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11 is 443 Wt (383 northumberlandnews.com 7 NoRTHUMBERLAND NEWS, MARCH 4, 2005 PAGE 7 : qhE BY VINCE VERSACE aaims \ ~U, 5. id *5, . 2 o | Cns . Staff Writer j B as ts + 9 h \ O / ie 35 Nyo lt A j y ORTHUMBERLAND â€" Dogsled j i oel 6 .. .© Wls o. â€" l 5e A ® C 6 4/ M 44 Peck‘s main lead dog who never facâ€" j s3 4 in \ 3 0 ~The §an 4# y e 5 h f t : racer Aaron Mr, Peck is now 1ac j PR Ts P wat / < W * r disappoints him. ing a short sprint in patience *A x |â€" B K f tae 24 en y "Brg‘ neverseeta idlose to with the start of The Last Great [ /j-:‘ NB i culued \ [\ \& J Stalc> Tiz being hurt, wants to be up Race on Earth only two days away. f / h/_}"" Sss j ‘--L n Je t w»p P w front as much as possible "L am starting to get nervous but it is a F P e ies MA t CC _ak ~T BP7 F * x and is awesome in turns. He good nervous," says Mr. Peck. "If I did not _,vf-fr ‘ P 5 “‘ uce dik [ 2. o i. .1 3 * was t?lg as a pup as is named have a team looking so good together but in _ JÂ¥ k t diikm. © * e ./ awoal" ki after Ian Millar‘s (famed 8 * : / C P "at W / s T Prdbed Canadian horse jumper) pieces, as in January, 1 would be wondering 7 f 6 & d# / / Praql, N. horse Big Ben. Star Man s ; fa h / R E. h 4 C 4 wo 9Â¥ ; why the hell am I am doing this. 7 ts ~ @ SW o _ §. Reewr on o id apt . is his brother and together Mr. Peck called the News from a pay phone _ | s * > > ptear e is c e 9| | they are an awesome pair," on a sunny afternoon, in temperatures just 1 . R Mb h: ¢ 'W Jae!" explains Mr. Peck. above zero, from Talkeetna, Alaska to dis . ~~ >‘ & woe a e ns N 4ss / There are 83 mushers | / cuss his race preparations. l %â€"~s $ _‘:"&3_?4?:_;,;; ‘1'\\;@ & entered in this year‘s Idiâ€" ~ > 1fr. Peck and his crew of 16 Alaskan Husâ€" l 4 â€" h S |\ Noae inig i ons A» I tarod ranging in age from 19 ies will surge from the Iditarod 2005 startâ€" _ | s gx. . Cals ts } [ * 23;12(‘1 d .3 ing line on Sunday, March 6 to compete in . S ‘ . l . 9 M The;e _‘S&a ieréafi)\lybriial ol of _the 1,160 mile (1,866 km) race. The Iditarod | p s\ l /l V M Saturday, March 5 through downâ€" is also called The Last Great Race on Earth 1 n ’ [=> fl;(/ 4 town Anchorage and the next day and this year‘s contest will l?e Mr. Peck"s 1b t Â¥>3 v{, // A the race truly begins in Willow. Mr. second Iditarod. His first Iditarod was in h P // Peck will ‘start from the third group 2000 when he mushed a second team. of A ts d 7 of racers which means he will be someâ€" dogs belonging to fourâ€"time Iditarod winner _ | /;@ AR EVAE = where between starting position 50 to 60. Martin Buser, Mr. Peck had apprenticed | 5 u"." ‘,‘ 1e The tface begins fit I\? i;n Alaska Time with Mr. Buser and lived at the veteran _ MM P } i f/[orn;(;(r:rll(eyw(i?lp]:i?él;nst;n c‘ig;girr;“z) b:: racer‘s Alaskan home starting in the sumâ€" { e Aléskan k. MB s 1998; af Kennels team has * LWZ ALZ! "My Plan A is to attempt to stay with the Mr. Peck‘s Maple Lei C ;flnhanen Tok : HOT 0 _ pack and a top 20 finish would be the best faced physical and. ment c bgr 12 onfoaaten onon _ PEG MeCARTHYNORTHUMBERLAND NEWS FILE P we could do this year. There are a lot of Alaska since arriving in midâ€"December 2 ing down the minutes to the start of the 2005 Iditarod dogsled rach professional teams here w1t{x all their dogs to prepare for the race. : having seen Nome," says Mr\Peck. "If Plan £ 5 imatizing. to * A 4 : Injured dog wrists and gcciool dn , A is not working and we are éd’lng back or s daylight took a toll on both him and his . a less dayNgs factors ultiâ€" the dogs are rebelling, I will do shorter runs, team, says Mr. Peok The ©90, 970. up rest and take care of them." mate}y culminated in a.dl sasottou:afly Januâ€" : Buser also lent Mr. Peck a pistol just in race in the Copper Basin 300 in o r t case his team runs into a moose along the aty. trail. Mr. Peck will also ensure he has ; t im have been % race Sn gr C tef;n wat 4 pleCGS.dI 'rll‘i);ies started e as his race strategy, rest schedule and trail $ t gn t foohall n ig ice fadâ€" ‘ directions clearly and legibly printed. o happen," explains Mr. Peck, his YO"! i ing as nelspeasslover the crackiing phone T need all that to be easy to read for when line. $ I am deadâ€"tired in the race," explains Mr. "We only made it to the third checkpOiNt, Peck. ‘ + ‘ dropping dogs along the way at the first ie Mr. Peck says he will run his tgam in the two checkpoints. It was really depressing. f !at_e afternoons and eg.rly mornings wpep 1 thought 4If We could not finish a 300â€"mile . GOold Harness Award for the best dog in the _ he is a dog who will know where he is quring _ it is colder because his dogs have thrived race, what about 1,000 miles‘?" race that year. the race," says Mr. Peck. recently running in such weather. The After the Copper Basin 300, Nr. Peck went Bronson comes from Mr. Buser‘s Magnifiâ€" All of Mr. Peck‘s dogs are just over two mu§her says the d_ogs are naturally more y to Whitehorse, Yukon to stay with two of his _ cent Seven litter, years old and none of them have Iditat0d active at these periods of the day because friends, fellow mushers Thomas Tetz and "Bronson gives me a backâ€"up leader and experience. The two main pistons in the _ of their inherited wplf m_stmct& Bruce Langmaid, so he could recharge his a yeteran dog who has been to Nome. He team‘s engine are Big Ben and Star Man. Mushers must flmsl_l with at least five dogs batteries and clear his mind. is older and not as fast as he once was but _ Big Ben weighs just over 70 Ibs. and is Mr. _ by the end of the Tditarod. The route from ‘ / T ‘ T " ‘ \' m I : m I x > m m d ho t \ f & $ $ o# &