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 KOTZEBUE: This is the best place to be in April! Its heaven for sled dog race fans with the Kobuk 440 finish and the Arctic Circle Championship race during the same weekend. Right in front of town, on the frozen Kotzebue Sound, are two chutes, one for the sprint race and about 400 yards away there is another chute for the distance race. On Sunday, which is the last day of both races, spectators move from one chute to the other when a team is sighted in the distance.
The fun began on this Sunday at about 7:30 in the morning when the crowd first gathered to wait for the first place finisher in the Kobuk 440. Throughout the day, the number of people kept growing and it swelled by 12noon for the start of day three of the 3-day Arctic Circle Championship. By that time, the warm sun beat against the snow and most people stayed for hours wandering between chutes to cheer on each of the finishers.
Buser is the big winner for the 2007 Kobuk 440 and seemed to be looking over his shoulder as he approached town. He was all smiles when he crossed the finish line at 8:04am. But not far behind him, was Louie Nelson who arrived at 8:39am. Just 10 minutes behind Nelson was Ed Iten who came in at 8:49am.
Here is a quick update on those I watched finish in the following order: Paul Gebhardt, Jerry Riley, Ramy Smyth, Lance Mackey, Melane Gould, Hugh Neff, Ken Anderson, and Noah Burmeister. We're still waiting for Tollef Monson, Robert Nelson, and Karlin Itchoak.
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