2010 Fundraiser Online Auction!
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Don't miss out on DeeDee's spring online fundraiser auction. All proceeds will go to DeeDee Jonrowe's 2011 Iditarod expenses.
We have several wonderful items handcrafted by Alaskan artist Jona Van Zyle. The auction has begun!
To bid on items click here!
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Fall yearling training. Today the dogs saw their first garbage truck. It was terrifing but doable. I am proud of those puppies.
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I ran the 2010 Big Wild Life Run 1/2 Marathon in Anchorage August 13, 2010.
Over 2000 runners showed up. The sun even came out!
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Visiting Wainwright & Barrow
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I was privledged to be invited along with my newest sponsor, SHELL to Wainwright, Alaska for a summer festival. The festival of Nalukataq, is a community celebration of a successful whaling season. The size of the whale makes it an important part of the annual subsistence harvest. The communal nature of the hunt and the sharing of the whale give it a central place in the spiritual and physical culture of the region. The bowhead provides life, meaning, and identity to the whalers and their communities. Sharing the whale with the whole community, and with other communities too, is an old and highly- valued practice. The parts of the whale are divided among the whaling crews, with some shares reserved for elders and widows and other parts kept for festivals. At these festivals, including Thanksgiving and Christmas as well as the traditional feasts of Nalukataq and Qagruvik, the food of the whale is given to everyone who comes to take part. In this way, tons of meat find their way throughout the region all year long. There were vats of food handed out, mostly things containing whale parts. Vat of intestine, tongue, something that looks like blood pudding and muktuk. These whales were harvested last month and have been cooling and fermenting in ice cellars dug into the perma-frost. Both Wainright and Barrow have the ability to harvest more whales in the fall if they choose. They did not fill their quota this spring. I took my turn on the traditional blanket toss as part of the celebration. It was SCARY but so fun. I was given some good tips on how to be bounched higher and as far as I could tell I was half way to the moon. This was my first trip to the North Slope and honestly it was amazing. They are very very nice and I learned so much. I can not wait to go again.
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DeeDee takes a side trip to Wainwright, Alaska, invited up for the Whale Festival
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Mat-Su Valley Trails of Remeberence 5k run
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"Bernellie", me & "Oliver" with our sign honoring my newphew, Cadet Charles Schultz, who is currently finishing his 2nd year at West Point. Money raised from this 5k run will go towards the Veterans project in the Mat-Su valley.
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Mr Miyagi & DeeDee check out theBIG bones at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History |
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Cleveland Trip a Success |
Last week I spoke at the "Explorer's Series" for the Cleveland Museum of Natural History last friday. It was the 85th anniversary of their Balto exhibit and I was invited to be their guest speaker, "Spirit of the Iditarod". What a thrill to see the hard work they have done over the years researching the HERO DOGS. They did a "live theater" reading for me after lunch on friday that was so well done I had tears in my eyes when they concluded with Balto's life story. The brave journey all of these dogs displayed through the same stormy conditions I have traveled over my 28 years on the trail and the love of the children of Cleveland for these hero dogs later in their lives was just beautiful. Bob Bartolotta was a wonderful guide and host for Mr. Myagi and my brief visit and definitely left me with a desire to return when I have longer to stay. I related my life's love of the my sled dogs and the people that live along the Iditarod trail friday night to a theater of 356 people. They gave me such a warm welcome. It was truly an honor to share with them. If any of you are going to be traveling close to Cleveland I would highly recommend you make time to visit this museum. It is very worth it. I am very thankful for the opportunity to see the results of this staff's fine work and their commitment to learning.
