Tag Archives: Lance Mackey

Iditarod nearing Finish – Mushers hard on each others' heels – No. 5

Post 5. Nearing End

Image via Wikipedia

This photo shows the Burled Arch at Nome.

All the Iditarod racers are aiming for this arch spanning the finish – and only a few hours separate the top six contenders.

In the lead is youngest Seavey in the race – Dallas,

closely followed 2.5 hours behind by Aliy Zirkle

Ramey Smyth is 9 hours behind her

But Aaron Burmeister is only 30 mins behind Ramey

Peter Kaiser is another 4 hrs behind Aaron

Following him is Ray Redington (another famous Iditarod racing family member).

Cancer Survivors DeeDee Jonrowe has slipped down to 10th, and Lance Mackey is at No. 27, although old-timers say that is because he has a very young team.

If you want to catch up with the cat-and-mouse game being played out on the shores of the frozen Bering Straight, go to www.iditarod.com

And anyone interested in strategy for athletics event should read veteran Joe Runyan’s blog about how Dallas got to where he is in the race. It’s a fascinating explanation of the way thinking can win races: http://iditarod.com/5pm-tuesday-nome-dallas-widens-gap-on-following-pack-by-joe-runyan/

Post 4. Aliy slips past men

Image via Wikipedia

Aliy Zirkle slipped past the two Seaveys and Aaron Burmeister to end up with a pocketful of gold nuggets and the Wells Fargo Award for coming in First at the halfway point.

However, her lead hasn’t lasted long; latest from the trail is that Dallas Seavey set off before her on next stage, and is now 2 hrs 45 mins. ahead.

Although the old timers will say that isn’t a long lead, they are also saying that Dallas’s team ‘are looking good’. And at this stage of the race having a team that are set into a routine, and will run and run – can make all the difference.

Because the going is tough. Team after team has been forced to scratch – many because they have run out of dog, as you must have a minimum to finish the race. Don’t worry about dogs that have been dropped; they are well looked after by a team of Veterinarians. Fed, watered and flown off to the finish at Nome, there to live in luxury kennels whilst waiting for their musher.

Scratched

One notable musher out of race is Jeff King, previous big-time winner, who has scratched. For a tough musher like King, this must mean the weather is throwing everything at the racers.

Post 3. Father and Son battle

The Seaveys are a veteran Iditarod family, and now there is Mitch, the father (53)

battling out race leadership with son Dallas, (25),

with Grandfather Dan, (74) bringing up the rear.

For Dan, it is a nostalgic trip, and he is taking it easy. He ran the first Iditarod, coming in 3rd, and now he says he is enjoying himself along the trail.

With Mitch first into the Ruby checkpoint, it wasn’t more than an hour before he was joined by Dallas. According to old-timers, both dog teams “look good”, but feeling is that Dallas might just pull it off.

This video shows the finish of last year’s Yukon Quest, where Rookie (first time racer) Dallas Seavey (above) won the 1,000-mile race, which many consider tougher than the Iditarod.

It may seem strange that the video doesn’t show celebrations, but first and foremost these races teach safety in the wild, and care of the dog teams. So Dallas could’t be declared winner until all his safety equipment was checked – you can hear him pointint out to where his Axe is stowed, and the dogs examined.

Survivors

Meanwhile the cancer survivors are doing well, although perhaps not as well as they might hope. DeeDee Jonrowe, still running with her pink-booted team, is up in first ten, but Lance has pulled back.

Post 2. JIM LANIER FIRST TO CRIPPLE –

WINS GCI DOROTHY PAGE HALFWAY AWARD

Musher Jim Lanier from Chugiak, Alaska who is running his 15th Iditarod, was the first to arrive at the Cripple Checkpoint at 13:55 Alaska Time with 13 dogs. The Cripple Checkpoint signifies the halfway point of the 40th running of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

April Browning, ITG Project Manager for GCI was on hand at the Cripple Checkpoint to present the GCI Dorothy Page Halfway Award to Lanier: a trophy plus $3,000 in placer gold nuggets, courtesy of Iditarod Principle Partner GCI.

However, presentations on the track are always very hurried affairs. No Musher wants to spend a second more than necessary at a Checkpoint, before they head off again up the Trail. So The GCI Dorothy Page Halfway Award will be presented again to Jim Lanier in Nome on Sunday, March 18th during the Iditarod Awards Banquet at the Nome Recreation Center.

This video shows Jim running in a previous Iditarod, with a single ‘wheeler’ at the rear. I am no expert but usually there are two wheeler dogs – but each musher has reasons for the way they run their dogs. Remember, the sled dogs are all individuals, and sometimes they don’t get on with each other – unlike humans, they don’t bother to keep their feelings under wraps!

Currently the going is tough, with very deep snow which is powdery at low minus temperatures. The race has been shortened due to conditions, and is now just under the usual 1,049 miles – the 49 was there for historical reasons as Alaska is the 49th US State.

STOP PRESS RYAN REDINGTON SCRATCHES IN TAKOTNA

Veteran Iditarod musher Ryan Redington scratched in Takotna at 09:30 Alaska Time. Ryan Redington from Wasilla made the decision to scratch due to personal reasons. Redington’s grandfather was Joe Redington, Sr., Father of the Iditarod. Ryan Redington had 10 dogs on his team when he made the decision. Redington’s older brother, Ray Redington, Jr. is still in the race.

Redington is one of several mushers who have already scratched, with weather proving a serious problem. However Ryan says he made his decision for personal reasons.

1. ALIY ZIRKLE LEADS CHARGE INTO MCGRATH

AND WINS PENAIR SPIRIT OF ALASKA AWARD

Musher Aliy Zirkle was first to arrive into McGrath along the banks of the Kuskokwim River at 20:32 Alaska Time, with all her 16 dogs.

The prestigious PENAIR SPIRIT OF ALASKA AWARD was presented to Zirkle at a very brief award ceremony at the McGrath Checkpoint.

Last year Aliy finished 11th in the Iditarod last year, and was followed 22 minutes later into the checkpoint by defending champion John Baker.

Closely on her heels is four-time consecutive winner Lance Mackey, whose streak was ended by Baker last year, pulled in three minutes later. Meanwhile, Dan Seavey, 74, is running in his fifth Iditarod to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Iditarod Trail. He is also one of three generations of Seaveys in the race, joining son Mitch Seavey, 52, and grandson Dallas, 25, who in 2005 was the youngest musher ever to run the Iditarod. Mitch, the 2004 champ, is in his 19th Iditarod. Dallas is in his sixth and finished in the top five last year.

Spirit of Alaska Award

The award is a beautiful original “spirit mask” especially created for this event by Bristol Bay artist Orville Lind. But what s sometimes more important to these professional mushers, Aliy also received a $500 credit toward travel or freight shipment.

At the end of the trail is over $50,000 to the winner – but even more important is a Dodge truck and many, many sponsorship opportunities.

Cancer survivors

Apart from Lance Mackey, DeeDee Jonrowe is still going strong with her pink-booted dog team, albeit they must have already gone through a fair amount of the 4,000 boots DeeDee’s team made for them.

Weather Conditions increase dangers

Near record snowfalls have made Iditarod officials announce the trail’s course was being altered due to worsening weather conditions.

This year, Anchorage has already doubled its usual snowfall with approximately 120 inches – 10 feet of snow – and is approaching the near 133-inch record set in 1954. The deep snow could be a major factor in the Iditarod, as weather conditions affect the dogs’ physical performance and increase the threat of dangerous moose encounters on the trail. Several Iditarod mushers have already reported run-ins with winter-weary moose during training runs through interior Alaska.

Hours after Saturday morning’s ceremonial start, race director Mark Nordman announced trail breakers had become more concerned over a previously planned reroute in a critical part of the 2012 trail. Citing high wind and new snow totals, Nordman broke last-minute news of the change to mushers and fans.

So this year the trail may be under the ‘magic’ 1,000 miles – but may cause the mushers to take longer over the course.

www.iditarod.com

Cancer survivors race in world's toughest race

Leave a reply

Heading across Alaska

Led by Ray Redington Jr. (a famous family name in the Iditarod) the contestants are on their way in the 1,000 mile plus race across the snows.

