National Guard Sponsors Iditarod Racing Team

The Army National Guard announces its sponsorship of Master Sergeant Rodney D. Whaley of Franklin, TN in his bid to run the 2008 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. He is the first Tennessean to have ever entered the 1,159 mile race, which is billed as “The World’s Last Great Race.” He will be utilizing the skills he has developed in the Army National Guard the past twenty-four years. He states, “The Iditarod is the ultimate experience and my life-long dream. Thanks to the National Guard, it will become a reality.”

Master Sergeant Whaley lived his childhood in Alaska, racing in junior sled dog races as a boy, and has always remained passionate about the sport. In recent years, he has raced in several sled dog races in British Columbia, Canada, Washington State, and Northern Michigan.

Whaley will begin training his team in October at Alcan Kennels in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan under the mentoring of Iditarod Veteran, Al Hardman. Training will continue until January, when he must complete his qualifying races. “The qualifying races are crucial,” he states, “if I don’t qualify, I don’t run the Iditarod.” To qualify, a musher must complete two sanctioned qualifying races that total 500 miles; one of which is 300 miles. He plans to enter the Seney 300 (Michigan), the Moccasin 200 (Minnesota), and the UP 200 (Michigan).

“When the qualifiers are completed, we head to Alaska,” he remarked. Plans are to head to the 49^th state in mid-February. The Iditarod starts the first weekend of March and runs approximately two weeks.

Master Sergeant Whaley owns a small kennel with four sled dogs at his home in Franklin, Tennessee where he resides with his wife, Vicki. When the weather turns cool, he runs his team with a “dogsled-on-wheels” around his Franklin neighborhood. That doesn’t compare to a 16-dog Iditarod team.

Whaley is a member of ClearView Baptist Church, Franklin, TN, International Sled Dog Racing Association, Mush with P.R.I.D.E. and is a certified high school football official, having officiated for 25 years.

Rod will be a 55 year-old rookie at Iditarod 2008

Children in our Franklin, TN neighborhood enjoy the "dog-sled-on-wheels"

Mushing at Nakitsilik Outdoor Adventures, Bridge Lake, BC, Canada

Rod Whaley Qualifies in Moccasin 200

On December 12, 2007, Tennessee dog musher, Rod Whaley, along with veteran musher Rick Minard of Newberry, Michigan, loaded up 24 sled dogs from Alcan Kennels and headed west. Crossing Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Wisconsin, and into Minnesota, the mushers arrived in Togo, Minnesota, the sight of the Moccasin 200 on December 13, 2007.

The Moccasin 200 is a 200 mile training run and Iditarod qualifier. It is organized by Iditarod veteran and expert trainer, Jamie Nelson. There were twelve teams that entered the event which began on the morning of December 14th and concluded on the afternoon of December 16th. The course consisted of four 35-mile legs and a final 60-mile run. There were two wilderness campouts and two checkpoint-type campouts. Each layover consisted of six hours. During the six hours, the musher must prepare the dogs' meal and feed them, attend to any sore muscles, joints, or feet the dogs may have, eat something himself, and then take about an hour preparing to leave for the next run. In each six-hour layover, the mushers would get about two hours of sleep at the most.

The most difficult aspect of this event was the weather. At the beginning of day one, it was 20 below zero. By the last day, fortunately, it warmed to the single digits (above zero).

Both Rod and Rick were evaluated as qualified to run the Iditarod based on this 200 mile Iditarod qualifier. Rod must run one more qualifier that is 300 miles in order to be qualified to actually compete in the 2008 Iditarod. He plans to enter the Seney 300 which begins on January 6, 2008.

The 12-dog team rounds a corner.

Success in the Seney 300 Iditarod Qualifer

The Seney 300 Training Run and Iditarod Qualifier was held January 7-11, 2007. This 300 mile event, staged exactly like the Iditarod, is held in Northern Michigan. Initially 15 teams began the run, several in hopes of qualifying for the Iditarod. The weather proved to be the number one factor as warm weather moved into the area the day before the start. The first leg of the run was run in slushy snow with temperatures in the upper 30s. Then it began to rain . . . and rain . . . and rain. The next leg, run in the night was run in . . . the rain! The trails became bare ground and there where there was snow, it was slush. We moved to the third checkpoint in the daylight and watched the trails further deteriorate. Scheduled to leave in the night, the officials made the decisions to stop the run until the next morning to see what the weather would do. By this time we were down to seven teams as the others had scratched and returned to their homes.

The run resumed on Wednesday morning. The weather had cooled to the upper 20s, but the trails were still difficult. We continued to all six checkpoints, leaving the final checkpoint at 1:00 a.m. Friday morning, January 11. By this time, the weather had cooled and it began to snow. It wasn't long until the dirt trails were once again covered with snow. Now we were running in the night, blinded by the driving snow, while the dogs struggled to pull through the mounting snow. My team performed very well and we crossed the finish line at 7:40 a.m., Friday, January 11th. The Iditarod evaluator deemed the team qualified to run the Iditarod. This is the second and final qualifier for the Iditarod. More importantly, I started with twelve dogs and finished with ten healthy (but tired) dogs.

Alaska, here we come.

The team travels on the second day of the Seney 300.

Rod Whaley competes in the Tahquamenon Country Sled Dog Race

On Saturday, January 5, 2008, Rod and his twelve dog team entered the Tahquamenon Country Sled Dog Race held annually in Newberry, Michigan. There were several race categories to include 12-dog, 63 miles; 8-dog, 42 mile; 6-dog, 19 miles; a 4-dog sport category, and a junior race.

Whaley's goal was to keep his team at a steady pace and hopefully finish the 63 miles under six hours. He finished in 5 hours and 43 minutes, placing 9th out of 14 teams. The dogs finished strong and happy.

At the awards ceremony, MSG Whaley dedicated his race to all of the service men and women serving in our nation's military all around the world that make it possible for Americans to have such a wonderful event.