Contact: Shannon Miller
Promotions Manager, Valley Road Outfitters’ Iditarod Project
330-606-7660
lazyhuskyranch@yahoo.com
December 9, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ohio Iditarod musher prepares for departure for sled dog training camp and Alaska
Shreve, OH - Tom Roig, Valley Road Outfitters’ Iditarod musher, will depart Tuesday for sled dog training camp in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where he will remain until departing for Alaska’s famed Iditarod Sled Dog Race in February. The Iditarod, dubbed the Last Great Race on Earth, covers 1,100 miles of some of the most extreme and remote country on earth across the Alaskan interior, crossing two mountain ranges and spanning from Anchorage to the coastal town of Nome. Roig is only the third musher with an Ohio-based kennel to ever qualify for the great race. In order to qualify, he has trained and raced over 7,000 miles spanning the last 13 years.
“I have always considered it one of the greatest honors to be able to race alongside some of the greatest mushers in the world,” said Roig. He departs with 16 of the best dogs from his 28-dog kennel on Tuesday for Newberry, Mich., in the heart of the state’s Upper Peninsula. There he will train for the next two and a half months before making the 4,000-mile trek to Anchorage for the start of the Iditarod on March 1.
The Iditarod Trail had its start as a mail and supply route for postal workers and other travelers at the turn of the century. Then, in 1925, it became the life-saving trail system as relay teams of mushers brought lifesaving diphtheria serum via dogsled to a diphtheria-stricken Nome. In 1973, the Iditarod race began as a race to commemorate the brave mushers who risked their lives to save others in Nome. Today, the Iditarod is Alaska’s biggest media event, attracting thousands of volunteers, media and visitors to this Last Great Frontier.
The 2008 Iditarod includes the largest number of entrants to date, with 111 mushers signed up as of the Nov. 30 deadline for entries.
For further information about Valley Road Outfitters’ Iditarod Project, go to http://www.valleyroadoutfitters.com/. Or contact Tom and Brenda Roig at 330-567-3580. ##
Best of luck in the Iditarod--I'm pleased and surprised to see an Ohioan in the race. We'll be rooting for you.
ReplyDeleteGood Luck! Running in a race like that takes a lot of commitment and hard work. Kudos, I can barely get my Husky to walk down the street with dragging me.
ReplyDelete