DeeDee Jonrowe is excited; about how her team is looking, about the the reroute through Huslia and Koyukuk, and about meeting new folks along the way.
As far as strategy goes, Dee Dee says, “the tow line never lies.” Jonrowe plans on running this race at a pace that is comfortable for her dogs. If there’s deep snow, and they need to camp more, they’ll camp more. Jonrowe says she’s looking forward to the new country she and her dogs are going to experience together.
Allen Moore is fresh off a strong showing at the 2015 Yukon Quest, giving Brent Sass a run for his money until the very end.
But for Iditarod 2015, he’s taking a back seat while Aliy Zirkle runs their kennel’s strongest team. Moore takes the pups, or the “JV team” as he calls it, pairing much older dogs with much younger dogs, allowing the former to teach the younger group about the trail. Looking at the new route, Moore says that the interior will be nothing new, as it’s where he and Aliy train. Cold temperatures, hills, rivers, they’ll be ready. But when it comes to the coast, he says, “you have to prepare for the worst that can happen.”
Rookie Becca Moore is no stranger to mushing. Husband Ramey Smyth has run 20 Iditarods and mushing runs deep in his family. Becca says she’s representing the Smyth clan for Iditarod 2015.
About 1/3 of her team have run Iditarod before with Ramey, and the other part of the team is new. She feels prepared to camp, but without any experience on coastal trails, she knows once she hits Unalakleet, she’ll be treading on unfamiliar territory.
