Meet the Veterans of JR Iditarod XLI

The field for the JR. Iditarod has grown to eleven mushers. The teens, aging from 14 – 17 years in age, are anxious and excited to run the 150 miles from Knik Lake out to the Yentna Station Road House and then finishing at the Willow Community Center. The race is billed as the race kids beg their parents to compete in. It was a dream of young mushers that was shared around a campfire more that 40 years ago that was the impetus to seek support and start the race. The dreamer, Eric Beeman, recently shared the early days of JR. Iditarod with the editors of Alaska Magazine. Beeman’s story is included in the February issue of the publication.

Five of the eleven 2018 JR. mushers hold veteran status. All are Alaskans. Together the five veterans have completed seven previous JR. Iditarod runs. Three contestants are girls and two are guys. They’ve found their way to the sport of mushing through many different paths.

Bailey Schaeffer of Inupiaq descent was born outside of Kotzebue, Alaska but now lives in Wasilla. Her early years in Ivig were spent in a subsistence life style. Bailey says she’s been involved in the sport of mushing her entire life as her family mushed dogs as a part of their lifestyle. She’s now a senior at Mat Su Central where she enjoys running, hiking and skiing. She looks forward to attending college next year. In 2016 she placed 3rd and earned the honor of Rookie of the Year. In 2017 she claimed 4th place.

Emma Shawcroft from Fairbanks is returning for her 2nd JR. Iditarod. The seventeen year old started running dogs with a family friend about seven years ago. One of the things she finds special about running dogs is the connection she shares with all of her dogs. As a senior at Lathrop High School, Emma keeps busy with cross-country running, cross-country skiing, choir, media club and after school art classes. Her hobbies are Snow machining, drawing, painting, singing, writing, piano, soccer and hunting. Emma thanks her father for his continued support and help with the dogs. She finished her rookie JR. in third place.

Colby Spears of Wasilla is returning for his second JR. Iditarod. He’s relatively new to the sport having just three seasons under his belt. The 2017 JR. Iditarod was his first competitive race. He finished in second place with Rookie of the Year honors. Spears likes being active in almost all sports and lists as his hobbies snowmachines, fishing and hunting. His future plans include becoming a pilot and continuing mushing dogs. Colby especially likes training lead dogs.

Sixteen-year-old Anna Stephan of Wasilla returns for her second JR. Iditarod. Her father owned dogs and got his daughters started in the sport of mushing. Anna started her mushing career seven years ago. The home-schooled sophomore enjoys running cross-country, soccer and playing the violin. While she’s not sure about her plans after high school, she does plan to continue running dogs. Anna finished her rookie JR. race in 9th place.

Chandler Wappett is a senior at Lathrop High School and lives in Fairbanks. He says, “I started mushing in 2011 to make good memories and spend time with dogs outside.” Wappett has two 5th place finishes in the JR. Iditarod. He participates in Cross-country running, cross-country skiing and soccer. He also likes fishing, hunting and sport in general. His plans for the future include college, medical school and mushing.

2017 JR. Iditarod Champion, Andrew Nolan, is stepping up to the big leagues this season as he competes in Iditarod XLVI. He’s joined on the journey to Nome by former JR. Iditarod Champions – Noah Pereira (2013), Ryan Redington (1999 & 2000) and Ramey Smyth (1992 & 1993). A JR. Iditarod champion has yet to go on to win the Iditarod.

The race is set to begin at 10:00 am on Knik Lake near mile-marker 13.5 of Knik Road. The race will finish at the Willow Community Center on the Parks Highway. The musher recognition banquet to honor the mushers will commence at 6:00 on Sunday evening at the Community Center.

The JR. Iditarod is generously supported by local mushers and businesses. The Iditarod Trail Funding Committee sponsors the JR. Iditarod providing funds for scholarships and special awards.

Stay tuned to meet the six rookie JR. Iditarod mushers in an article to follow.


Iditarod Begins with the Junior

 Ask me when Iditarod begins and I’ll reply, “The last Saturday of February.” Some ardent Iditarod fans might attempt to set me straight with, “Don’t you mean the first Saturday of March?” But no, I stand firm. Iditarod begins with the Junior Iditarod and that happens the last weekend of February. The young mushers that run the 150-mile junior race are the future of Iditarod as well as the sport of mushing.

