Mrs. DeBruine’s Sixth Grade Classes

He did what no other musher has done!  Lance Mackey has won FOUR Iditarod Races in a row AND he almost blasted Martin Buser’s record for fastest time to Nome!  Only those two mushers have finished the 1,000 mile plus race in under nine days.  Lance Mackey set another record and it has something to do with the Yukon Quest and Iditarod.  Will  anyone accept the challenge of finding the answer and sharing on the blog?

Try these featured links to watch the winner finish the race and to see the live cam in Nome.

http://visitnomealaska.com/nome-web-cam.html

Read all about it here…

http://www.adn.com/2010/03/16/1185958/analysis-mackey-about-to-make.html

Check out the slideshow of the finish!

http://www.adn.com/2010/03/16/1186100/mackey-wins-fourth-straight-iditarod.html#id=1186118&view=large_view

And Jeff King “calls it quits” after finishing third.

http://insider.iditarod.com/index.cfm?event=media.show&mediaID=69EABED7-9FA1-9806-44C1C12BD217FB09

Unless he encounters an unexpected challenge or experiences a mishap, Lance Mackey is expected to set a new record by finishing first once again. For those of you who are excited to see the finish, go to the link below and watch your favorite musher or the first-place finisher cross under the Burled Arch in Nome.  Post a comment and share your enthusiasm for the finish!

Once you get to the Iditarod site, you will have to click on live events and possibly login to Iditarod Insider with the name and password we used at school.

http://insider.iditarod.com/

That’s right; Hans is hot on Lance’s heels.  Gatt left Elim just under three hours after Mackey and his dogs are trotting along at an average speed of 7.7 mph.  Is it possible for him to beat Mackey?  If you read the adn.com (Anchorage Daily News), the odds based on past races say no, however only time will tell.

But how much time is remaining?!  That’s one component of this contest that I am offering to YOU.  The other part is predicting who will win! If you want a chance at one of the “gold” medals hanging in our classroom read on…As you already know, the first-place finishers (in our LArts classes) will each receive one.  If YOU can correctly choose the musher who wins first place, you could earn a medal and recognition too.  However, here’s the tie-breaker if more than one of you selects the right one.  The person who predicts closest to the time when the champion actually crosses the finish line is our champion of this contest!  You must submit your predictions by commenting on this post at least 3 hours before the musher crosses the finish line!  Ready, set, go!

Four-time champion Jeff King is looking to tie Rick Swenson’s unbroken record.  Rick is the only five-time champion of the Iditarod, while Jeff shares honors with Martin Buser and Susan Butcher, the other four-time winners.   At the moment, Jeff’s dream of a fifth “crown” (win) is looking slightly less likely as Lance Mackey attempts to set a different record….first musher to win four consecutive Iditarods.

Who will it be?  Six other mushers have checked in at Unalakleet too.  Go to the Iditarod links in my earlier posts to watch videos of your favorite mushers arriving at that frigid, blustery location.  The map on the adn.com link also shows which mushers are at which checkpoint if you simply click on that checkpoint.   Even more exciting, the Iditarod Insider is gearing up its cameras to allow us to watch the first musher cross the finish line in Nome, and it will be happening before we know it!

Over three-fourths of the mushers have taken their mandatory (REQUIRED) 24-hour layover, so it’s time to talk about the other two layovers (rests) the mushers MUST take. First, we know that the 24 hour layover may be taken wherever the musher chooses, and he/she makes that decision in the best interest of the dogs.  However, the Iditarod Trail Committee has some guidelines as to where the remaining required rests must be taken and that, my friends, is my question of the day for today!

And speaking of questions…there are still some extra credit points floating around out there, just waiting to be awarded to the person who writes about the connection mentioned in the previous post.

I’ll be eagerly awaiting your responses!

I almost felt giddy when I read that Sebastian Schnuelle wandered in circles around a river near Rohn for roughly half an hour.  It wasn’t that I was lightheaded with the thought one of the leaders had lost his way; it was because I made a CONNECTION to Woodsong!  Okay, splendid sixth graders…who knows what I am talking about???   Let’s see if you are as awesome about answering that question as you were with my last one about the dog!   By the way, Zach was the first one to tell us the “athlete’s” name, and Tessa correctly completed the answer.  Colleen Robertia owns Penny.  Sami, you were SO close, just 2 minutes behind Tessa.

After you answer that question, please read on…there are so many exciting stories to share.  You would be the first to know (just like me) if you would sign up for the Anchorage Daily News emails!  For those who haven’t been checking that website, poor William Pinkham is having his share of problems!  His dog, Rincon, chewed through the towline, one of the lenses in his glasses fell out the first day, he has dropped four dogs ALREADY, he fears his face is frostbitten, and lastly, he can’t remember which day he left Nicolai because he’s only had three hours of sleep since Willow!  Who said this race was fun?!  And more connections…sleep deprivation!  Who can be the first to explain that connection to two things we have read???

Here is your next question, but you can’t answer it until someone arrives in Cripple. First musher to arrive there (the halfway point in the race!) receives $3,000.  When it happens, let me know the who and the when, and the first one of you to do so, gets the extra credit!  Keep up the good work!

By the way, check out some of the comments and read what I have to say about inspirational mushers in response to Cole’s comment.

Gee, haw, or is it hike?!

You are fantastic and I love reading your comments!  Great job Arthur; you were the first to find the answer to the question of the day.   I’m ecstatic that many of you are following your mushers at home!

Here is the next question for all of you…We have learned that most sled dogs are 40-50 pounds.  However, in this year’s race, there is a lean, mean mushing machine (sled dog) that weighs only 29 pounds!  Which rookie’s team is this part German shorthair pointer pacing?  You just might discover the answer on this link.

http://www.adn.com/iditarod/

We had a good try and Tanner was close, however there is a musher who beat Doug Swingley’s record-setting time to Nome. This musher broke the 9-day barrier, meaning he made the more than 1,000 mile trip in less than 9 days! Who was it and what was his record-setting time (days, hours, and minutes)?  Ten extra credit points to the winner!

You will love this user-friendly site for checking your musher’s current standing, last checkpoint visited, layovers, and winnings!

http://www.adn.com/2010/03/04/1168400/2010-iditarod-musher-leader-board.html

And if you don’t think the link below is the coolest, then I don’t know what it takes to impress you!  My favorite musher, Martin Buser, is racing along at 11mph and is near the front of the pack.  Linwood Fiedler is currently in first and a few of the mushers have passed the first checkpoint, Yentna Station!

http://www.ionearth.com/2010/iditarod/web/

The Last Great Race on Earth begins in less than 2 hours Central Time; are you ready?!  As of this moment, mushers are in Willow making last minute checks on their gear and dogs.  You can watch live streaming of the Official Restart of the race.   For all the latest on your musher and everything Iditarod, click on my favorite links below!

http://www.iditarod.com/

http://www.adn.com/iditarod/

Ready, set, hike!