The 16-dog teams will encounter temperatures many degrees below freezing; will have to boot up (see picture above) which dogs dislike, but it protects their paws from sharp icy conditions; and will go almost without sleep for at least the next week-and-a-bit.

As the contestants set off, the temperature was a mild 25°, which has already caused a change of route, but conditions are expected to get colder. This will please the dogs, however; the colder it is, the more they like running.

This year there are 66 entrants, including many famous family names, and of course 4-times winner and cancer survivor Lance Mackey. Closely followed by DeeDee Jonrowe, double mastectomy survivor who makes sure her team is booted up in pink bootees.

Amongst those to look out for are:
Jim Lanier from Chugiak, Alaska; John Baker (last year’s winner); Aliy Zirkle – noted women musher: Iditarod is only major international race where men and women are equal; another woman: DeeDee Jonrowe; Lance Mackey (record consecutive four-times winner); Sigrid Ekran from Norway; Dallas Seavey (another one from noted family); Mitch Seavey (same family); Martin Buser: another Norwegian Silvia Furtwängler; Rick Swenson; Curt Perano from New Zealand; and Dan Seavey and Ryan Redington from famous Iditarod families.

Follow the race on www.iditarod.com

Yukon Quest

1 Reply

Cancer survivors love to prove themselves in this race

and mouth cancer survivor Lance Mackey ended up on the podium in third place – not bad after 1,000 miles of gruelling racing.

Winner was veteran musher Hugh Neff, who produced the closest finish ever; just 26 seconds separated him and Allen Moore, who must have thought he had the race in the bag as he had led almost the whole way.

Lance was a four-times winner of this race, but this time he settled for third place; still proving that cancer survivors are a pretty tough bunch.

(Scroll down for latest video)

Lance Mackey

Some people survive cancer – then celebrate by doing something extraordinary:

like enter one of the world’s toughest dog sled races.

Next to the Iditarod Dog Sled Race, the Yukon Quest is THE biggie everyone wants to win. Run every February, it is a forerunner for the Iditarod, and pointer to which teams to watch.

Head and neck cancer survivor Lance Mackey has won this 1,000 mile race four times.

In the video (below) of the start of the Quest, you catch a glimpse of sled dogs ‘booted up’ in bright pink bootees: they belong to double mastectomy survivor DeeDee Jonrowe, who always dresses her team in this neon pink colour (the dogs wear bootees – much to their disgust – to protect their paws from the icy cold trail that could cut them to ribbons).

Watching this video might give you a tiny idea of just what these mad mushers go for; and how easy it is to get hooked.

Britain is latest country to fall for the exhilerating sport of dog sledding, and Penny Evans, stalwart of sledding in UK, has sent me this report – which tells of an epic race for one British musher when he and his wife emigrated to Canada, and ends up with him competing in qualifying race for the Yukon Quest.

What Penny is too modest to mention is that her Penkhala kennel huskies form the backbone of Rob’s team. Talk about taking coals to Newcastle ……

To live the dream?

Photos of Rob and Louise : Tracey Ackerson and Tracy Green

Competitor Rob Cooke certainly is living his dream. And for thousands of British dog lovers, he is the one they watch.

Given the opportunity of secondment to the Canadian Forces on an exchange with Britain’s Royal Navy, Rob and his wife Louise jumped at the chance and took their British bred Siberian Huskies back to their roots. It didn’t take either of them long to realise this was their dream, and soon with very careful selection their Shaytaan kennels had swelled ranks with US and Canadian stock and Rob was competing in middle distance races with his pedigree dogs – many of whom had been shown at the world’s most famous dog show, Crufts.

Then came the life-changing decision when Rob’s leisure sport became his vocation. On retirement from the UK Services, Rob and Louise moved from their house in downtown Halifax Nova Scotia to a dis-used zoo in New Brunswick. “So handy said Louise, all those cages are perfect for the dogs, though perhaps taking on the remaining incumbent llamas came as a slight shock!

With trails spreading for miles from the backyard, Rob and Louise started training in earnest. Whatever the weather they soon began to learn the needs and techniques of long-distance mushing and Rob never does things by halves, his research is never-ending and his knowledge is put into practice with his beloved dogs. Typical Brit … and indeed for most mushers, “dogs-come-first” is the motto of their lifestyle.

But there was a bigger horizon … last Autumn Rob packed his best dogs into their van and travelled West across the American continent all the way to Alaska to train and compete with the big names in the sport. Staying with Lev Shvarts in his kennels Rob and his team quietly took on the Alaskans at their national sport. Training was slow to start, snow was scarce, but then the White-Stuff arrived and races began. Despite jibes about Slow-berians (most competitive teams run Alaskan cross-breed dogs rather than pedigree dogs) with a couple of finishes under his sled Rob was beginning to get noticed and he and his homebred pups, were making their mark.

As much as The Iditarod (the 1,000 mile race held every March to commemorate the famous Anchorage to Nome serum run in 1925) is known worldwide, the Yukon Quest is “the professionals’ choice” – a gruelling sled race between White Horse and Fairbanks taking in some of the most difficult terrain and weather conditions in the world. The Quest 300 is the “starter-kit” run over the same trails but making a 300 ml loop rather than the full distance trail. This race was to be Rob’s best shot at qualifying for the full Quest, hopefully next year. Seven teams of Alaskan Huskies and Rob’s one pedigree Siberian team (somehow indiscernibly the “slow” had over past months been dropped from quotes) set out last Saturday. The rest is history …. Rob’s faithful UK and worldwide fan-base watched results from each checkpoint. Fourth position as he left Two Rivers – could he hold on to that slot for the remainder of the race? Everything crossed… unbelievably by Mile 101 he had gained a place and was up to third. Snow was falling over the Southern Counties of GB and Rob’s dogs’ relations were enjoying a rare opportunity to run on sleds round Rendlesham Forest in Suffolk, but four miles of running requires nothing like the endurance and stamina the Shaytaan Gang were needing for their task in paw. They held position through Central Checkpoint, this was beginning to get serious now for the arm-chair followers. Then the unbelievable happened … Rob arrived at Circle City in second position … which he held to the finish amidst huge accolade from both sides of The Pond …. by now the word SLOWberians was only heard in whispers. Here is the quote from the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

“Rob Cooke of Edmundston, New Brunswick, was looking for experience and a qualifier for the 1,000 mile Quest. ‘I just came here to finish. To finish in second place is just amazing,’ Cooke, 45, said. ‘Everybody has said to me you’re absolutely mad trying to do this as a qualifier, but it was everything I expected it to be. I just had such a fantastic time. I’ve been dragged across glare ice, I smacked my hip and rolled my sled going down Eagle Summit.’

Cooke was awarded the Vet’s Choice Award for exemplary dog care of his team of Siberian huskies.”

Louise from their home in New Brunswick where she continues to care for and train the second teams had a slightly different view sent to me by e-mail:

“Thank you! Still can’t believe what they did! … His idea of a fantastic time isn’t the same as mine lol!”

Oh and Facebook lit up like a Christmas tree with congratulations. Rob may never be BBC Sportsman of the year, but he is living his dream which if you ask him he is not even halfway through yet ….

Yes, Brits have competed abroad and run the Iditarod and even The Quest, but never with anything other than local teams and certainly not pedigree dogs. To all us Siberian Husky enthusiasts worldwide, he and Louise are certainly our Local Heroes (Penny doesn’t mention some of stock were bred by her – Ed). And you know what ? more importantly than his second place finish, beating teams from hugely famous Alaskan Kennels such as Lance Mackey and Sonny Lindner and running his own bred pedigree dogs, the most important award to us all will always be the Vet’s Choice Award. Respect is never achieved at the cost of co-members of a team and never more true when they have four feet not two. Long may Rob, Louise and their dogs continue to carry the flags of the UK and Siberian Huskies ….

This is latest interview on the trail. Notice Lance is drinking water to keep his throat moistened because of cancer.

