On the morning of the Iditarod's official start in Willow, race fans were blessed with a bright, sunny day. Four-time race champion Martin Buser fed his dogs chum salmon, contender Zack Steer's dogs got flat, frozen chunks of beef, and rookie Quinn Iten's mom ladled bowls of a watery beef stew out to the 18-year-old's dogs.

Anchorage's ceremonial start yesterday was a nice show for the families, and great for people-watchers hoping to catch a glimpse of celebrities, perhaps even former Gov. Sarah Palin herself. But today was the start of the real race, the grueling thousand-mile run that stretches across the state all the way to the shores of the Bering Sea.

"The most challenging thing is staying focused," said Zack Steer, who finished third in the 2008 Iditarod. "It's easy to sit back and ride, but you can't do that if you want to be competitive."

Each musher in the field of 71 attended to last-minute preparations before heading into the unknown. Lance Mackey, who has won the last three Iditarods, ran through a checklist as he stacked gear on his sled. "Gloves, check. Bibs, check."

Although the sunny day pleased spectators, the 20-degree weather was a little warm for the dogs starting the trek to Nome.

"It's kind of warm right now, so we'll probably run mostly at night," said Newton Marshall, a rookie from Jamaica who trains with Lance Mackey and finished 13th in last year's Yukon Quest.

Trail conditions, a concern in the past few days, weren't at the forefront of mushers' minds on Sunday. Early that morning, race marshal Mark Nordman said he had a plane taking off in ten minutes to fly brush cutters out the guys he's had working on the trail since Tuesday.

"They'll be working right up until the teams start passing them," said Nordman.

The dogs were restless and ready to run, and when the sleds took off, the sprinting dogs pulled them out of sight quickly. As excited as the dogs were, mushers were conscious of the monumental struggle it would take to reach Nome, let alone arrive first.

Before the start, Lance Mackey autographed handlers' armbands as he readied his team.

"I'm going for my fourth Iditarod victory, so that's the goal," he said, smiling. "But there's a lot of people who are trying to take me down."





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Iditarod, the official (re)start
Alaska Dispatch
Four-time race champion Martin Buser fed his dogs chum salmon, contender Zack Steer's dogs got flat, frozen chunks of beef, and rookie Quinn Iten's mom ...
Competitors begin Iditarod race to Nomemsnbc.com
Race is on: Iditarod teams begin leaving from WillowAnchorage Daily News
The IditarodExaminer.com
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