Who cares what the hell ESPN thinks. The Iditarod is a memorial to the dogs who ran and who died running to save the children of Nome. It is a celebration of the courage of those who ran behind those dogs into a cold night that froze their flesh black. leonhard Seppala and his lead dog Togo, ran the longest part of the relay in conditions that are beyond description.

Excerpt taken from Wikipedia.org

"Leonhard Seppala and his dog sled team, with his lead dog Togo, traveled 170 miles (274 km) from Nome from January 27 to January 31 into the oncoming storm. They took the shortcut across the Norton Sound, and headed toward Shaktoolik. The temperature in Nome was a relatively warm −20 °F (−30 °C), but in Shaktoolik the temperature was estimated at −30 °F (−34 °C), and the gale force winds causing a wind chill of −85 °F (−65 °C).

Henry Ivanoff's team ran into a reindeer and got tangled up just outside of Shaktoolik. Seppala still believed he had more than 100 miles (160 km) to go and was racing to get off the Norton Sound before the storm hit. He was passing the team when Ivanoff shouted, "The serum! The serum! I have it here!" (Salisbury, 2003, page 207)

With the news of the worsening epidemic, Seppala decided to brave the storm and once again set out across the exposed open ice of the Norton Sound when he reached Ungalik, after dark. The temperature was estimated at −30 °F (−35 °C), but the wind chill with the gale force winds was −85 °F (−65 °C). Togo led the team in a straight line through the dark, and they arrived at the roadhouse in Isaac's Point on the other side at 8 PM. In one day, they had traveled 84 miles (135 mk), averaging 8 mph (13 km/h). The team rested, and departed at 2 AM into the full power of the storm.

During the night the temperature dropped to −40 °F (−40 °C), and the wind increased to storm force (at least 65 mph (105 km/h). The team ran across the ice, which was breaking up, while following the shoreline. They returned to shore to cross Little McKinley Mountain, climbing 5,000 feet (1,500 m). After descending to the next roadhouse in Golovin, Seppala passed the serum to Charlie Olsen on February 1 at 3 PM." Wikipedia.org




Togo was a troublesome pup, who had been given away as a house pet because of the distractions he was causing in the kennels. The dog jumped through a window of his new owner to get back to his first owner, Seppala. After which he was kept.

Togo got his first chance at pulling a sled when he tried jumping a 7 foot fence, catching his rear leg in the top of the fence. A kennel assistant heard the yelping and cut the dog loose from the wire mesh. The injured dog took off and caught up with Seppala and the sled team 45 miles away. The musher felt he had no choice but to harness the dog to the sled. By the end of the first day on a harness the dog had been moved up to share the lead position, and logged in 75 miles.

So, back to the original question...my answer is who cares. Wake me up when ESPN does something important.

VHawk