For more information: http://www.yukonquest.com/site/yq300main

World's toughest race and cancer connections

Leave a reply

Iditarod beaten by cancer survivors

Four times winner Lance Mackey beat cancer

If there is one thing cancer survivors learn – you have to be tough to beat the disease.

And this stands them in good stead if it comes to taking part – and winning – the Iditarod dog sled race, run across a thousand miles of frozen Alaskan wastes every March.

One of the most famous racers taking part is Lance Mackey

four times winner
throat cancer survivor
In 1978 his father, Dave, beat previous winner Rick Swenson by one second to win that year’s Iditarod

In 2001 Mackey was diagnosed with throat cancer, but doesn’t let this bother him, even though he needs to keep his mouth constantly moist; a very difficult thing when temperatures are way below what freezes water.

To read more put his name into the search bar, and read a friend’s account of meeting the great man with a big sense of humour.

Another with Iditarod musher with a big sense of humour is DeeDee Jonrowe.

A double mastectomy survivor, DeeDee decided to have fun, and some years ago started to equip her 16-strong dog sled team with pink bootees. To see pics of the incredible sight of DeeDee dressed in her pink mushing gear, driving her pink-booted team, put DeeDee into search window.

Susan Butcher

Susan was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a lover of dogs and the outdoors. When she was young her brother died of leukemia at a young age. She studied at Colorado State University and ultimately became a veterinary technician.

To pursue her love of dogsled racing and breeding huskies, she moved to the Wrangell Mountains area of Alaska.

There Susan began training to compete in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race which tests the endurance of both mushers and dogs over the course of one to two weeks. After placing in several Iditarods, Butcher was forced to withdraw early in the 1985 when two of her dogs were killed by a pregnant moose, despite Butcher’s attempts to ward the animal off, and six others were severely injured. Libby Riddles, a relative newcomer, braved a blizzard and became the first woman to win the Iditarod that year.

The more experienced Butcher won the next race in 1986, and then proceeded to win again in 1987, 1988, and 1990. She joins fellow four-time winners Martin Buser, Jeff King, Lance Mackey and Doug Swingley, and Rick Swenson who won five. Butcher married fellow dog racer David Monson on September 2, 1985; they successfully competed in almost every major sled-dog race in numerous countries around the world.

Her accomplishments gained her substantial media attention in the late 1980s and earned her many awards, including the “National Women’s Sports Foundation Amateur Athlete of The Year Award” and the “Tanqueray Athlete of the Year.” She also won the “U.S. Victor Award” for “Female Athlete of the Year” two years in a row. In 2007 Susan was inducted into the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame as one of the five charter members in the inaugural class.

In 2005 Butcher was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia, underwent chemotherapy and received a bone marrow transplant on May 17, 2006 after the cancer went into remission. According to her husband David Monson, “someone said this might be a tough disease, but this leukemia hasn’t met Susan Butcher yet.”

Butcher died on August 5, 2006 after learning that the cancer had returned. She is survived by her two daughters, Tekla and Chisana, and her husband, attorney and musher David Monson.

On March 1, 2008, Susan Butcher was honored by the State of Alaska when, just prior to the start of the 2008 Iditarod, Gov. Sarah Palin signed a bill establishing the first Saturday of every March as Susan Butcher Day. The day coincides with the traditional start of the Iditarod each year. Observing the special day, the bill noted, provides opportunity for people to “remember the life of Susan Butcher, an inspiration to Alaskans and to millions around the world.”

And true to Iditarod mushers’ and cancer survivors’ feelings, Susan said “I do not know the word ‘quit.’ Either I never did, or I have abolished it.”

Follow the Race

Starts Saturday, March 3rd, and I will be covering the highlights during the following couple of weeks. Will also be writing about the dogs on www.workingdogbooks.com

Hooked on dog sled racing? How to get going

1 Reply

Image via Wikipedia

Dog sledding is excellent exercise

Here’s how to get going

Every weekend enthusiasts all over the world get out with their dogs – and if you are like 50% of my readers and live in Britain, here is info about getting started here.

But Beware! This article should come with a stark WARNING!

Once you have tried it – you will be hooked!

All the photos with dogs here were taken by Alan Bowering, a stalwart of the dog sledding scene in Britain, and show the wheeled rigs that are generally used in UK because of lack of snow.

His partner is Penny Evans (another stalwart), and it is thanks to her and her ex-partner, John Evans, that Europe’s biggest dog sled rally, Aviemore Dog Sled Rally – takes place with over 200 entrants every year, making it Europe’s biggest.

I have asked Alan and Penny, who are certainly hooked, to help with low-down. They are keen supporters of dog sledding in Britain, have visited Alaska to see the big races, and are off there again shortly.

Photo shows Penny’s Veteran Crufts Champion Siberian Husky, Penkhala’s Nikarah – Nik for short.

Where can you do this?

Go to www.siberianhuskyclub.com for a list of rallies taking place all over Britain. If you live near East Anglia see below; or ask the local Forestry Commission office, as they lend land for the rallies at most of their properties.

In summer, contact the club to find out if enthusiasts are running – if weather is cold enough they will gather, but dogs don’t like too hot temperatures. During the summer there are shows, and whilst most of these dogs would curl a lip if asked to ‘show’, some, like Penny, do occasionally enter – then make others jealous by producing dogs like Nik who walk away with the prize. And asking around at a show will always produce dog sled enthusiasts who can tell you where to find the sport.

Alan’s photos show dogs pulling wheeled rigs on British forest trails. Teams are smaller in UK, as they don’t have to run so far as they do in the Iditarod. The object of events in Britain is to give enthusiasts a fun day out – not trek for a thousand miles!

The rigs are very much like tricycles, and don’t take long to master. However, the dogs are just as eager to run as Iditarod veterans, so no need to worry about how fast they go – just how to hang on for dearlife as they get going.

Sledding in East Anglia

Apart from the Siberian Husky Club, I asked another very keen friend if she could tell me where one could go to learn to ‘mush’. She wrote back to say, “the people I wanted to check with are Forstal Huskies – Sally Leich and Ali Koops – and they are happy for you to put their details up. Their website is www.huskyrides.co.uk – which seems to say it all really!

Where else?

British Siberian Husky Racing Association www.huskyracing.org.uk They organise a championship series of races every season, all over the country, so there should be one or more within easy reach of most parts of UK

And if you are really keen to see what goes on, take a trip to Aviemore in Scotland for last-but-one weekend every January, when the town hosts Europe’s largest dog sled rally: well over 200 teams compete every year.

British Airways flies to Inverness (for Aviemore). As you fly north take a look out of plane windows and you very often see a procession of ‘white vans’ carrying dogs, heading north. They’ll have wheeled rigs – and for the optimists a pulka (snow sled) – on the roof. If you are going for the tourist experience, don’t forget Aviemore is very near Speyside, where the river is lined with whisky distilleries of every kind; most welcome visitors.

During the rally one of the major distilleries hosts a Malt Whisky tasting at Aviemore. This is definitely not a booze up, but a serious and enjoyable learning experience. Dog sledders know their malts, and many of them are partial to Lagavulin – so much so that the town had run out of it during one rally; but I understand this has been rectified!

Tip – if you like eating well, book restaurant reservations EARLY. Dog sledders may look like the scruffiest people you have ever seen when racing, but they know their food and fine dining, so come evening they are off into the town to eat the gourmet-ish food they can find.

Hotels - once, when Aviemore was booked out, we stayed at Craigellachie Hotel (about an hour away). And landed in clover. Any hotel that can provide smiling, helpful staff, a bar with 700 Malts (has anyone ever drunk even half?), gourmet food with a local twist, luxurious bedrooms and yellow ducks to float in your bath (no, you haven’t had too much to drink – they really are there as the Manager considers every bath MUST have a duck floating in it) has got my vote as one of my favourites. And the prices are reasonable – unlike the over-glitzed tourist traps further south. info@craigellachie.com

What to wear

Very warm boots. Lots of thermal layers plus old cashmere sweaters (as one does). Warm trousers – not jeans. And warm gloves. If you are going to be helping/working, wear inner silk glove linings (buy them in sports shops £8); they are excellent to wear when you need your hands, but want some protection when you have to take off thick gloves.

