ORK's issues and mine have some crossover but probably aren't exactly the same. But give me 24 hours and I'll write you a list. I'm a little too pissed off to do it right now. 😉
Comments
Log in with your Bluesky account to leave a comment
It’s just extremely frustrating and disappointing decision by the ITC. Hopefully the mushers getting pulled (Q especially) know how many people are upset on their behalf and supporting them at what I’m sure is a very difficult time emotionally and physically.
Well, I'm that too. That part will get bigger as the anger fades a bit. It's just hard knowing Q was dealing with the loss of his mom and then watching that team come together and start putting in good runs from Kaltag on down. They were finding their rhythm and it was beautiful to see. ❤️
Yeah, and she was. She had three really good runs from Grayling back to Grayling. Fast, consistent. I mean, a race this damn long should have room for teams coming together. Is the 12 hours she was behind really make or break? Somehow I find it hard to swallow, but their call I guess.
Ultimately the Iditarod is a long and demanding race, if they want enough people to continue to enter to make it viable, they need to figure out a way to allow those people who aren’t out to win time to finish. And they also probably need a definition of non-competitive (2/2)
I am sad for them. My frustration is tempered some by the fact that many of the people working the checkpoints are volunteers & how long to make them stay is a reasonable question (1/2)
Lots of us making a similar call after this. If what they want is a strictly local operation with a dozen or so regulars, that's what they'll get. Plenty of other races for the rest of the world to get invested in.
So, here is my list of issues with the Iditarod, or more precisely the ITC. It's actually a short list in some ways because everything comes down to accountability and transparency. They do their level best not to have either of those things about any decision the ITC makes about the race. 1/
Changing route? Wait until the last minute and make things worse. Then had 150 miles when you don't have the logistics for it (apparently). Do we see an explanation or someone taking accountability for a miscue? Nope. It's everybody else's fault, not theirs. 2/
Here is thing from inside source. They had plenty of volunteers but not enough money to fly them out. Problem is though, with all this financial trouble, no cuts to Iditarod payroll, particularly the CEO who has not produced at all.
Look at winner paycheck compared to CEO paycheck over last 20 years, especially last 6. Something is very wrong. Where else can someone with title CEO making good money perform like this and keep job? Take your million+ that you got to destroy race and go home Rob, & take a couple employees with you
Wait, the man makes a million plus...in the face of declining entries like that? I mean I get that climate change has been rough buuuut. Take a damn pay cut and *increase the purse* - this isn't rocket science here.
His hiring still perplexes me as an Alaskan. I’ve never seen any value, and he is not a great or gifted spokesperson. I have scratched my head every year.
Yeah this is egregious and I think after we take a breath from how upset we are about the three teams forced out we can mobilize a clear-headed letter explaining they are ruining this race? Not that it will do anything but sheesh
JFC, that just figures. Blame the mushers, then impliedly blame volunteers (or lack thereof). Justin Olnes's kennel posted on FB that the volunteers at Eagle Island were supportive of Justin staying giving his team the rest he felt they needed. So, it wasn't even that. Just the ITC wanting it done.
They also can't decide what they want to be - a NASCAR race or an Alaska survival adventure. So that leaves them trying to be two things and doing both poorly. The CEO won't stop giving AR activists the attention they want. They get more insular when they need to be more inclusive. 3/
They have amazing stories every year - human and canine - yet won't tell them if they aren't in the front pack. The PR they could have done with Justin Olnes's rescue dogs. With Pepe being almost 12. Every musher has those stories, but the Iditarod and the Insider ignore them. 4/
this is a really good point--and the biggest reason I was interested in the Iditarod in the first place. It's a sport that is almost unwatchable, at least in the traditional sense. But the storytelling that comes out of it is everything.
The Insider has done so much better in one sense with having more cameras and having Sean and Kattijo or Jodi or Liz out there too. They do tell good stories, but you have to be on the livestream at that moment to get them. The stories need to be shared with a wider audience.
Want to show the AR activists are wrong - talk about and promote the rescue dogs and retiree adoption. Highlight the more senior dogs still running and leading teams. Show the love between mushers and dogs not just at checkpoints but in all kinds of videos pre, during, and post race. 5/
Highlight the way the studies of these dogs have helped dog nutrition and health everywhere. Pick a charity like Alaska Rural Veterinary Outreach and spread awareness and maybe even sponsor a clinic or two in a checkpoint village. Make the race something more than just a race. 6/
Excellent question! As I understand it, they wanted to hit the villages on the southern route so they weren't bypassed with the new route. But somebody ought to explain why that mattered more than making sure the logistics worked.
Comments