2005 Iditarod

The ceremonial start of the 33rd annual Iditarod dog sled race across the U.S. state of Alaska began in Anchorage on March 5, 2005 at 10 AM AKST (19:00 UTC), and restarted in Willow the next day at 2 PM (23:00 UTC). After covering 1,161 miles (1,868 km)http://www.iditarod.com/trailinfo/racemileage.php?id=3 of wilderness, musher Robert Sørlie, an airport firefighter from Norway, crossed the finish line under the "burled arch" in Nome on March 16 at 8:39 AM AKST (17:39 UTC). After taking care of his dogs, and an inspection to make sure all the mandatory equipment was in his sled, Sørlie was declared the winner by Race Marshal Mark Norman, with a time of 9 days, 18 hours, 39 minutes, and 31 seconds and won USD $72,066.67 and a new truck. When asked how it felt to win a second time, Sørlie said "it feels good, I'm ready for breakfast"http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=sportsNews&storyID=7924830, live on the Alaska superstation. His team of dogs averaged 4.65 mi/h (7.58 km/h). The Red Lantern in last was Phil Morgan, an Alaska Airlines pilot, and when he crossed the finish line on March 21 at 8:02 PM AKST (March 22, 5:02 UTC), the Widow's Lantern hanging on the burled arch was extinguished, which signalled the end of the race.

March 13: Bering Sea

Kaltag:http://www.iditarod.com/raceupdates/racecheckpoint.php?id=42 Sørlie was the first to arrive at Kaltag on March 13 at 3:43 AM. He left Kaltag in first place at 8:44 AM, followed by Brooks about an hour later, Buser another hour later, and John Baker yet another hour later. The top 10 are within slightly more than 6 hours, and the top 30 are within 26 hours. On March 16, Karen Ramstead scratched here, citing concerns for her team and trail conditions. Her teams is composed of Siberian huskies, instead of the more common mixed-breed Alaska huskies.(pdf)

Related Topics:
Kaltag - March 13 - March 16 - Siberian huskies - Alaska huskies

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Unalakleet:http://www.iditarod.com/raceupdates/racecheckpoint.php?id=43 Sørlie won the Alaska Gold Coast Award for reaching Unalakleet in first place on March 13, at 20:45 PM.(pdf) Sørlie was the first to depart at on March 14 at 0:11 AM. The top 10 departed within 8 hours, and the top 30 within 27 hours. Sørlie said, "it's still a long way to Nome".http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/03/14/sports/s111401S41.DTL

Related Topics:
Unalakleet - March 13 - March 14

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The trail normally runs down the Unalakleet River into town, but shifted 7 miles due to water overflowing the ice.(pdf) The xtrail markers led through a 1 foot deep over flow, which several teams went through. Temperatures are expected to hit the 40s (F, or 5–10 °C) through March 16. Unalakleet is on the shore of the Norton Sound, and the race normally picks up pace and intensity as the leaders start the long final dash north and west along the shore of the Bering Sea to Nome.http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=575322 http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1110597565706 http://www.cabelasiditarod.com/coverage_2005/cov05_mar14_03.html

Related Topics:
March 16 - Norton Sound - Bering Sea - Nome

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