Then, some tricks of the trade that will give your skin an extra layer of protection.

Use plenty of skin moisturiser, both on your body, as winds can cut through and give you wind burn even through layers, and on your face. And keep a spare jar of cream in your pocket, plus plenty of lip balm. The sun may be shining, but our skins are extremely vulnerable in cold conditions – trust me!

Currently I am using Living Nature products, and they have coped brilliantly with this incredible cold, snowy winter we have had, plus the cold winds that do more damage to skin than anything. Their Living Nature Lip Balm is a godsend; a deeply nourish balm, I keep it in my pocket whenever I go outdoors, especially watching sledding, and use it every hour at least.

Before going out I will put on their leave-on Ultra Nourishing Mask. My tip is to leave this on – don’t bother to wipe off – after your shower, then before you go out slap on their Rich Day Cream over the top; together the two layers will give you added protection, and deeply nourish parched dry skin. Finally, at night put on their Radiance Night Oil underneath your night cream, which gives an extra boost whilst you are sleeping. This is a delicate blend of rosehips and herbs to help retain and restore a skin’s vitality.

Incidentally their eco-friendly packaging has flat backs so it doesn’t take up much room in the suitcase.

Currently I am using Flexitol on my feet - they provide creams for Rachel Scidoris (the incredible blind musher) AND her dogs ( sled dogs are really spoilt) - so what helps Rachel win races is good enough for me.

So you want to go abroad

All over the Alps and in Scandinavia there are dog sledding kennels that offer rides – either training you to mush or run behind the dogs in charge of a team, or you can sit in a sled (pulka) and be towed behind a team with someone else doing the mushing.

Ask the local tourist board of any ski resort to give you a list of local kennels offering this

Look on www.healthspanews.com and I have written up a few health spa resorts where you can take part.

The big one – going to Alaska

Have already had enquiries from readers – “how do we get there? and when is best time to go?”

Answer is almost any time. There is a big tourism trade in the summer, with outdoor enthusiasts going to see the wildlife, go kayaking, etc.

And of course if you want to go dog sledding, the season is right throughout the winter, and you could even take out dogs from kennels that will be competing in the Iditarod.

Throughout the winter there are various dog sled races most weeks, and being a spectator is the friendliest way of meeting the ‘natives’, and as Penny and Alan found, as visitors from Britain you are warmly welcomed, and often get to be introduced to the champion mushers. As Penny said, they were introduced to Lance Mackey as “your biggests fans from Europe”, which she says wasn’t too difficult as they were the only ones.

But she treasures a boot from one of Lance’s champion sled dogs. As she says, it may be old and worn out – but one of Lance’s – that was something else.

Alaskans are very hospitable, but being stuck out on the furthest peninsula away from UK, the journey needs planning.

Hotels: There is a huge variety in Anchorage, quite a lot in Nome – but they can be sparse on the trail in between.

Away from these cities, it might be best to go look for the Iditarod recommended B & Bs. Advantage is that the owners know the trail, they are involved in the running of the race, so have lots of stories to tell, and can advise you on the best way to get somewhere – by tiny plane, by sea or by 4 x 4.

Friends who have booked in to B & Bs are delighted that most owners also have something to do with the Iditarod – so have become firm friends talking it over.

British Airways offer daily connections from Heathrow to Anchorage, Alaska via Seattle (onwards on Alaska Airlines) and also in the summer via Dallas Fort Worth (from 01May, onwards on American Airlines) and via Chicago (from 09 Jun, onwards on American Airlines).

Each of these options has a connection from Manchester to Heathrow.

In addition, for the Chicago option it would be possible to use the AA-operated codeshare flight direct from Manchester to Chicago to connect onto the onward flight.

BA say there are a number of options for lead-in fares, and to give a couple of examples:

Return (including taxes/fees/charges) fares in June from Manchester via Chicago start from £891.20;

Return from Heathrow via Seattle or Dallas in May starts from £881.53.

To book visit www.ba.com or call 0844 4930787

If you have become hooked – don’t forget this sport is excellent exercise post cancer; you can take it at your own pace, just walking around and helping at the start, or running behind a dog team to give you fantastic fun. Either way you are in the open air, it is fun (even in pouring rain!) as the dogs spread their enthusiasm around, and mushers are very nice people!

And if you love the sport as much as I do, please click through with a small donation to Breakthrough:

Supporting http://breakthrough.org.uk/donate/index.htmlnd

And Finally –

If you have any ideas of getting a husky puppy and starting racing, take a look on the Siberian Husky Club website under ‘Damage’. These are genuuine photos of what these dogs can do to the inside of a home. As pack animals, they get bored very easily if they don’t get enough exercise, and much prefer to live outdoors than inside centrally-heated homes.

7. Latest on Iditarod – what it means to man and dog

Leave a reply

Stop Press

Latest – latest: Ramey Smyth is now less than one hour behind John Baker. You can’t take this totally as true standings – it all depends on how much time mushers need to allow their dogs to rest (by this time in the race they don’t think about resting themselves), but it is getting HOT!

Now, fresh from a lap top that somehow managed to pick up a signal along the trail:

The Iditarod Trail Race is currently shaping up to be a multi=probable winner situation as 5 mushers head into the Koyuk Checkpoint . There are 6 Mushers within 36 miles of each other, led by John Baker with a 12 miles in first place. Baker followed by Gatt, Smyth, Schnuelle, Neff and D. Seavey. Expect a winner across the finish line in Nome sometime afternoon Tuesday. LEOCurrently the leader isJohn Baker: his team is going well, and he has been in the lead for some time. With Lance Mackey almost out of the running (currently he is in 10th place with only 9 dogs), it looks like Alaskan-born Baker might even be revenged for his bad luck last year.                                                      At one point the trail last year was was so hidden in a snow blizzard he thought he had taken a wrong turn, and wasted precious hours seeking out the ‘real’ trail. At that point he was leading – but this delay cost him the race.He took part in his first Iditarod in 1996, and since then has been amongst the Top Ten finishers 11 times.

The race has now reached Koyuk checkpoint, and following closely behind Baker were German-born Sebastian Schnuelle and Hugh Neff , Ramsey Smyth (who still has 15 dogs) and Hans Gatt and Dallas Seavey.

Ramsey Smyth is running in honour of family members who had cancer – and asks people to drink moderately and give up smoking.

Mastectomy survivor DeeDee Jonrowe has moved up to 7th place.

Her pink-booted sled dogs are still going well, and she could be a contender. Remember, she has twice been runner-up.

How her bright pink outfit (seen here) is a familiar site on the trail.

So far 12 runners have made it in to Kaltag, with Martin Buser the latest to arrive.

Jamaicans will be sad to learn that their sole runner, Newton Marshall, has had to scratch. He said his dogs were sick.

And top woman musher Judy Currier has also scratched, along with seven others.

Looking at timings, it seems majority of mushers are running major part of race during night, to take advantage of colder temperatures – dogs like this. They then rest up during ‘hotter’ time in day.

Judy Currier scratches

The official report explains a lot about why Judy scratched, and just what is is really like running the Iditarod:

Musher Judy Courier could see the end of her Iditarod coming for the last two hundred miles. Courier dropped her “main, main leader” back in McGrath a couple of days ago. That left her with 3 leaders; last night, her current “main leader” decided that leading the team up the Yukon River was not something that he was interested in doing. Race over.

Courier arrived at the Anvik Checkpoint with her 13 dogs at 12:04 Saturday morning. She stayed 5 minutes and left with all 13 dogs. Took the trail down through the village, dropped onto the river and headed up to Grayling. She didn’t go far. Her leaders balked at the idea of continuing northward. None of them would go out front. Instead of tight lines, it was end of the line.

Judy turned around and by 2:00a.m. she was back in Anvik. She parked the team and decided to stay 8 hours and see how the team was in the morning. The team, all 13 of the dogs are in good shape physically but with no front end, no dog that wants to go lead the team wherever the musher wants to go, without leaders, there is no team. There can be no racing. During the mid-morning in Anvik, Courier decided to pull out of the race. She scratched.

