Idiitarod, aka the great Alaskan experiment in social distancing , has just been won. 12:37 am Unalakleet time. A Norwegian, THomas Waerner finished with 10 of his (I presume) 12 dogs.

I haven't followed IIditarod for years. I used to do my best when Susan Butcher was winning regularly because I loved the story of her love of her dogs and how they responded. (The top IIditarod dogs make TDF riders look like couch potatoes. For their incredible sustained power, immunity to real cold and the heart of a true athlete.)

I saw a documentary taken at the finish a few years ago. Top dogs just cruised across the line. "Done. Next challenge?" Mid pack an Iditarod veteran crossed with hie team of experienced dogs. No, these were not the top ones. They worked good and hard to finish mid-pack. Leader was 10, 12 (?) years old and running his last race. He was plumb tuckered out! But his love for his owner and love of that race was just as obvious as his gratitude for being done. (The night before the teams crossed the frozen sea in a full storm, conditions as tough as it gets. That mushers don't regularly die crossing that sea is a testimony to those dogs.)

13 "man" teams where the stars are the domestiques.

Ben