February 19, 2005
Susitna 100
http://www.susitna100.com/
The Iditarod Trail is arguably the richest element of Alaska's folklore.
Virtually every Alaskan is familiar with the diphtheria outbreak that
terrorized the faraway community of Nome, then (thanks to a gold rush)
Alaska's largest settlement, in the winter of 1925. Serum was shipped
into the south-central port of Seward and brought over a thousand miles
to the Bering Sea through a relay of dog mushers that braved relentless
darkness, tireless wind, bitter cold, bottomless snow, open water,
cranky wildlife, and all manner of deprivation- in short, everything you
will encounter in the Susitna 100.
Despite the great affinity Alaskans have for travel, the route was not
repeated as a continuous journey for nearly 50 years. Indeed, without
Joe Redington, Sr. and Dorothy Page, the so-called "Serum Run" would
likely have become a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience. Instead, the
origin of all races that take place along the Iditarod trail can be
attributed to these two people. Joe came to Alaska in 1948 and worked
both as a commercial fisherman and as a winter search and rescue guide
for the military. As you might expect, Joe used dog teams in the latter
occupation. Joe's passion for dog mushing inspired a vision to see the
Iditarod Trail revived, and the rest (as they say) is history. Sadly,
Joe passed away in 1999. Now-deceased history lover, Dorothy Page, moved
to Alaska in 1960, the year she saw her first sled dog race. In 1966, as
president of the Wasilla-Knik Centennial Committee, Dorothy was asked to
develop a new event celebrating the 100th anniversary of America's
purchase of Alaska from Russia. She struck on a sensational way to
commemorate a forgotten part of Alaska's past. The next year Joe
Redington helped Dorothy Page organize a 25-mile sled-dog race along the
Iditarod trail. The success of the "Seppala Memorial Cup" spurred Joe's
vision to life and in 1973 a 1,000-mile sled-dog race was held along the
Iditarod Trail. Within 10 years the Iditarod had captured the hearts of
Alaskans and many Outsiders.
Among many related developments, the route became a National Historic
Trail and, more importantly, attention turned to opportunities for
human-powered competition. Christy Moore and Joe Redington organized the
Iditaski in 1983. Skiers, pulling sleds or carrying packs, raced 120
miles. The distance was increased to 210 miles the second year and
organizers eventually settled on the 165-mile, Big Lake-to-Skwentna-and-back
course that stood for many years. In Iditaski's third year Christy and
midwesterners Steve Johnson and David Myers formed a snowshoe race,
christened the Iditashoe, that ran half the ski course. Joe Redington
stuck with sled dog racing, but provided moral support, encouragement,
and inspiration for these human-powered spin-offs of the Last Great
Race.
T hree
years later the Iditabike was born. In 1990, both events were a
disaster. Extreme cold prompted organizers to try and cancel the
ski/shoe races. Relentless pressure from entrants forced the last-minute
staging of a shorter race that ran without serious injury, but exacted a
huge toll from the thankless volunteers. The following weekend, the
Iditabike began amidst a major storm that all but buried racers in
thigh-deep snow. After two days of minimal progress, the Iditabike was
called, racers were ranked according their place on the trail, and
everyone, including another group of thankless volunteers, was
evacuated. Stung by a barrage of criticism and ingratitude, the race
director resigned from the ski/shoe race.
A small core of racers stepped in and combined all the human-powered
races into a single event, calling it Iditasport. Thus two oddball,
hard-core events became even stranger. The 1991 version offered ski,
bike, snowshoe, and triathlon divisions on the same course at the same
time. A separate division for runners was added in 1992, like the
snowshoe race held over one-half the full course, but nobody entered
until 1993. It is worth noting that the snowshoe and running divisions
have grown from "side-show" events to attracting nearly half of all
entrants. In 1997 a new 100 mile course was established for all
divisions.
 The
100 mile race is now known as the Susitna 100 and the Little Su 50k
race. Each year, the "Idita-mania" that follows in the wake of Joe
RedingtonΥs dream brings competitors from all over the world to the
Iditarod trail to test their mettle in all manner of contests. In many
respects, the Susitna 100 is simply an extension of this universal
fascination. Although the Iditarod dog mushing race has proclaimed
itself "The Last Great Race," many of us look instead to the 1,000-mile
route itself, which could rightly be called "The Trail Of The Last Great
Race." There is simply no greater crucible in this world within which to
test an athlete's (be it human or canine) mental and physical will to
prevail.
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This is the Bad boy bike that I'll be riding in
the Susitna. Walt at WaltWorks --Boulder Colorado built this up.
Other Participants
http://www.gb4mfg.com/snow/bios.html
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