It was 10:30 and in the background you could hear the popular public radio program “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me”. She said it was her husband’s favorite program; she’d wait to call home with the news until 11 when the program ended.

This was Courier’s 6th Iditarod. Last year she scratched on the Yukon River also. Last year she had a bad back and couldn’t go on.   Courier has completed 4 Iditarods, scratching does not come easy. Going home short of the goal was not on her list of things to do in March. Courier is one of those mushers who love the race but also has a career totally unrelated to dog mushing. She’s an accountant with a fair sized Alaskan general contractor; she commutes 45 minutes each way, each day. Her boss is supportive of her mushing endeavors and is very flexible with her work schedule. But still, her career interferes with her training. She has a handler run the dogs during the week and she runs weekends. She knows that to succeed, to be a frontrunner, you have to make a commitment that is total, without hesitation, without question. Courier, and there are others like her on the trail, knows that the relationship with the dogs that is required is at a level that only comes with much more time, much more training than her life allows for.

You can’t make leaders go. The musher is there to help them go, to let them go, and to encourage them to go. If they don’t want to go, nobody is going anywhere.

Jus’ Stuff

Ask any macho musher what they put on their face to counter icy winds and below freezing temperatures – and back comes the embarrassed reply: “jus’ stuff”.

But ask them what they are rubbing into their dogs’ paws every night, and out comes names of all sorts of creams and remedies, from home-made products to Flexitol and other well-known brand names. Seems they are not so shy when it comes to telling what man’s best friend gets for pampering their paws.

Dogs were often used to test skincare in the bad old days, because their skins are akin to ours. So I have been listening to gossip – and asking good skincare companies what they would recommend – if ever a musher hid their blushes long enough to ask!

Incidentally the women are a bit more forthcoming – but no-one yet (as far as I know) is sponsored by a skincare company – nearest I can find is Cain Carter, who wears a tag ‘Grandma’ as she paid his entry fee.

But look at the way snow covers their faces, and you see what extreme conditions mushers are facing. This might be Ally Zirkle, top woman musher (she is known to carry a camera on her hood) – but who can tell!! She is muffled up against the weather!

But names that are mentioned frequently when anyone owns up to using skin creams are Clinique, Living Nature etc. So I have asked major companies what they would recommend – and will add a posting on ‘Jus stuff’ every time I hear gossip. What’s good for musher’s skins at minus degrees, must help cancer skins!

Clinique immediately came up with their Moisture Surge Cream – and slap it on every time you think about it.

Another invaluable ‘comforter’ is Comfort on Call Cream – does exactly what it says on the label.

They also recommended Super City Block, which was designed to counter pollution in cities, but it’s suitable for all conditions, suits men as it is oil-free, and has a very high 40 SPF. And this is extremely important as the sun bounces off snow, and can easily give mushers burnt faces.

I also use Deep Comfort Body Butter, and can think of nothing better when the winds have cut through your clothing layers and managed to rough up body skin.

Supporting http://breakthrough.org.uk/donate/index.htmlnd

2. Iditarod FAQ

Leave a reply

Image via Wikipedia

No 2 FAQs behind the Iditarod

This Saturday (5th) about 70 mushers (dog sled drivers) driving teams of 16 dogs each will set off to race across Alaska, taking upwards of eight days or more to run the 1000+ miles.

Known as The Last Great Race on Earth, this is the only international sporting event where men and women are equal, and several women have won this gruelling race.

But the reason why I am posting details is because cancer patients, even after treatment, have still managed to complete the race. Last year’s winner, Lance Mackey, had cancer – has won the race four times – and this year is aiming for a record firth win in a row.

And DeeDee Jonrowe, a famous female racer, dresses her 16-dog team in pink bootees, to commemorate surviving breast cancer.

How is race run?

At the start around 60 t0 75 teams of 12 – 16 dogs set off. Record number was 77 teams. Around 2/3rds of those will finish the course.

During the race teams have to call in to 25 check points, where dogs are examined to see that they are OK. (More below). As the race progresses, it can be incredibly exciting to see how the teams are strung out; which one has called in to which check point; which one is taking time out for a sleep – when another racer may overtake them, etc.

History

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is an annual sled dog team race across Alaska, in U.S.A.

Mushers and teams of 16 dogs cover over 1,000 miles (1,800km) in nine to twenty days. Starting from Willow (near Anchorage) to Nome. The race always begins on the first Saturday in March.

Teams frequently race through blizzards causing whiteout conditions, sub-zero temperatures and gale-force winds which can cause wind chill to reach minus 100 °F (-73 °C).

Beginning in 1973 as an event to test the best sled dog mushers and teams, in a tribute to the musherw and their dogsw that opened up Alaska. It has evolved into today’s highly competitive race, with mushers racing for big prize money, Alaskan gold nuggets and a Dodge truck (highly prized). The current fastest winning time record was set in 2002 by Martin Buser with a time of 8 days, 22 hours, 47 minutes, and 2 seconds.

A ceremonial start occurs in the city of Anchorage and is followed by the official restart in Willow, a city in the south central region of the state. The trail runs from Willow up the Rainy Pass of the Alaska Range into the sparsely populated interior, and then along the shore of the Bering Sea, finally reaching Nome in western Alaska.

The teams race through tundra and spruce forests, over hills and mountain passes, and across rivers. While the start in Anchorage is in the middle of a large urban center, most of the route passes through widely separated towns and villages, and small Athabaskan and Inupiat settlements. The Iditarod is regarded as a symbolic link to the early history of the state and is connected to many traditions commemorating the legacy of dog mushing.

The race is the most popular sporting event in Alaska, and the top mushers and their teams of dogs are local celebrities; this popularity is credited with the resurgence of recreational mushing in the state since the 1970s. While the yearly field of more than fifty mushers and about a thousand dogs is still largely Alaskan, competitors from fourteen countries have completed the event including the Swiss Martin Buser, who became the first international winner in 1992, and an Italian, Armen Katchikian, who won a TV competition in Italy called My Wildest Dream. Armen’s dream was to take part in the Iditarod, and the TV company paid for him to live in Alaska for months, training a team of dogs they bought for him – and unlike many rookies (first-time competitors), Armen completed the course.

Women in the race

This is the only international sporting competion I know of where women compete equally with men.

The Iditarod received more attention outside of the state after the 1985 victory of Libby Riddles, a long shot who became the first woman to win the race. Susan Butcher became the second woman to win the race and went on to dominate for half a decade.

This year there are several women competing. Some of them old hands at the Iditarod, including DeeDee Jonrowe. DeeDee has competed magnificently, but one of her claims to fame is that she has had breast cancer – and still gone on to finish the race.

Breakthrough Breast Cancer

Hence the reason why I say that if anyone wants to send a donation to a charity, please think of Breakthrough Breast Cancer. This is a pioneering charity dedicated to the prevention, treatment and ultimate eradication of breast cancer, on three fronts: research, campaigning and education. www.breakthrough.org.uk

On the Trail

For dogs in particular, on the trail all is routines. Every day the team goes through the same process on a regular basis. Dogs thrive on routine.

There’s the routine of traveling, with every dog allocated its own place along the ‘line’ to which they are hitched up
there’s the routine of camping out, where the musher has to attend to the dogs before themselves
and there’s the routine of checkpoints, where mushers check-in, the vets on the trail examine the dogs, the dogs get fed and bedded down – and only then can the mushers take time out for themselves.

When a team trots wearily into a checkpoint, the checkers greets them. Those checkers are mainly volunteers, happy and welcoming people. “The first words out of their mouths are, ‘welcome to Skwentna or McGrath or Elim” or whatever the name of the checkpoint.

They then escort the team to a parking spot and tell the musher where to find the drop bags (food and supplies that have been sent up the trail in advance), heat, straw and water.

The Musher carefully sets a snow hook out ahead of the leaders and another behind the sled. This anchors the team so that they can’t run off – sled dogs just love to go walkabout. When the team is secure, the musher comes around and takes off booties, unhook tug lines and tells the team “what great dogs they are”.