Take time on the worst weather day of the year when an Internet search is as close to going outside as you want to get and compare the archives of the Junior Race and the Iditarod. Of the 66 mushers who went to the start at Willow for the 2013 Iditarod, at least eleven had previously participated in the Junior Iditarod. Looking at the list of mushers heading to the start in 2014, there are nine who’ve made the run out to Yentna Station Roadhouse and back as Juniors. The list includes but isn’t limited too (just in case I didn’t count quite right), Travis Beals, Aaron Burmeister, Jason Mackey, Wade Marrs, Cim Smyth, Ramey Smyth, Ray Redington Jr. and Dallas Seavey.

This February will mark the 37th running of the Junior Iditarod. The Junior, just like the Iditarod began as a dream. It was Joe Redington who dreamed of a long distance race across Alaska to commemorate the place of the sled dog in the history of Alaska. It was Eric Beeman who dreamed of a distance race for young mushers to help prepare them for the “Big Iditarod.” Beeman shared his dream with his young mushing friends while on winter camping trips with their dogs. As the young mushers sat around the campfire listening to Eric’s idea of their own junior sized Iditarod, the concept grew in their minds and took on energy of its own.

There was a lot of knowledge out there about sprint and speed racing but not so much about longer distances. The Iditarod was only a few years old and was taking enormous time and energy to stay solvent. The folks working hard on the “big one,” had little if any time to lend to a junior race or to help the kids learn about distance racing. When the kids themselves brought Beeman’s dream to Joe Redington, he like others was intrigued and supportive of the idea and offered encouragement. The kids carried Joe’s words, “Go for it,” in their hearts as a blessing to continue the pursuit of their dream. With the help of parents and other mushing enthusiasts, Eric’s dream has developed into a first class junior mushing event. Seems to me that Joe Redington and Eric Beeman, both dreamers, must have been cut from the same cloth.

Five years after the inaugural Iditarod, the juniors had their own Iditarod. It looked quite different than the Junior Iditarod known today. In 1978, the first year of the Junior, there were two divisions of mushers. The senior division contestants, ages 15 to 17, ran 10 dogs for a distance of 40 miles including an overnight camping layover at Nine Mile Hill. Incidentally, that was where Eric and friends were camped with their dog teams when he shared his dream of a distance race for young but aspiring Iditarod mushers. The junior division, ages 11 to 14, ran 6 dogs for a distance of 18 miles in a one day event.

The next year the race was changed to only one division, ages 14 to 17, running 90 miles with a maximum of ten dogs including a required overnight layover for all. At the age of three, the distance of the Junior Iditarod jumped to 120 miles running from Knik Lake to Point McKenzie On the fifth running of the race, the layover was moved to the Yentna Station Roadhouse where it has been ever since except for 2003. Just as the “Big One” was required to re-route with the start in Fairbanks due to lack of snow and unsafe river conditions, so was the Junior. A couple of weeks before the 2003 start, the Board of Directors made the decision to move the Junior race to Glennallen, running a 150 mile loop from the Wolverine Lodge to Sourdough on the Richardson and back. The majority of the Junior Iditarod races run in the past 30 years, the mushers have covered a distance of about 150 miles.

Of the past Junior Iditarod races, six mushers have won in consecutive years. Winning three Junior Iditarod races in a row was Tim Osmar – 82, 83 & 84. Back to back winners include Lance Barve in 85 & 86; Jared Jones in 89 & 90; Ramey Smyth in 92 & 93; Dusty Whittemore in 95 & 96 and Ryan Redington in 99 & 2000. Books about the Junior Iditarod are few and far between but Ted Wood tells Dusty Whittemore’s story in Iditarod Dream.

In the big picture, the boys have dominated the winner’s circle of the junior with twenty-nine champions while the girl’s have claimed seven victories. Comparing that to Iditarod’s list of female Champions, females (Christine Delia, Cali King, Ellie Claus, Nicole Osmar, Melissa Owens, Jessica Klejka and Marissa Osmar) have won 19% of the Junior Iditarod races while females (Libby Riddles and Susan Butcher) have won only 12% of the “Big Ones.”

Of the thirty-six Junior Iditarod finishes, there have been a handful of really close ones. In 1993 brothers, Ramey and Cim Smyth raced to the finish line with Ramey claiming the victory by just thirty-four seconds to defend his championship of the previous year. In 2001, thirty-four seconds was again the margin of victory as Tyrell Seavey sprinted beside his team to the finish line just ahead of Cali King. These were close but the closest finish was in 2008. Jessica Klejka dropped down onto Willow Lake just a yard or two ahead of Cain Carter. With both teams on the lake and within a quarter mile of the finish banner, Cain urged his dogs to pass, “ON BY, ON BY!” Jessica urged her team to give it their all, “HIKE! HIKE! HIKE!” Cain and team closed the gap as they overtook Jessica’s sled and her wheel dogs. Jessica’s dogs were not to be denied, they added a little more steam and maintained their lead of half a dog team to claim victory by just TWO seconds! I looked into the eyes of the canine athletes as they crossed the lake, they knew what was at stake and they were every bit as competitive as their young drivers. It was a photo finish equally as exciting as the year Dick Mackey bested Rick Swenson by one second in Nome. Yes, it is the nose of the lead dog that determines the finish.

