The Great Iditarod Race of 2011 - Page 2

Iditarod and Portarod 400
by Jodi H.

I first choose Newton Marshall.  He is Jamaican.  He started with 11 dogs but scratched in Anvik. His average speed was 3.85 mph. Newton's bib number was 6. Newton is the first Jamaican to finish an Iditarod which he did in 2010. He lives in St. Anne. Then I chose Zoya DeNure. She lives in Gakona, AK, USA. Her bib number is 9. She scratched at Rainy Pass. Her average speed was 6.36. Last I chose Paul Gebhardt. He lives in Kasilof, AK, USA. His bib number is 34. He also scratched from the race. I learned that if you are in the Iditarod you need to finish the race with at least 6 dogs. I also learned that it is hard work for the dogs.

We did a race called the Portarod 400. It was one lap around the outside track. It was so fun to be a musher. Instead of dogs we jused kids in the class. There were six pulling the sled. One person in the sled. The treats were scooby snacks.  

2011 Iditarod

by Rosa N.

Matt Hayashida finished in twenty-second place. His bib number is sixty-one. He lives in Willow Alaska. He finished with nine dogs.  Matt’s speed was 4.55 mph. Robert  Nelson finished in 19th place. His bib number was fifty-one. His speed was 4.63. He finished with nine dogs.  He lives in Kotzebue Alaska.  

There are rules that you can’t abuse your dogs. You have to carry certain stuff with you in your sled during the race.    My class and I made a chart of what place the mushers were in.  We also went out to the track and acted like dogs and had to pull people.  I was on team two.  It was horrible  because we had to climb under the fence because Mrs. Brown’s key wouldn’t work to the fence.  

Iditarod 2011

by Jacob M.

This year my class and I followed the 2011 Iditarod race. I followed three people and their names were Hans Gatt, he came in third, Mitch Seavey, he is out of the race, and Dalas Seavey, he came in fourth! Hans Gatt’s finished with 10 dogs. It took him nine days 24 minutes 23 seconds to finish. His average speed was 5.19 mph. His home town is in Austria. Mitch Seavey’s home town is in Alaska. Dalas Seavey’s bib number is a 21. He finished with nine dogs. It took him 9 days 2 hours 27 minutes 18 seconds. His average speed was 5.14 mph. The thing that I learned was the steps. The steps are the main place where the mushers fall and crash.. I love the Iditarod!

My class and I went up to the track to run, just like the Iditarod. We split up into teams and raced. I was on team one. We only had one sled so Mrs. Brown timed us. The first time we raced we went second. They ran it in  three minuets and eight seconds. Then it was our turn and we got 2 minuets and 48 seconds. We got to go two more times and no one beat the record. After we were done we got to have scooby do snacks! I love the time my class and I did the Iditarod! Jacob M.

Iditarod

by Nolan V.

My three Iditorod mushers are Ray Redington JR, Gerry Willomitzer, and Angie Taggart.  Angie Taggart is number 19 and finished in 44th place she was born in Ketchkan, Alaska. Her average speed is 3.84mph. Gerry Willomitzer is number 33 and he is out of the race. He was born in Canada. His average speed was 5.64. Ray Redington is the grandson of the founder of the iditorod, he was born in Alaska. He had bib number 3. He finished with 6 dogs, Angie Taggart finished with 7 and Gerry Willomitzer did not finish. Ray Redington finished in 7Th.

 Something I learned about the Iditarod is that the first race was in 1973 and it was started because people in Nome where sick and needed medicine.  The only way they could get the medicine to them was sled dog.

Iditarod
by Ben J.

Our class has been studying the Iditarod. We got mushers to follow in the Iditarod. My mushers were Trent Herbst #4, Nicolas Petit #14, Gerald Sousa #62, Gerry Willomitzer #33, and Bob Storey #15.Trent Herbst is from Ketchum, Idaho. Nicolas Petit is from Girdwood, Alaska. Gerald Sousa is from Talkeetna, Alaska. Gerry Willomitzer is from Whitehorse, YT, Canada.   Bob Storey is from Auckland, New Zealand. I learned that in the Iditarod there’s a checkpoint called Iditarod. Trent Herbst finished with 7 dogs. Nicolas Petit finished with 9 dogs. Gerald Sousa finished with 10 dogs. Trent Herbst’s average speed was 4.16 mph. Nicolas Petit’s was 4.11 mph. Gerald Sousa’s speed was 3.57 mph.  Bob Storey and Gerry Willomitzer are both out. Storey Scratched at Rainy Pass and Willomitzer scratched at McGrath. Gerald Sousa finished 38th, Trent Herbst finished 25th, and Nicolas Petit finished 28th.

I learned that there was a checkpoint in the Iditarod called Iditarod. I also learned that Iditarod means clear water. We went to the track and had our own sled race. I got to be a musher and a dog. When I was a musher I fell out of the sled and had to chase it and jump in it while it was still moving. We went around the track twice so it was a half mile. We called it the Portarod 400.  I thought it was tiring but I had a great time.