At the same time a veterinarian stops and asks to see the vet notebook, which every musher has to carry.

Food

On arrival the dogs get a bowl of water and kibble. In the meantime, the musher has started up the cooker to ready the gourmet portion of husky checkpoint dining: a meal containing 6,000 to 11,000 calories. These dogs need a lot of feeding!

While that’s simmering, the musher spreads straw out for the dogs to sleep in, but that comes later – after they dine. Once the food is cooked, the musher ladles this out like some great stew made with water, kibble and meat or fish.

About the time the dogs are dozing off, mushers come round and massage the dogs’ feet, putting ointment between toes and pads. If you had travelled one hundred miles or more in a day, you would need this too!

Next morning

Before leaving the checkpoint, the dogs get more food: meat scraps or fish and garlic powder in lots of water. This special secret soupy soup is referred to as slurry or baited water and is a great way to encourage us to drink. Because we need to take on lots of water so we don’t get dehudrated.

Then it’s more ointment for the dogs’ feet, if possible a shoulders massage to loosen muscles, and the it’s time to ‘boot up’ – which most dogs hate, and will try and knew these boots off. But they need them to protect their pads from the sharp ice slivers that line the trail.

Pay to view

The Iditarod organisers have started to charge to watch their videos - INSIDER IDITAROD Insider.iditarod.com charges $19.95 for Video on Demand/live stream live events-$19.95 for GPS Tracker-$33.95 for both

Up until a short while ago the Iditarod had sponsors lining up, and prize money was much larger. But, as with all events in these credit crunch times, sponsorship money has fallen – so the organisers have decided to charge for their latest info. But with the Internet, etc. fans should be able to call up all the info they need if they can’t afford to pay.

Iditarod – Last Great Race on Earth

Image via Wikipedia

1. WHAT IS ‘THE LAST GREAT RACE ON EARTH’?

Known as The Iditarod, only a mad man (or woman) would want to take part in this race which is run across the Alaskan wilderness in the depths of winter.

The temperature can go as low as minus 40 to- 60 degrees -You have 16 dogs to look after (rules say they get fed before you) - Race for up to 24 hours at a stretch - Sleep in snatches and no time for a shower - Risking frostbite or worse in the process.

All to take part in what’s called The Last Great Race on Earth.

Cancer Survivors do it best!

And if that isn’t enough – imagine running the 1000+ miles when you have had mouth cancer, need to keep your throat moist (but water freezes at minus temperatures) and you still win the race for a record 4 times in a row! As last year’s winner, Lance Mackey, proved.

Or, if you are a woman, you survive breast cancer – go on to run the Iditarod for the 30th time – and still finish in front of many of the competitors (men included). That’s DeeDee Jonrowe for you.

It’s not the dogs – although they take centre stage – nor the mushers – although they are something else – but the whole Iditarod experience that captures the world’s imagination for two weeks every March.

And to keep cancer survivors up-to-speed with what’s happening, every day from March 5th onwards this website will have daily reports of what’s happening.

If you enjoy reading the reports, please give a small donation to Breakthrough Breast Cancer. http://breakthrough.org.uk/donate/index.htmlnd I am doing these reports to help them get donations for research.

What is The Iditarod?

First Saturday in March every year, around 70 Mushers and their dog teams set off from Willow (near Anchorage, Alaska) and race to Nome. They are taking part in a race that loosely commemorates a life-saving effort by sled dogs in 1925, to deliver diphtheria serum to Nome, Alaska.

The race is run across icy, snowy mountains, forest trails, across rivers and up rocky passes. The mushers and dogs can race for up to 24 hours non-stop, and camp out on the trail. Rules just say dogs must be warm and comfortable when bedded down to rest. Often mushers race at night; the lower the temperature the more the dogs like it and faster they run.

The race takes upwards of 8 days, but doesn’t finish until the last competitor still in the competition is home and dry – which can take 20 days or more. Incidentally whoever comes last is always awarded the traditional Red Lantern.

And what do they race for?

First prize is upwards of $50,000 – plus percentage of entrance money
Top finishers get prize money in a diminishing table – last year Lance Mackey won $69,000 – down to No. 30 who picked up $1,800. After that, anyone who finishes picks up $1,049. Why the $49? Because Alaska was the 49th State to join the U.S.A.
But THE prize the Mushers covet is a Dodge Truck, awarded to the first past the post.
Along the way mushers can win everything from a bag of gold nuggets to a seven-course meal cooked where they rest.
Every finisher gets a coveted belt with its iconic Iditarod belt buckle

Picture shows commemorative Buckle from 1999.

They are all similar, showing Alaskan sled scenes,

and if you see someone wearing one of these – they

are one tough person!

Men and Women are equal on the Trail

This is the only major international sporting event where men and women compete on equal terms, and the race has been won several times by women.

The first female winner was Libby Riddles, who won in 1985. Whilst rival Mushers were holed up waiting for blizzards to blow over, Libby crept back onto the track and literally felt her way from trail marker to trail marker. She eventually won the event in a time of 18 days.

The photo shows her racing in the European classic, the Alpirod.

Two years later the legendary Susan Butcher won, and triumphed again in 1988 and 89, came second in 1990 and won for the fourth time in 91. Sadly, she died of cancer in 2006, but the State of Alaska honours this incredible woman every March with a Susan Butcher day.

The youngest ever runner to compete was 18 year old Dallas Seavey, who comes from a famous Mushing family. He and other family members are competing again this year. Many of the racers come from families long associated with the Iditarod - you will often find father and son competing in same race, and it gets confusing when you look up winners, as so many carry same surname.

Dogs

For many years the main dogs used were Siberian Huskies (the Ferraris of the dog racing world). Others of the same husky family such as Greenlands and Malamutes (which are larger and heavier – Range Rovers), gave weight to a team, and were used as ‘wheelers’ (dogs nearest the sled that provide the ‘engine’).

But now, money rules. Mushers want the fastest dogs, so the handsome hairy husky breeds are mixed with racy dogs such as pointers, and a not very attractive dog has come out of this. These dogs don’t have the thick hair that protects a husky, so often have to wear coats.

In the past animal rights activists have tried to say the dogs are exploited. Well, having gone out with many teams, the unhappiest sled dog is the one left behind whilst team mates are harnessed up to a sled; these dogs live to run – and run – and run.s ar

Dogs, like humans can have an off day. But during the Iditarod, to ensure that no dog is running whilst injured or off-colour, dogs are inspected frequently on the trail by a team of vets. Usually mushers themselves will bring a dog into the vet’s post because it has hurt itself, but sometimes the inspection will show there is an injury – either way, the dog is taken out, looked after, spoilt, and flown to the end of the trail where it rests up in an animal hospital until the musher finishes and comes to collect it.

If a dog leaves a team, the team will run with an empty space where this dog was harnessed. Mushers won’t move dogs ‘up the line’ so they run side by side, as they are very particular animals. Anyone who owns a team of sled dogs knows their favourite activity is running. Second to this comes fighting each other, as the dogs love a good punch up. So when choosing a team, a musher spends a long time selecting which dogs are most likely to get on with each other, before hitching them up to run alongside. And if one falls out, its mate runs on its own to avoid accidents.

Last year it was extra cold, and Veterinarian Phil Meyer said ”As cold as it is now, one of the problems is keeping weight on (the dogs), and I foresee that being a problem in this race,” Meyer is a long time Iditarod vet, talking as he handed out frozen fish (husky treat) to a pair of dogs musher Pete Kaiser left in the McGrath check-in.

Harness

Usually Iditarod racers run their teams in a tandem hitch (dogs running hitched up side by side, in an elongated ‘H’ shape), because the trail can be narrow at times.

But in their natural habitat when running across wide open snowy iced-over sea, mushers will use a fan hitch, where dogs are attached by their lines individually to the base, making a fan shape as they pull. Reason – if a dog falls in an ice crevasse the rest of the team can dig in and the musher – hopefully – rescue the dog dangling from the end of their individual line.

Dogs’ harness is often in neon-bright colours that show off sponsor’s choice, but in reality this makes it easier to pick this up when excited, wriggling dogs cause handlers to drop harness in the snow.