Before the days of Internet and Iditarod Insider, many dedicated Iditarod fans recall staying up late to view ABC’s WILD WORLD OF SPORTS to get first hand Iditarod race reports. In 1992, the fifteenth anniversary of the Junior Iditarod, ABC video taped the Junior and aired a half hour program featuring the teenage mushers and their accomplishments along with the trail, the layover at Yentna Station Roadhouse and the race in general. That year, temperatures ranged between three degrees and twenty degrees above zero making for a hard fast trail. Ramey Smyth of Big Lake won the race in 10 hours 19 minutes and 51 seconds. Second place went to brother, Cim. Thomas Krejci of Brno Czechoslovakia, the first international entry of the Junior Iditarod, won the Humanitarian award. Brian Hanson of Anchorage won the Sportsmanship Award. Sheep Creek musher, Will Baron’s dogs, Be Be and Woofer, received the Blue Harness Award.

jrA volunteer for the Junior Iditarod since before the very first race has this to say about the teenagers who compete in the Junior Iditarod, “The kids have astonished me year after year by their abilities, and dedication to the race, their dogs, good judgment, maturity, resourcefulness, sportsmanship, and preparedness, to name but a few of their attributes.”

As a sponsor of the Junior Iditarod, Lynden Air Cargo awards scholarships to the top five finishers. Ethan Bradford of Lynden says, “Lynden’s primary purpose is to support the education of these junior mushers and in turn the Junior Iditarod. Lynden believes that the Iditarod is a very important aspect of Alaskan culture and heritage and needs to be preserved for future generations.”

Follow the Junior Iditarod, meet the mushers, learn about the history, check the archives, enjoy photos and read Junior Iditarod news at www.jriditarod.com.

 


Celebration of Success by Terrie Hanke

  • SONY DSCMushers, parents, friends, supporters and volunteers gathered to celebrate the 2013 Junior Iditarod about 100 yards from the finish line at the Willow Community Center on Sunday evening. The banquet was a celebration of the accomplishments of the thirteen contestants who ran the 150 mile route from Knik Lake to Yentna Station to Willow Lake.Not one, but two featured speakers congratulated the Juniors. Kelly Griffin of Knik, Alaska was followed by the ever-popular musher from Jamaica, Newton Marshall. Kelly told the teenagers that mushing gives them plenty of opportunities to hone their problem solving skills. She congratulated them for making it to the starting line as she considered that to be the hardest part of every race. Finally she told the teenagers they were light years ahead of her at the same age with regard to mushing experience and expertise. As a youngster, Kelly had a poodle. Wanting to get into mushing, she went to the pound and bailed out every dog that looked like a sled dog and that’s how her long distance mushing career began.SONY DSCNewton Marshall told the Junior Mushers that he was proud to be doing something few Jamaicans do – mushing. People from his home in Jamaica understand warm temperatures but cannot begin to fathom temperatures that are below zero, wind chills and ground blizzards. In becoming a professional musher, Newton’s message to kids is that if you want something, you have to go after it yourself and if you do, the results can be endless.Lynden Transportation presents scholarships to the top five finishers of the Junior Iditarod. Ethan Bradford said about the scholarships, “Lynden presents scholarships to help young people live their dreams. Lynden Scholarships range from $1,500 for the fifth place finisher to $5,000 for the winner.Veterinarians consider how the mushers work with their dogs and the overall condition of the dog teams then choose the recipient of the Humanitarian Award. For the second year in a row, the award went to Jenny Greger of Montana. Greger’s dogs finished the race with so much energy, it was hard to get them to stop at the finish line for bag check and sign in.SONY DSCThe Blue Harness Award was presented to Jenny Greger’s lead dog McGee. McGee is an 18-month-old dog that loves to run, thrives in the position of leader and inspires his teammates. This is the second year in a row that Jenny’s leader has received the Lead Dog Award.  Greger was the top female finisher and received a fur hat made by former Iditarod Champion, Libby Riddels.Jonathon Biggerstaff was chosen by his fellow mushers to receive the Sportsmanship Award. Jonathon received a handcrafted custom designed snow hook. Biggerstaff also received the Red Lantern award for perseverance.

