Weekly Report

Last week, I discovered a video to share with everyone — Gotta Keep Reading, featuring California's Ocoee Middle School. Although this school is not participating in Idita-Read, it is a cool and inspiring music video. In fact, it inspired me to create a new section on the Idita-Read.org website, where we can feature Stories from the Trail.

Meanwhile, the Iditarod race has ended, but our Idita-Read is far from over! I have continued following our 151 teams over the last week, and I have been especially impressed by how many teams have every or nearly every member actively participating. In fact, I had considered listing the teams that meet that criteria, but during my research discovered that the vast majority of teams have nearly every member "on the trail". I think that is another one of my favorite things that I see in Idita-Read — that it promotes both individual achievement and team work/spirit.

Over the last week, I have seen the participation rate continue to rise, with more mushers still hitting the trail for the first time. We still see more than 2,500 mushers on the trail, while the finishers list keeps growing with nearly 500 reaching Nome so far. I've also witness another half-million miles logged by our Idita-Readers over the last week - WOW!

Weekly Report

This morning, 41 of the 56 Iditarod teams have crossed the Finish Line in Nome. Meanwhile, racers on the Idita-Read Teams are working their way across virtual Alaska. As of this posting 237 Idita-Readers have finished the race with 2,500-plus more continuously passing checkpoints. Many mushers are just now hitting the trail with their first mileage, which is just fine — better to get on it now than never to participate in this cool event! Everyone should have time to reach the final goal of Nome's Finish Line by the end of the race. Keep up the great work, everyone!

Looking at the team stats, the SJS 3rd Grade Angels representing Kentucky are in the lead with a total of 33,613 miles, averaging 672 miles per musher, and 12 finishers. The 4-5 Saints from Idaho are running second, with 27,472 total miles, averaging 572 miles per musher, and 9 finishers. Coming up close behind them, Saints Above, also from Idaho, has logged a total of 26,870 miles, averaging 537 miles per musher, with 13 team members crossing the finish line.

However, these leading teams contribute just a fraction of the more than 1.2 million miles of total race mileage. Many more teams are hot on their tails with nearly six more weeks of race time left! With spring break for most racers just around the corner, we expect to see that total skyrocket by April :-D

Mushers Continue Pushing to Nome, Finishers Start Trailing In

This morning, Lance Mackey leads the Iditarod race pack with others close behind him as they make their way to White Mountain. Just two more checkpoints to go until Nome! Meanwhile, the rest of the Iditarod's 50-plus racers are spread across the Yukon River basin to Ruby.

Of course, "winning" the race would be cool. But, no matter who finishes first, it is the making and finishing the journey that ultimately makes the difference to each musher — what an awesome feeling!

Similar to the real Iditarod race, finishing the online Idita-Read is a celebration — knowing that you completed a challenging feat. Since the race began more than a week ago, 130 mushers have reached Nome and crossed the Finish Line. Nearly 2,500 more mushers are hot on the trail, with more joining the rush every day. With up to six more weeks until the race trail closes, mushers have time to urge their fellow teammates to push onward and reach the Finish Line — to feel that well-earned glory of completing the journey from Anchorage to Nome. I've heard some great stories from Team Managers about teammates competing with each other to reach Nome first, while others follow the pace of another team from a different state and work to "beat" them all to Nome.

No matter what your tactic, Idita-Read mushers, stay focused on the your goal and keep reading to put more trail behind you and get the Finish Line closer — the world is following your progress and cheering you on!

Reading Mileage Adding Up Fast!

Yesterday, our racing mushers pushed the total race mileage to over half a million minutes of reading time on the Idita-Read trail — great work, everyone! Perhaps even cooler is the fact that the teams accomplished that feat in less than a week. Meanwhile, more than 2,250 students have hit the trail, with more joining them every minute (literally). Plus, 70 mushers have already read at least 1,112 minutes to cross the Finish Line in Nome. Many of those finishers have read even farther, which is awesome! In fact, the Finish Line shows how far "Beyond Nome" that a musher has pushed themselves. This allows students to continue reading to see how far they might get before the race ends on April 30. Also, about 700 book reviews have been posted since Feb. 1.

As for the official Iditarod race, the leading mushers have just arrived at Ruby, the halfway point. When our Idita-Read mushers also reach that checkpoint, they will get a taste of what it is actually like arriving there. Our special thanks to the Merreline A. Kangas school's principal and teacher, Anne Titus, along with her students in grades 3-5 for sharing some great photos and descriptions about their school, community, and what takes place there during the Iditarod race. It is so cool!

Mushers Hot on the Trail!

Mushers are off and running this morning — how cool to see students so excited to get running as soon as the race date opened!

For anyone who was wanting to join but hasn't yet, you can still get signed up. The race runs through April 30, and new teams can subscribe at any time between now and that date.

Meanwhile, I got the Alaska Native language phrases, vocabulary and place names posted at each checkpoint. My heartfelt thanks to Susan Paskvan, who serves as the native language teacher at the Yukon-Koyukuk School District in Alaska, for her time and efforts in compiling local place names for many of the checkpoints along the trail. I also used the Dena'ina Qenaga Digital Archive for including some interesting Dena'ina phrases for other checkpoints. Team Managers will find a helpful PDF that lists links to many of these phrases, where there are audio clips of Sava Stephan speaking these phrases. This is one great way to keep native language alive in well, not just in Alaska, but across all of North America.