njuries is Scott Janssen,Sports Shoes, who broke his ankle trying to round up a loose dog and earlier was knocked unconscious when his sled turned over and he hit his head on a tree stump. Four-time champion Martin Buser sprained his left ankle, but is forging ahead.WHAT ABOUT THE DOGS?The dogs have fared much better. There are some sore muscles, sure, but most teams are holding up well. ''There's a reason they call it dog mushing and not human mushing, because the dogs are a lot tougher than we are,'' Neff said. Some mushers also are carrying some dogs that are tired, but that happens every year.SMOOTHER SAILINGThe bone-rattling ordeal transforms into a more normal ride farther up the trail, with mushers sliding on better snow coverage. ''Here on out, it's nice,'' Neff said in McGrath. Conditions also look good on the Yukon River, at least from the Athabascan village of Ruby. Ed Sarten, an official with the local tribe, said he's heard there's favorable snow cover, at least to the next checkpoint at Galena. Even though this part of Alaska also has seen an unseasonably warm winter, temperatures have cooled below freezing and the river just got a couple inches of snow, which means better traction for mushers.COASTAL SLIDEThe news is not so great once mushers hit Unalakleet, where the last leg of the race starts along the Bering Sea. Longtime local resident Gregg Sumstad said he was out trapping for mink and marten this week and encountered a slick trail with a lot of bare ground, much of it no more than a ribbon of ice. ''It's slippery,'' he said, noting the last major snow fell in December followed by temperatures in the mid-40s. ''It's the least amount of snow I've ever seen.''---Follow Rachel D'Oro at -https://twitter.com/rdoro
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race across Alaska kicks off this weekend as usual,Air Jordan 3 White Cement AU, after warm winter weather nearly prompted officials to move the start hundreds of miles north to Fairbanks for the first time in a decade.Advertisement Temperatures have dropped, improving trail conditions and allowing the 42nd running of the world's most famous sled dog race to start as normal in Willow, about 50 miles north of Anchorage. The 1,000-mile race spans two mountain ranges,Air Jordan 4 Retro Toro Bravo, dangerous wilderness and the wind-whipped Bering Sea coast.The ceremonial start, with a festival-type atmosphere, begins Saturday morning in downtown Anchorage. Mushers will take a leisurely 11-mile jaunt on sled dog trails within the state's largest city, with fans lining streets and urban trails to cheer on their favorites.On Sunday, the race turns serious as mushers drive their dogs to Willow for the official restart. Sixty-nine racers are expected.Besides crossing mountains, participants will mush on the mighty Yukon River and make the last push for Nome on dangerous sea ice as they travel up the Bering Sea shore. The winner is expected in about 10 days.Defending champion Mitch Seavey said the changing conditions are nothing new, noting measurable rain fell on mushers last year. Another year,Air Jordan 11 White Anniversary, racers saw a 100-degree temperature swing, from minus 50 to 50 degrees above zero.''It can be really anything, and I think that's one of the neat things about the race is that you need to be prepared for anything,'' Seavey said.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.''That's pretty much healed itself,'' Nordman said of the trail on the river.Crews of up to 15 people have been working on the trail daily for the past month and a half, he said. They cut back brush, smoothed out moguls and created crossings over small streams by felling trees and piling snow on them.The goal is to be the first musher to reach the finish line on Front Street, just off the Bering Sea, in the old Gold Rush town of Nome on Alaska's western coast. The winner receives $50,000 and a new pickup.But the Iditarod is not without its crit