    Noah Pereira was the top finisher in the 2013 Junior Iditarod.  Along with the Lynden Scholarship, As champion, Noah received a hand crafted Bernie Willis dog sled.  He’s also the rookie of the year.  Pereira, a junior in High School has been mushing for 6 years in his home state of New York. For the past two years, he’s trained with Iditarod Champion, Dallas Seavey. Asked if he’ll continue to mush after high school, Noah answered with a definite yes.

    Congratulations to all of the Junior Mushers for a job well done. Many thanks to the volunteers, Board of Directors, and Lynden who make the race happen.

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The 2013 Jr. Iditarod Champion by Martha Dobson

Noah Pereira, 2013 Jr. Iditarod Champion

Noah Pereira, 2013 Jr. Iditarod Champion

Noah Pereira of Clarkson, NY is the 2013 Jr. Iditarod Champion. Training with Dallas Seavey since his December arrival in Alaska with his dad, Noah, Conway Seavey, and Jenny Greger raced for first place. “I left (Yentna) a few minutes after they did and caught up to them.”  Passing Greger, then Seavey, Pereira ran the last 10 miles with his team, kicking and poling across Willow Lake for the finish. Of his dogs, all Seavey dogs, Pereira says he was worn out running with them, but they, being used to running 600 miles, could have kept on going.

Interviewed after a phone call to his mom at home, Pereira says the most amazing experience during the race was just being with the dogs out there. At home with his 9 dogs, Noah runs sprint races. The Jr. Iditarod, a long distance race of 150 miles, required Noah to learn how to camp on the trail, a skill not needed for sprinters. He emphatically agreed that learning camping skills was a big learning curve.

 

Next for Noah is the Finishers Banquet for the Jr. Iditarod, driving the first sled in the Ceremonial Start of the Iditarod on March 2 in Anchorage, and attending the Iditarod Finishers Banquet in Nome, where his win will be recognized at that huge gathering of race fans and competitors.

Noah Pereira crossing Willow Lake at the 2013 Jr. Iditarod.

Noah Pereira crossing Willow Lake at the 2013 Jr. Iditarod.

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Starter’s Impressions from Yentna Station by Terrie Hanke

Jr-Drop-BagsFor three hours, spirited teams rolled into Yentna Station on Saturday evening. After recording the time in, dogs in and bib number and then completing the bag check, I asked all the mushers the same question, “How was your run?” All thirteen mushers answered with a variation of great! I heard AWESOME, FABULOUS, AMAZING and PHENOMENAL. Ask me how the dogs looked and I’d say ditto!

The mushers gathered straw, drop bags and a few containers of Heet then set to pampering their canine athletes with foot care, massage and a gourmet multi-course meal. Some of the mushers decided to follow the example of the canine athletes and curl up for a nap. Other mushers participated in the ageless tradition of gathering around the bon-fire. It’s a place where the teens make new friends and keep old friendships alive. Race officials experienced much the camaraderie, courtesy of the Gabryszaks, owners of the Yentna Station Roadhouse. Once all the mushers had arrived, Dan and Jean laid out a late supper of pork tenderloin with all the fixins. It happened to be veterinarian, Phil Meyer’s birthday so birthday cake was a special delight – there was the choice of chocolate or spice. After supper, Dan, a singer entertainer from years back played guitar and sang.

JB-Leaves-YSSome four hours before sunrise, the first Junior Musher, Noah Pereira pulled his snow hook and followed the snowy trail out to the Yentna River. Conway Seavey followed then Jenny Greger. By 06:52, all the mushers were running toward the finish line at Willow Lake. The sun rose at 08:19. The temperature was a balmy 19 degrees; the winds were calm and light snow drifted to the ground.

As the starter from Yentna Station, the teenage mushers impressed me on a number of accounts. First, and almost unbelievable, every musher was ready to depart on time after serving the required 10-hour layover plus the differential. This fact speaks well of their ability to plan and follow a checkpoint routine. Second, every dog on every team was on its feet, lunging, barking and ready to run from the moment the booties went on their paws. It seemed like the start at Knik Lake all over again. The dogs were happy and energetic for the home bound leg of the race. Third, the mushers left their campsites CLEAN! Fourth, for the entire race, there were three dropped dogs, which speaks volumes about the skill of the Junior Mushers in taking care of the canine athletes. Finally, the camaraderie amongst the mushers as well as volunteers was impressive. Thank you, please and well wishes were plentiful.

