tombiro.com

This blog has been getting a bunch of traffic for the last week or so looking for “Nancy Yoshida” and I wanted to post an update, now that I had one. In January of 2008, I’d had the chance to go dogsledding with Nancy while on vacation out in North Dakota, and the hundreds of photos taken of the expedition are here. A few days ago, she took off as one of the rookies in this year’s Iditarod race in Alaska, and today, she’s made some news – though unfortunately probably not for something she wanted to make the news for.

Kevin Klott reports in Tuesday’s Anchorage Daily News that Nancy had been caught up (literally, really) during a stage on Monday, with serious damage to her sled. As of press time (and I’ve not seen an update), Nancy and her dogs were all right, and a backup sled may be taken out to her – but I haven’t heard more. People on the Iditarod forums are keeping close eye on this and other stories, and many of them have access to the pretty cool Iditarod Insider that gives you GPS tracking, video, and more. Think “March Madness” coverage, but for this race.

Here’s to hoping that Nancy and the dogs are okay, and look forward to seeing the updates and her progress. Her goal was to finish the race, and let’s hope that she’s able to do so, as she’s super determined.

[update: 11:31pm] According to some forum users in the know Nancy has apparently moved somewhat, but I haven’t seen any update to the statistics just yet.

[update: 3/11/09 11:08am] The ADN’s Kevin Klott has some updated reports on Nancy Yoshida’s crash and rescue, and subsequent scratching from the race. I know Nancy’s probably terribly upset about having to bow out of the Iditarod after all the hard work she’s put in over the last few years, but she’s probably even more heartbroken about having a dog lost out on the trail. Hope you’re doing all right, Nancy!

[Thanks to @GaryKnowles on Twitter for the heads up on this story tonight]