Anchorage hosts ceremonial start of Iditarod

The ceremonial start for the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race was held in a party-like atmosphere in downtown Anchorage on Saturday. The real race begins about 50 miles north of Anchorage in Willow, Alaska on Sunday. (March 1)

Published

11 months ago

Categories

Health, Sports

Topics

Health, Disease & Health Conditions, Sports

People

Ned Barker, Mitch Seavey

Places

United States of America, California, San Diego, Alaska, Anchorage

Transcript

The ceremonial start for the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race was held in a party-like atmosphere in downtown Anchorage on Saturday. The real race begins about 50 miles north of Anchorage in Willow, Alaska on Sunday. (March 1) SHOTLIST: AP TELEVISION - AP CLIENTS ONLY ANCHORAGE, Alaska - March 1, 2014 1. Low, tight shot of barking dog. 2. Medium shot of dog team on street. 3. Wide shot of dog team on street. 4. Medium shot of dog team moving toward start line. 5. Medium shot of another dog team moving toward the start line. 6. SOUNDBITE: Aily Zirkle, Musher (second place finisher last two years) "Every single year, I have to say, I go into it thinking, 'what is it going to be like?" And I don't think this year is any different. I think it's going to be hard." 7. Wide shot of dog mushing team during ceremonial start of race. 8. Wide shot of another dog team coming down street. 9. Wide of dog team from behind 10. SOUNDBITE: Aily Zirkle, Musher (second place finisher last two years) "It really comes down to what a musher's prepared for, what their skills are if they make the right decisions at the right time." 11. Medium shot of Zirkle with fans 12. Tight shot of Zirkle signing poster 13. Medium shot of Zirkle petting her dog 14. Medium-tight shot of dog turning himself around on a harness 15. Wide shot of Jonrowe's pink pickup 16. SOUNDBITE: Fan favorite DeeDee Jonrowe, Veteran Musher (and breast cancer survivor) "I got to tell you, we've been out there a lot of years, I've seen them all. I'm sure it's not going to be anything I haven't seen at some point in my career. And you know, I think it will be a pretty fast trail. For myself personally, my strategy is to slow my team down." 17. Wide of dog team and musher on ceremonial trail 18. Mid of dogs ready to go 19. Low angle of dogs ready to go 20. SOUNDBITE. Nancy Alstrand. "Absolutely love the dogs. Their energy. It infects you, their energy does, and it just makes you so happy." 21. Tight of dogs barking, ready to go 22. Mid of dogs barker, ready to go. STORYLINE: Hordes of dogs, mushers and their eager fans mingled Saturday at the jovial celebratory kickoff of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Anchorage. Sixty-nine mushers and their teams of 16 dogs each inundated Alaska's largest city for the annual ceremonial start of the race in a fan-friendly atmosphere. The real race starts Sunday, 50 miles north of Anchorage. Early Saturday morning, musher trucks lined city streets, and fans like Nancy Alstrand of San Diego spent hours meandering from musher to musher, stopping to chat or pet dogs. The mushers take a leisurely 11-mile jaunt on urban trails within the city of Anchorage. Snow had to be trucked in to cover the streets of downtown Anchorage until mushers could get on the trail system. A lack of snow and warm temperatures have been a headache for Iditarod officials this winter. In fact, temperatures in Anchorage were in the mid- to upper 40s in the days preceding the start. Officials had considered moving the official starting point hundreds of miles north to Fairbanks, but said conditions had improved in the weeks ahead of the race to keep it in Willow, outside of Anchorage. Concerns about the trail were in areas south of the Alaska Range and in the mountains themselves, race marshal Mark Nordman said. But snow and especially colder temperatures after a long January thaw have alleviated worries there and in areas such as the Yentna River. There are six former champions in the field, including defending champion Mitch Seavey, also the 2004 winner. After Sunday's start in Willow, mushers will travel nearly a thousand miles, crossing two mountain ranges, the Yukon River and up the Bering Sea coast en route to the finish line on Front Street in Nome, on Alaska's western coast. SHOTLIST: AP TELEVISION - AP CLIENTS ONLY ANCHORAGE, Alaska - March 1, 2014 1. Various of mushers and dogs starting ceremonial leg of Iditarod 2. Tight of musher petting dog's head 3. SOUNDBITE: (English) Aily Zirkle, Iditarod Musher (second place finisher last two years) (transcribed Below) 4. SOUNDBITE: (English) DeeDee Jonrowe, Iditarod Musher (and breast cancer survivor) 5. Wide of fan getting autograph from Aily Zirkle 6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Nancy Alstrand, San Diego, California (Transcribed Below) 7. Tight of dogs barking 8. Low angle of dogs and musher 9. Wide of dogs approaching starting line 10. Mid of Aily Zirkle getting race jersey VOICEOVER SCRIPT DOZENS OF MUSHERS AND THEIR DOG TEAMS TOOK PART IN THE CEREMONIAL START OF THIS YEAR'S IDITAROD TRAIL SLED DOG RACE SATURDAY. WITH RECENT TEMPERATURES WELL ABOVE 40 DEGREES -- SNOW HAD TO BE TRUCKED TO ANCHORAGE FOR THE 11-MILE JAUNT THROUGH THE CITY. THIS YEAR'S WEATHER HAD ORGANIZERS THINKING ABOUT MOVING THE OFFICIAL STARTING POINT TO FAIRBANKS -- BUT CONDITIONS IMPROVED. SO IT'LL BEGIN IN WILLOW. ALAKSA -- WHERE IT TYPICALLY STARTS -- FIFTY MILES NORTH OF ANCHORAGE. SOUNDBITE: Aily Zirkle, Musher (second place finisher last two years) "It really comes down to what a musher's prepared for, what their skills are if they make the right decisions at the right time." SOUNDBITE: Fan favorite DeeDee Jonrowe, Veteran Musher (and breast cancer survivor) "I got to tell you, we've been out there a lot of years, I've seen them all. I'm sure it's not going to be anything I haven't seen at some point in my career. And you know, I think it will be a pretty fast trail. For myself personally, my strategy is to slow my team down." SATURDAY'S CELEBRATORY KICK-OFF DREW A MIX OF LOCALS AND TOURISTS. SOUNDBITE. Nancy Alstrand, San Diego, California "Absolutely love the dogs. Their energy. It infects you, their energy does, and it just makes you so happy." AFTER SUNDAY'S START IN WILLOW, MUSHERS WILL HAVE TO CROSS TWO MOUNTAIN RANGES -- AND THE YUKON RIVER BEFORE GETTING TO THE FINISH LINE IN NOME, ALASKA -- ALMOST 1000 MILES AWAY. NED BARKER/ASSOCIATED PRESS.