Watching the home bound run via Ion Earth GPS tracker, one saw the icons for Noah Pereira, Conway Seavey and Jenny Greger right on top of each other for many miles. As the three front-runners approached Willow, Noah pulled ahead and Jenny dropped back and that’s how they crossed the finish line. At the Junior banquet Noah, Conway and Jenny sat next to each other and shared plenty of friendly fun conversation. One is the champion, all are winners.

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13 x 13 x 13 – Off and Running by Terrie Hanke

Defending13 x 13 x 13!  Thirteen young mushers left the start line for the 2013 Junior Iditarod while the temperature/wind chill was 13 degrees. The start from Knik Lake went off without a hitch as teams left the starting line in two-minute intervals. The morning was overcast with the temperature in the upper teens – crisp with some wind, but very pleasant. The forecast for overnight into Sunday is for snow showers with up to two inches of accumulation with temperatures in the upper teens to low 20’s.

One hundred fifty miles trail was marked with the typical lathe markers well before the teens took off. Spectators following the Juniors reported that they’d never seen the route so well marked. The trail was in excellent condition for the outbound leg of the race and with the small amount of snow that fell over night, the inbound run will premier also.

Nine of the thirteen Junior mushers arrived at Yentna Station within an hour beginning at 17:31. All mushers were at the half-way rest by just after 20:30. These young mushers are very skilled at dog care. They’re very focused and business like. When the dogs are feed and sleeping, the mushers join as friends around a bon-fire built by the first mushers to arrive in the checkpoint. Way before the sun rises, the kids will be feeding their dogs breakfast and preparing to depart for the finish line. Common report from the teens as they checked into Yentna Station was that they had a great run – the trail was excellent, their dogs were awesome and the weather was perfect.

After the ten-hour rest and differential the first musher, Noah Pereira will depart Yentna at 03:43 followed at 03:45 by Conway Seavey then Jenny Greger at 03:54. Six mushers will depart during the nest hour. The entire field will be heading to the finish line before 07:00. Progress of the mushers on the return trip to Willow as well as final race results can be found on the website. The juniors carry Ion Earth GPS trackers. Follow their progress to the finish line at www.iditarod.com.

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36th Junior Iditarod by Terrie Hanke

SONY DSCThirteen Junior Mushers are registered and set to start the Junior Iditarod on the last Saturday of February. The field for the 2013 Junior Iditarod is composed of an international entry, four lower 48 entries and eight Alaskans. Rookies outnumber the veteran mushers by one. All together the veterans bring eight years of Iditarod experience to the starting line on Knik Lake. Conway Seavey has completed two prior Junior Iditarod races and is back to defend his 2012 championship.

Jenny Greger from Montana returns for her third run to Yentna Station. She’s looking to better her 5th place finishes over the last two years. Ben Harper, looking to improve his 3rd place finish in 2012 has only been involved in the sport of mushing since moving to Alaska two years ago. Other veterans include Alaskans, Jonathan Biggerstaff and Alea Robinson. Annika Oleson of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territory of Canada rounds out the returning list of veterans.

New to the race are Bethel residents Joshua Klejka and Caleb Miller. Klejka has been running dogs since a young age while Miller is fairly new to the sport. Abby Brooks from Fairbanks has a long family history of mushing and hopes to complete this Junior Iditarod after becoming sick and scratching last year. Jimmy Lanier of Chugiak says he began mushing before he was born. Jimmy likes to sing and play baseball. From the lower 48 are rookies Noah Pereira from New York, Taylor Steele from Pennsylvania and Malinda Tjelta from North Dakota all have several years of experience standing on the sled runners behind a dog team. Get to know the young mushers better by reading their biographies on the Junior Iditarod webpage.

Now it’s time for a little Junior Iditarod history. The first year of the race, there were two divisions of mushers. The senior division contestants, ages 15 to 17, ran 10 dogs for a distance of 40 miles. The junior division, ages 11 to 14, ran 6 dogs for a distance of 36 miles. The next year the race was changed to only one division of ages 14 to 17 and ran 90 miles with a maximum of 10-dogs. For the past 30 years, the juniors have run a distance of about 150 miles. Generally the route runs from Knik Lake out to Yentna Station where the teams take a required ten-hour rest plus the starting differential before heading to the finish line at Willow Lake. Five mushers have won the Junior Iditarod in back to back years. The only musher to win three Junior Iditarod races in a row was Tim Osmar.  Race results from the past 34 years are available in the Junior Iditarod history archives.

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The Jr. Iditarod is sponsored by Lynden