March 7, 1998

The ceremonial jaunt 26 miles through Anchorage took the team 2 hours and 38 minutes. Despite warm temperatures(low 30's), the team had a great run.

Martin and Doug Swingley before the start

Toni Schmidt, who helped Martin train from Sept. - December rode with him as a handler. His Iditarider had won the ride in a raffle through SEARS. SEARS bought the ride and used it as a promotional tool.

The trail got a little punchy toward Eagle River. Punchy trail means that the dogs start to break through the top layer of hard packed snow into a more grainy layer. It's a bit tougher going.

Martin passed 10 teams on the way to Eagle River, including Rick Swenson and Jeff King. Of course, the time is irrelevant at this point in the race. Doug Swingley and Martin made it to Eagle River in the exact same time.

The boys and I had another eventful Anchorage Start. If you remember last year, the driver of our dog truck left Anchoage without us and we had to get another friend bring us to Eagle River. This year we decided to let the boys sleep in at home and we would get a ride with our neighbor to the start. Well, right about at Eagle River her Bronco started smoking and we promptly bailed out on the Glenn Highway. Luckily, I had a cell phone and called a taxi. She called a tow truck. The boys and I got to the starting line just in time to hear DeeDee's departure. Because of starting at 2 minute intervals we had plenty of time to visit with Martin before the run! We did manage to ride in our dog truck to Eagle River.

Today, the Anchorage Daily News published a page with photos of all the mushers. I'm not sure if it's on their web page.

The restart in Willow begins at 11:00. Everyone is resting soundly already!

Happy trails,
Kathy