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DeeDee Guest Speaker at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History
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DeeDee will be in Ohio on April 16th as a guest speaker at The Cleveland Museum of Natural History's BALTO AND THE LEGACY OF THE SERUM RUN exhibit. The exhibit runs from March 6- May 2, 2010. Attention teachers, the CMNH is also offering a new award winning program in their Distance Learning Program for grades K-12 BALTO- The History of Humans, Huskies and Health in Alaska. For more info on this program and many others that the museum offers check http://www.cmnh.org
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2010 Iditarod Wrap Up
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photo by Marlene Buccione |
This race was the 28th time I started for Nome and the 26th time I finished in Nome. My first year was in 1980. A person might think that by now one race may seen a lot like another but I have not yet found that to be true. Although I did not finish as high as I have most years, this race may well be one of my most special ever. Early on the trail I had several main dogs, ones that have finished with me in the past, show up with stiffness and I quickly sent them home. You probably noticed how quickly; sometimes I sent two at a time home. That worked out exactly right and the eight dogs that went home early were happily waiting for me when I returned from Nome healthy and ready to hit the spring trails at home. By the Cripple checkpoint, I was down to the smallest team in the race, eight dogs, and I knew it would be a lot of running to help them navigate the trail ahead. That was something we were ready for though, because I often train with eight dog teams at home so we pulled out of Cripple with determination and focus. At that time, it was clear that I would not be racing for the top ten this year but I was also clearly determined that my race was important for a completely different reason. I had dedicated our racing efforts to raise support for Logan Erickson’s service dog and to help the Erickson family in Unalakleet with their efforts to help Logan deal with his autism. Logan is 9 years old and is not yet able to speak or take care of himself . We needed to reach Nome for Logan. As I traveled up the mountains of interior Alaska, down the vastness of the Yukon River, and over the portage to the Bering Sea coast, I thanked God every mile for a chance to be used to help Logan. (see 4 paws for Logan web site) My brave and strong team of eight seemed to feel the same pride and strongly moved up the trail as if they were still a team of 16. It was very cold on the trail this year until the last two days, so each day we bundled up, them in their pink coats and booties, and me in my pink coats and fur mitts running behind or pedaling along with them to keep our pace up.
In addition to running the race for Logan, my mother had just been diagnosed with breast cancer the month before the start of the race and I knew Mom was having surgery while I was on the trail. In Shaktoolik, I was able to call my sister in Anchorage and find out that Mom had survived her surgery. She said the first thing Mom asked when she came out of the anesthesia was if I was into Shaktoolik yet or not. You see that was why my dogs were wearing pink booties this year, for my Mom. When we headed across the ice for Koyuk, I now knew that Mom was going to be ok and that we were only 180 miles from reaching Logan’s dog. God let me see that our efforts were being rewarded for the people that meant much more to me than my own record did. Don’t get me wrong I want that first place very, very, much but this year I had another mission.
We reached Nome, all eight of us that left Cripple, successfully in the 22nd position. Logan’s dog is paid for and being trained right now. One of my sponsor’s, Taco Bell, did a fund raiser in their Alaskan franchises around my race and we earned over $40,000 for the Providence Cancer Care Center in Anchorage where my mother will be receiving more of her treatments. I feel our efforts were rewarded beyond my “wildest” dreams, and I am so thankful to have been useful to Alaskans thru our season.
Lord willing we will be on the trail again next year racing for the first place trophy again. Thank you for learning about our team, for studying about our race, and for supporting our efforts.
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DeeDee arrives in Nome - in 22nd place! |
10 Days 2 Hours 47 Minutes 44 Seconds
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Iditarod 2010
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Follow DeeDee along the Iditarod trail...click here
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DeeDee is carrying the "Tag Along with DeeDee" cachets
all the way to Nome in the 2010 Iditarod! Cilck Here
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Hitting the trail.... |
The day I have been training for since August has finally arrived. Until a few weeks ago I was feeling so confident and excited about the competition this year. I love my team, my handlers have been stars this year, and we have had good training conditions most of the season. Unfortunately my focus has been derailed some in the last few days with both my concern for my mom's cancer diagnosis and the pending medical issues with my father. I am reminded daily that God has our family in His hands and that I need to leave it with Him. With that lesson up front in my mind, I will leave Willow on Sunday to race accross this beautiful state with my 16 best, 4-footed, friends. They appear to be as excited about this adventure and I am. I can not help thinking how different it is now than when I left for the first time in 1980, exactly 30 years ago. It has been an amazing 30 years. I have life long friends along the trail now which I can not wait to see again. One of these families is the Ericksons in Unalakleet. The highlight of the year has been made come true by all of you. With your help, Logan, their youngest son who is autistic ; will be recieving the first autisic service dog in rural Alaska. Being able to help bring this miracle on 4 paws to their home, to Logan's life, to the village of Unalakleet, and too the Bering Sea School District has been one of the most rewarding things I have ever been a part of. Thank each of you for supporting this effort. I additional want to thank each of you that have visited you local Alaskan Taco Bell this month and donated $1 for Eddie'scard, to support Providence's Cancer Care center. Once again this center is very very personal to me. Seven years ago when I was fighting my battle there was nothing like this available in Alaska. It was another dream of mine that we would have state of art medical support for cancer here in state. It is now available but honestly I did not want to need it personally. Praise God the center is here. Mom will need it and once again breast cancer is VERY personal. Thank you for helping make this center available and reaching towards the state of the art care.
