Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Nome

Beat finished his thousand-mile journey across Alaska on Sunday evening, side by side with Marco Berni of Italy as they dragged their sleds up onto Front Street in Nome. They hoisted them under Iditarod's burled arch at 7 p.m. on the dot, for a finish time of 28 days and 4 hours, adjusted for Daylight Savings Time. And just like that, the ongoing battle against extreme cold, wind, ice, blowing snow, overflow, isolation, and desolation that had become Beat's life ... was over. He finished to walk to Nome. I can hardly believe it.

I wanted to write a proper post about that final day, which is why I haven't updated my blog for a couple of days. There's been little time, but I wanted to post a quick update for the friends and family who may have not seen my Facebook posts. Beat is doing well — some frostbite and windburn on his cheeks, a few blisters on his feet, and superficial muscle soreness along with fatigue and hunger. But he's otherwise not worse for the wear. The physical maladies and pains he experienced early in the race seemed to iron themselves out and he fell into a rhythm that didn't break down his body too much — which is necessary if one wants to continue forward motion for four solid weeks.

The Iditarod Trail never made passage easy for Marco and Beat. Their final days along the coast were wracked with deep cold and wind, and the slightest transitions from moving to stopping were a struggle. I'm going to work on a final write-up for my now-neglected Half Past Done blog about it as soon as we get back to California. We leave Wednesday.

This past month of traveling around Alaska, connecting with the wonderful people up here, embarking on cold-weather adventures, and following Beat in spirit has been an incredible experience for me; I can't even imagine how fulfilling Beat's journey must have been. Thanks for following along. More soon. 

13 comments:

  1. big typo Jill.
    Beat finished in 28 DAYS and 4 hours, right?

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  2. Congratulations to both of you! You both survive, Beat the actual walk, and you the worry, concern, and support.

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  3. Congratulation, Beat, I can't wait to read more about it. Once in a while I would see the facebook updates and think "holy balls, he's STILL out there". I can't even begin to fathom what it's like.

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  4. Way to go Beat!! Amazing! Can't wait to hear about it. And Jill for staying positive and enjoying life. Not going to lie, can't wait for your next adventure. Great job to both of you.

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  5. Nice beard Beat! Congratulations on finishing!! Awesome, awesome, awesome. Jill, you'll have to count how many new gray hairs sprouted from the worry when you arrive in sunny CA. Thanks for having me along for the ride!

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  6. Great to have you and Beat in Nome! Hope the kids weren't too much. I couldn't get over how unaffected Beat seemed coming off the race. It was like he took a stroll in the park. Hope you all visit again.

    -phil

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  7. Congrats to Beat for the Long Haul and Congrats to you for the wait, worry and splendid time in your beloved snow!

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  8. It was very cool to follow along on the ITI and your FB pages. Incredible accomplishment.

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  9. Great Job Beat !! Epic... Get some rest..

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  10. 28 Days plus...I just can't connect. I worry about an overnight in winter....sheesh !
    Thanks, Beat the Iditarod means so much more to me now than just a dogsled race that I've followed for years. And thanks to Jill too for her blog & her journeys.

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