes care of his team of Alaskan sled
dogs. You have special care for the lead dogs.
Storm was picked after practicing high in the
mountains. He was smartest and had the best per-
sonality and endurance. These are some qualities a
musher looks for in a lead dog. Storm is one of the
16 dogs that make up Paulson's team. Storm is not
easily distracted. This is also a good quality in a
lead dog.
When training began, Storm had to learn the
commands and what they meant. He took different
trails learninl how to lead mushers and dogs
through harsh weather. If Gary were to get a new
dog, Storm would be able to correct the new dog's
mistakes. Storm has total control. Gary had to
learn to speak in a loud calm voice. If you yell at
them, the dogs will become stubborn and not move.
If you decide to become a musher it takes a lot of
dedication, time, money, and a lot of patience.
Mandatory items
By James Ousley, Pare Hollinsworth, Lance
Williams, Destiny Henderson
Thousands of dogs are leaving Fairbanks,
Alaska, pulling sleds in the Iditarod Race. The
mushers are carrying seven mandatory items, or
they will be disqualified from the race.
When the mnsher's 16 dogs start pulling the
sled, the musher must have eight booties per dog on
the dogs' feet or in the sled. Most of the booties cost
$1.00 to $4.00 per bootie. That means the musher
must pay about $8.00 or more per dog.
The dogs are either pulling a toboggan or a bas-
ket sled. The sled must be able to carry the seven
mandatory items and anything else the musher
takes. They use ganglines and harnesses to connect
the to the sled.
One of the main mandatory items is the cooker
and the pot. It must be able to boil three gallons of
water. They need the cooker to cook their food and
the dogs' food.
Another mandatory item is an axe. It must,
weigh a minimum of 1-_ pounds and have a handle-.-
at least 22 inches long. That might use it to chop a
fallen tree out of the way.
Next, a musher must have a sleeping bag that is
good enough for a musher to survive the sub-zero
weather. In sub-zero weather there is snow so you
also need a pair of snowshoes, so you won't get
frostbite on your feet. You also need promotional
material provided by the ITC so you can be identi-
fied during the race. Last, you need a veterinarian
notebook to record the status of the dogs, so the vet-
erinarians can see how the dogs are.
Rick Swenson
By daylene Osborn, Becky Sagel, Roy Heads, Robbie
Eickelman, Emma Klouzek
Rick Swenson is a five-time Iditarod champion.
He has participated in the Iditarod since 1976 and
is participating in it this year. He has only missed
one race since he started. He is 52 years old and
was bern in Minnesota. His hobbies include gold
mining and dog training. He got involved in the
Iditarod when he came to Alaska in 1973 to run sled
dogs. He is the father of three kids: Andy, who is
18; Kevin, who is 13; and Kirsten, who is 20.
The race started March 3rd in Alaska. It usually
starts in Anchorage, but there was no snow on part
of the trail this year, so they moved the location of
the beginning of the race to Fairbanks. There are
27 checkpoints, and the race is 1,049 miles long.
Robert Sorlie
By Dwayne Looney, Kevin Ijames, Victor Marquez,
and John Swaller
Robert Sorlie is a good new musher and has a
proud team of dogs and people. He started racing in
dogsled races in 1970. He started thinking about
the Iditarod 10 years ago. His first Iditarod was last
year when he got Rookie of the Year. He is also a
three-time winner of Norway's Finnocksplut.
At home, he works at International airport as a
firefighter. He's a father of two boys. His youngest
is Hakau, 13, and Majnus is 18. Sorlie has a team
of five other people to help prepare for the Iditarod.
They are Eric Skoving and BJ Ornar Anderson. His
coordinator is Yngue Fagerl. His public relation
man is Frode Galaaer, and their Webmaster is
Christain Engelschion. They plan to take home the
win for the team.
The other part of the team is the dogs. Sorlie
brought 18 dogs this year. He brought extra in case
one of the dogs got ill or injured. He has eight lead
"A dogs", nine lead "B dogs," and one team dog. The
two extra dogs that Sorlie brought were Sabena and
Kirio. He had a good dog team this year and won
the Iditarod at 13:1:47:36 with 8 dogs.
Environmental risks
By Megan Umfress, Ryan Turntine, Hannah Baker,
and Kathy DeWitt
Have you ever been attacked by an en-raged
moose? It could happen to you if you ran the
Iditarod. The most common problem while running
in the Iditarod is frostbite. Frostbite can occur
when cold is exposed to the skin. Frostbite can also
make you lose fingers and toes or other body parts.
Another problem that can occur on the trail is
hypothermia. If you get into trouble, like falling
into a river or stream, you need to make sure you
have an extra change of clothes. If not dealt with
seriously, hypothermia can result in death.
Another thing to look out for is sharp rocks or
ice. These can be harmful to the dog's feet.
In 1983 author Gary Paulsen
raced in the lditarod
By Thomas Verdu, Mikel Brand, Mary Beth
Callahan, Danielle Bond
Born May 17, 1939, Gary Paulsen was never a
very good student. He developed the passion for
writing when a librarian gave him a book with his
library card. He relies on life experiences for his
books. He heard about the Iditarod Race from many
mushers. "You don't really sleep on the trail; you
just doze because you have to keep an eye on the
dogs," said a fellow racer. Paulsen had decided to
race in the Iditarod because of his love for dogs, His
heart was getting worse, so he said this was his last
chance.
"I hope to draw from my future experience in
this race to help me become a better writer," he said
before the Iditarod.
In 1983 and 1985, Gary Paulsen raced in the
Iditarod. He has shared many of his views through
his books. One of the books he has written about
his adventures is Woodsong. It tells all about his
experience with dogs and nature before and during
his Iditarod race. He thrives on writing for young
people. He says that he describes even the littlest
thing for the readers to be able to picture them-
selves being there.
He lives in La Luz, New Mexico, with his wife,
Ruth. He has written over 175 books and 200 arti-
cles about his experiences with dogs and the
Iditarod. On his ranch in La Luz, New Mexico, he
enjoys horseback riding and sled racing with a
three-wheeled cart. At the age of sixty-three he is
still writing for young teens, and he doesn't plan on
stopping now.
Musher GB Jones
By Tim Hebert, Erin Heitman, Aimee Bridgernan,
Robert Pogue
At the age of 54, GB Jones marks his fourth year
in the 2003 Iditarod. The Iditarod is made up of
1,049 miles of rough terrain. Jones started prepar-
ing his dogs for the harsh weather of Alaska three
• years ago. Some of them have run in the Iditarod
with him in past years.
GB Jones was born in Utah. He has been to
many places in his life. He has traveled around the
world twice and taught kayaking. He also lived in
Australia for two years.
After that he moved to Alaska in 1976 where he
now lives. He currently manages Arctic Kennels
and operates his own farm. This caring man par-
ticipates in many different kinds of fundraisers.
One of the fundraisers was for a little boy who died
in the September 11 attack on the trade centers.
After that he started a fundraiser for people who
died of cancer.
J
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