In Takotna on Wednesday afternoon, DeeDee Jonrowe echoed the priorities of many of her fellow mushers: taking stock of her dogs, and sleep. Her mandatory 24-hour layover was a chance to catch up on rest, not just for herself but, also, for the dogs that had run through the deep snow of much of this year’s Iditarod trail.
As for the trail yet to come, Jonrowe told KNOM’s Laureli Kinneen that she’s “prepared to camp” during the long stretches to the Ruby checkpoint, especially if the trail remains slow. She also shared with KNOM her strategies and thoughts on where and when to take the 24-hour layover – and why, in an ideal race, she would prefer to take it elsewhere:
23-year-old Josh Cadzow is running his first Iditarod in 2012, but it’s far from his first sled dog race.
A two-time champion of the Yukon Quest 300 and a top-ten finisher in the full-length, 1,000-mile Quest, Cadzow has a strong connection to dog mushing: as a native Athabascan from Fort Yukon, Alaska, he picked up a love for mushing through his culture and especially from his father, who served both as a parent and as a mentor.
In our interview, Cadzow talks about his mentality for running Iditarod 40 – “steady as she goes” – as well as his sources of support in his dog mushing pursuits. He also describes the importance he places on mushing as a cultural value – something he hopes to pass down to his children, just as his father did.
And even though he’s had great success in the Quest (at a very young age), he’s keeping his Iditarod ambitions simple this year: “see the Nome lights.”