A husky breed will bed down at night, tail curled over nose, and sleep happily in temperatures well below freezing. But now, many of the ‘new’ breed of dog crosses will huddle under thick fleece blankets; they don’t have the thick hair that protects huskies in temperatures -40º below or more on the trail. If you go on the Iditarod website you will see photos of dogs sleeping under fleeces decorated with cats, as their owner said this was the cheapest material available.

Photo shows DeeDee Jonrowe selecting harness for her dogs – made in her trademark pink colour which has two purposes: to make it easy to see in the snow, and – more important – tell the world she survived breast cancer.

But traditionally the race runs when the dogs are happiest, which can be in the middle of the night to take advantage of colder temperatures. Hence if you go to the race site you will see dogs arriving and departing any time of day or night.

But whatever happens, however much the Mushers love their dogs and cuddle them away from the public – you will never see an Iditarod veteran in a bling collar!

Last year’s winner

On 16th March 2010, Lance Mackey quietly emerged off the sea ice of the Bering Straits and entered Iditarod history, crossing the finish line in Nome to become the only musher in the 38-year history of the Iditarod to win four consecutive races.

For winning, Mackey got a new Dodge truck and $69.000. And it’s the truck he said he really wanted! Mackey is a mouth cancer survivor, and a legend on the sled dog trail having won just about every major championship: some of them several times.

He is back this year, and says he is keen to make it five wins in a row. He has a habit of letting the opposition make the running at the beginning of the race, but watch his position. If he runs true to form, you will see him gradually edge up – until he wins by a crushing amount of time.

Breakthrough Breast Cancer

Men and Women can get breast cancer, and the ‘average’ woman is now considered to have a one in eight chance of developing it during their lifetime, wherever they live in the world.

This British based charity quietly gets on with funding research, with results that benefit patients all over the world. It also lobbies the UK Parliament very effectively, and keeps members of Parliament fully aware of current issues and research.

Dr. Rachel Greig, Senior Policy Officer, says “some risk factors, such as getting older, cannot be changed but the good news is that others can. By drinking less, maintaining a healthy weight and getting physically active, women can reduce their risk of developing breast cancer.”

So DeeDee, Lance and all the others running in the Iditarod are setting a good example! You don’t all have to run 1,000 miles, but half an hour of exercise a day can be of enormous benefit, and if you want to help Breakthrough with a donation - go to http://breakthrough.org.uk/donate/index.htmlnd

From now on I hope to post an update every 36 hours – next one will have info on more British connections, which go back to 1909.

Sporting record falls to a cancer survivor

Leave a reply

: Lance Mackey Wikipedia

Dog sledder Penny Evans reports on

‘A record falls overnight …

whilst pink bootees push double mastectomy musher over finish line…’

Last night, 16th March 2010, in one of the smallest cities in the world and half way round the planet from the UK, Lance Mackey quietly emerged off the sea ice of the Bering Straits and entered the history books.

His arrival in Main Street Nome was greeted with thunderous applause from the spectators and his adoring fans. Their darling driver with his team of sled dogs had won the 1,000 mile Iditarod Race from Anchorage for the record-breaking fourth consecutive time, in a total of 8 days, 23 hours and 58 minutes.

30 year old Lance Mackey comes from a famous family of “mushers” …. his father Dick Mackey was a founder of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race, known as one of the Greatest Races on Earth, and actually won the race in 1978 by one second over Rick Swenson.

Lance’s half-brother, another Rick, won in 1983. Incredibly, all three ran under the Bib number 13 and won on their sixth attempt. In 2010 Lance once again proved his ability to not only manage and drive his team through some of the toughest of terrain, but also that strategy plays a huge part in this test of human and canine strength. His fans may adore him and though popular with his fellow competitors, so many times Lance has outwitted them on the trails. Lance’s wife Tonya is also a musher, and with their four children run their Comeback Kennel in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Long distance sled dog racing is not, however, the only adversity that Lance Mackey has faced in his life. Diagnosed with throat cancer in 2001 he refused to give in and continued his sled dog racing, even entering the 2002 Iditarod race. Although now considered cancer-free he still needs constant supplies of water for his throat – not an easy feat out on the trail in minus 60 temperatures. Also, after nerve damage caused by an operation to remove a cancerous tumour, he chose to have the finger surgically removed rather than continue in unbearable pain.

But that’s the facts …. what about the man ? I met him in that same street in Nome Alaska in 2008. Lance had already won both the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod in that year and had just finished 3rd in the the 408 mile race from Nome to Candle and back to commemorate the centenary of the All Alaska Sweepstakes Race – the first sled dog race in the world. It was four o’clock in the morning, minus 30 degrees but this meeting is a memory I shall never forget, such is his charisma.

So what makes him the darling of the sled dog world ? This unassuming man is the most generous person you can imagine – the David Beckham of the Sled Dog Racers – a gentleman and a wonderful ambassador of the sport. At the finish line when you would imagine a bath and a bed were the only things on his mind, he stopped and talked to everyone. We were lucky enough to be introduced to him as “his No.1 Fans from Europe” … at that time not a great accomplishment as we were the ONLY Europeans who had travelled to watch the race. He happily chatted about our dogs – we also own sled dogs and race and show them in the UK – had his photograph taken with us and even gave us one of his dog boots. Okay, okay, perhaps a sweaty dog boot that has covered 408 miles is not perhaps what everyone would want, but one of Lance’s .. well that’s different, trust me !

Books could be written on the accomplishments of Lance Mackey and there is not enough room in this article to list his achievements both with his dogs and in his personal life, but I think it best to leave it to Lance for the final quote. On the finish line yesterday in Nome, he said “I like the number five as much as I like revelling in being the first in Iditarod history to win four in a row” … So watch out for next year …

Later, double mastectomy breast cancer survivor, Dee Dee Jonrowe, has arrived at the finish, “tired, but her dogs are fine”. This of course was comment from another friend – a musher of course!

Dee Dee has come in 22nd – out of a field of 71 starters, now whittled down to 56 and dropping. So 2/3rds of her rivals haven’t even reached the last but one check-point.

Dee Dee had 2,000 pairs of pink bootees made for her team of dogs; she is a breast cancer survivor, and this was her way of celebrating and raising funds.

And the dogs will now be trying to bite off those pink bootees. Not because they are macho and don’t like the colour, but sled dogs just don’t like boots – full stop. Made of Teflon or other almost indestructible materials, the moment mushers put them on, the dogs are biting away trying to tear them off. But they are necessary, because trails such as the Iditarod soon ice up, meaning there are sharp ice crystals all along the way, that tear dogs’ paws. And even made of the material they are, they don’t last more than a stage at a time – hence the need for 2,000 for Dee Dee’s 16-dog team.

The first Briton – sorry Scot, to make it home, at 45th, was rookie Wattie McDonald, born and raised in Scotland. “I began with our first Siberian husky in 1999 and quickly became addicted to sled dog racing. After dreaming of Iditarod for many years, Wendy and I decided t o celebrate 25 years of wedded bliss by watching the start of the 2008 Iditarod, and from that day, Iditarod became a ‘must’ for me”.

He trains in Fetteresso Forest, and is a member of the Scottish Siberian Club, and was racing to support CLIC Sargent. A Rookie is a first-time Iditarod racer, and surprisingly Wattie arrived home with all of his 16 dogs. Most racers will have ‘dropped’ dogs along the way (they are extremely well looked after, fear not) either for health reasons, or because the dogs get too tired. But Wattie has carefully nursed his team right until the finish – the only one to arrive with all of his at the finish this year. Some mushers were down to 8 dogs – perilously close to the cut off, as the race rules say you have to have a minimum of 6 dogs at the end, or you are disqualified.

We don’t know yet if Wattie crossed the finish line in his trade-mark Kilt – with temperatures well under freezing (minus 40 most of the nights) one thinks not! If you want to donate to CLIC Sargent click on to www.wattiesgreatrace.com.

