Greetings from Nome, Race Fans!

As I stagger from bed to kitchen and the kitchen to the bed rejuvenating my two biggest deficiencies, food and sleep, I am anxious to share with all of our friends and supporters a first hand account of our 2008 Iditarod. What a nail-biter it was and I hope you enjoyed it! Rumor has filtered back that the GPS Tracking System was well received by race fans and I found myself imagining friends and family watching the computer each time the small LED light blinked on the transmitter indicating a signal being sent out to computers around the world. There was some discussion among mushers and media on whether the GPS might influence the strategy of some of the competitors. However, though I can imagine where the GPS information might influence some team at some point, I consider it very far-fetched and consider the positives of the GPS system dramatically out-weighing the downside. It is my guess that it is here to stay.

Strategy did play a big part in this year’s race for me and Lance as we both decided to take our 24-hour-break in Takotna, while many potential pre-race favorites decided to go on farther down the trail. As it turned out, I believe, it eliminated anybody who did not take their long break prior to Cripple, putting them out of the hunt for the 2008 victory. We really never know how our decisions will play out until the race progresses and, as it turned out, this year I couldn’t be happier with our decision to stop in the wonderful hamlet of Takotna.

Prior to the race, one of my goals had been to drive my team “like an All Alaska Sweepstakes Team” What it means to me is an effort to drive the team at the slowest dog’s pace since the Sweepstakes mandates that no dog that starts the race can be dropped and that all dogs must finish the race.

**more to come from Jeff later….