Now for the real stars of our program -- My leader for this year: Oministar, Gengar, Birdie, AD, Animal, Dragon, Anvik, Ethan, Peekachoo, Jigglepuff. The rest of team: Smokey, Zipper, Galacy, Rudy, Explorer, Evan, Sparky, Volcano,Evelyn, and Pete. On sunday 4 of these stars will have to wait for next year but I am not yet sure who they will be.
God Bless each of YOUR trails. Greeting you next from the Nome arches.
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photo
by Theresa Daily |
DeeDee
Jonrowe is the foremost female dog musher competing in the
world today. She has both the fastest time of any woman
in the history of the Iditarod and thirteen top ten finishes
in her career. Her second place finish in 1998 was the fifth
fastest Iditarod time ever recorded at that point. In addition
to the Iditarod, DeeDee has competed and won most major
dog sledding races throughout her career, including the
Copper Basin 300, Klondike 300 and the John Bear grease
sled dog marathon.
DeeDee ran her first Iditarod in 1980 and soon undertook
the building of her own sled, a comprehensive breeding
and training program for her dogs, and a rigorous physical
fitness program for herself. The result is that by the
time DeeDee and her team undertake the Iditarod in March
of each year, they have logged almost 2000 miles of training
together.
DeeDee
has won numerous awards for the care of her dogs through
her career, including the best-cared for team, the best
dog care award (given by staff veterinarians), and the dog's
best friend award. As her dogs are her top priority, she
became a founding member of Mush
with PRIDE, which provides responsible information of
a dog's environment, exhibiting her commitment to set the
standards for all aspects of sled dog care. Her
highly publicized battle with breast cancer that she began
in 2002 has seen her become a tireless fundraiser. In
2003 she became any honorary chairperson for the American
Cancer Society's Relay for Life, assisting the organization
is its fundraising efforts as well. DeeDee's humanitarian
efforts have been well-documented, being given the YWCA's
"Alaska Woman of Achievement of Award", the
most inspirational musher award, and even as the spokesperson
for the National Girl Scouts Council and Winter Special
Olympics.
DeeDee
has been profiled in such media outlets as Sports Illustrated,
Redbook, and Outside magazines. She is a published author,
and is currently pending another book profiling her comeback
from cancer to race again.
FOR
ALL INQUIRIES REGARDING DEEDEE'S SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS,
APPEARANCES, & SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES - PLEASE CONTACT:
DeeDee Jonrowe
P.0. Box 272 Willow, Alaska 99688
or Email me at deedeejonrowe@gmail.com
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DeeDee's 2011
Bootie Jar
Please consider supporting DeeDee Jonrowe for the 2011 Iditarod. It's
no secret. Running the Iditarod is expensive. Because of this,
we have set up a way to help offset the cost and
in return we will list you as a team supporter
on our web site!
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Thank you!
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Sponsors |
Denali
Foods
of Alaska
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Super Premium
Pet Foods - Team Eagle
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BRADLEY
REID + ASSOCIATES
INCORPORATED |
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Jon & Jona
Van Zyle
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Valley
Chiropractic
Clinic
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CAC Plastics
Located off
frontage rd.
off the Parks Hwy
Wasilla, Alaska
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The
Alaskan co-operative that has brought
exquisite Qiviut items to you as a
unique northern gift since 1969. Qiviut
(pronounced "kiv-ee-ute"),
the downy-soft underwool from the
Arctic musk ox, is shed naturally
each year during the spring months.
Eight times warmer than wool and extraordinarily
lightweight, Qiviut is one of the
finest natural fibers known to man.
Visit their web site
Click
here |
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ARCTIC
MIDNIGHT FURS
Arctic
Midnight Furs has a large showroom
of tanned furs & leathers. We
can help you with custom made fur
coats, parkas, mukluks, hats, mittens,
slippers, etc. We also do cleaning,
repair and restyling of furs. All
prices wholesale to the public.
Call
Keith or Julie or stop by the showroom
and look around.
Visit our
WEB
SITE |
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