Lance’s website: http://www.mackeyscomebackkennel.com

Race reports: http://after-cancer.com/cancer-news-latest/iditarod-toughest-race-on-earth/

Iditarod official site: www.iditarod.com

UK Siberian Husky Club (they also have details of races in Britain) : www.siberianhuskyclub.com

Iditarod – toughest race on earth

2 Replies

: Image via Wikipedia

STOP PRESS

NOME, Alaska — Lance Mackey has won the 1,100-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race one more time.

Mackey crossed the finish line in Nome on Tuesday afternoon to become the only musher in the 38-year history of the Iditarod to win four consecutive races.

Mackey was cheered by fans bundled up against subzero temperatures to welcome the 39-year-old throat cancer survivor as his team coasted up the main street of this old Gold Rush town.

For winning, Mackey gets a new Dodge truck and $50,400.

As the Iditarod piles into its final 200 miles, eagle-eyed watchers on video will notice there are gaps in the line of mushers’ dogs.

No, they haven’t forgotten one – but these racing dogs have strong personalities. In the training runs, mushers test them alongside each other, and find which dog gets on with which kennel-mate.

Woe betide a musher who harnesses one dog alongside a rival. There will be a fight to near-death, only the thick boots of mushers kicked into the melee will separate the combatants. Hence why you see gaps and dogs running without a mate alongside; if one drops out, you don’t move the rest up a place, you leave them be. It makes for a more peaceful run!

Back to the race – 1,150 miles of racing across frozen seas, icy mountain passes and thick snow, spending 8 – 18 days on the trail, depending on weather – yet one year this race needed a photo-finish to determine the winner.

In 1978, Dick Mackey won the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race by one second; Mackey collapsed on his sled after sprinting to the finish line, defeating previous winner Rick Swenson. This race down Front Street remains the closest finish in the history of “The Last Great Race on Earth.” This year his son Lance was the winner, for a record four times, and this cancer survivor wrote himself into the record books.

Latest positions at bottom of page.

The first Saturday every March, around 70 teams of Mushers with 16 dogs each set off from Willow (near Anchorage, Alaska) and race to Nome, commemorating a run by sled dogs in 1925 to deliver lifesaving diphtheria serum to Nome. The modern-day Iditarod trail crosses frozen rivers, dense woods and two mountain ranges, then goes along the dangerous sea ice up the Bering Sea shore.

Fastest racer was a Swiss, Martin Buser, who in 2002 took just over 8 days to win the race; but it can take ten or more days, depending on weather. The first female winner was Libby Riddles, who won in 1985. Whilst the Mushers were holed up waiting for blizzards to blow over, Libby crept back on the track and literally felt her way from trail marker to trail marker, eventually winning in 18 days.

Two years later the legendary Susan Butcher won, and triumphed again in 1988, 89, came second in 1990 and won for the fourth time in 91. Sadly, she died of acute myelogenous leukemia, in 2006, but the State of Alaska honours this incredible woman every March with a Susan Butcher day.

The youngestever runner to compete was 18 year old Dallas Seavey, who comes from a famous Mushing family. He and other family members are competing again this year.

DALLAS SEAVEY and dog

Cancer is no bar to taking part

Obviously you should be fit, but although the Mushers take enormous care of their dogs, giving them the best , good food and attention they can, they don’t seem to worry much about themselves – in fact each year there seem to be more and more cancer survivors who decide to run, even putting off chemo treatment to take part in the race.

This week, one cancer survivor, Pat Moon from Chicago-area, has been forced out of the Iditarod dogsled race by injuries suffered in a crash. Pat had to be airlifted out of a remote gorge after slamming into a tree, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Moon is undergoing chemotherapy for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and felt he was off to a good start after four days in the 1,049-mile race in Alaska. “I had 15 happy healthy dogs and we were running exactly as we had planned,” he said. Then the tree appeared – however, he vows to be back.

Another survivor is a winner

Lance Mackey, cancer survivor, vowed to ” just beat the best mushers in the world.” The 37-year-old throat cancer survivor became the first musher to win back-to-back runs in the 1,000-mile Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race and the Iditarod. “I’m not much to brag very often, but damn, I’m going to this time,” said Mackey, from Fairbanks, whose father (Dick) and brother won past Iditarods. “I don’t know exactly how to explain it. I’m just blessed with an incredible dog team.”

Mackey used many of the same dogs that competed in those races in the trek across some of Alaska’s harshest terrain. A lot depends on the dogs’ health, and Mackey proudly says, “they’re the best dogs, hands-down.”

However, sled dogs’ favourite occupation is running; second favourite is fighting each other, and Mackey’s dogs have quarreled on the trail. His leader, Hobo – the speed and driving force of the team — was badly injured in one Iditarod over ongoing rivalry with Larry, another leader considered the brains of the pack. Usually Iditarod racers run their teams in a tandem hitch (4 – 8 dogs running hitched up side by side, making a team of 8 -16 dogs), but in their natural habitat when running across wide open snowy iced-over sea, mushers will use a fan hitch, where dogs are attached by their lines individually to the base, making a fan shape as they pull. Reason – so if a dog falls in an ice crevasse the rest of the team can dig in and the musher – hopefully – rescue the dog from the end of their individual line.

Despite a host of health issues that make you wonder how he can even get to the trail, this year Mackey, an open user of medicinal marijuana, says he has dropped this. Race authorities are now testing for drugs and drink – a move Mackey thinks was set up by rivals jealous over his three consecutive wins, and determined he won’t get a fourth this year.

He was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2001 and underwent extensive surgery as well as radiation treatment and the loss of his salivary glands. After returning to the sport he went on to become the only musher ever to win both the Iditarod and the 1,600-kilometre Yukon Quest race in the same year; a feat he has accomplished twice.

Cancer is a major killer in the canine world, and many of the dogs will be wearing collars to promote dog cancer charities, or the K9s for Cancer charity.

And a Scot, Wattie McDonald, is racing to raise funds for CLIC Sargeant with his very fit team of Siberian Huskies. He is in the 40s in position, but incredibly is the only Musher to still have all 16 of his dogs running. Cut paws, tiredness – all sorts of reasons force Mushers to leave a dog behind at the posts, where the dogs get taken off by the Vets and given VIP treatment. So far McDonald has kept all of his running, so if you want to donate to this kilt-wearing Musher, ‘his’ charity to click on to http://www.wattiesgreatrace.com/

Dogs

Mushers start the race with 16 dogs but commonly leave animals at posts along the way because of injuries or when inexperienced dogs are slowing the team. The dogs are checked by vets at hub communities and flown to Anchorage to wait for their mushers in canine luxury.

They main dogs used were Siberian huskies; and others of the same husky family such as Greenlands and Malamutes, which are larger and heavier, were used to give weight to the team, and used as ‘wheelers’ (dogs nearest the sled). But now, money rules; Mushers want the fastest dogs, so the handsome hairy husky breeds are mixed with racy dogs such as pointers, and a not very attractive dog has come out of this. These dogs don’t have the thick hair that protects a husky, so often have to wear coats.

“As cold as it is now, one of the problems is keeping weight on (the dogs), and I foresee that being a problem in this race,” said Phil Meyer, a longtime Iditarod vet, as he handed out frozen fish to a pair of dogs musher Pete Kaiser left in McGrath.

The dogs aren’t immune from fashion either. They have to wear Teflon or similar bootees to protect their pads from the sharp ice crystals that form on the churned-up trail. Musher Dee Dee Jonrowe is currently 21st, and her team has 2,000 bright pink bootees in their kit. The colour is to remind fans that Dee Dee raises money for a cancer charity, as she is a double mastectomy survivor. Ironically, her mother is scheduled for the same operation today, having just discovered she has the same disease, and we wish her all the best.

At night many of the ‘new’ breed of dogs will huddle under thick fleece blankets; they don’t have the thick hair that protects huskies in temperatures -40º below or more on the trail. If you go on the Iditarod website you will see photos of dogs sleeping under fleeces decorated with cats – their owner said this was the cheapest material available.

But whatever happens, however much the Mushers love their dogs and cuddle them away from the public – you will never see an Iditarod veteran in a bling collar!

Current Positions

Dallas Seavey , youngest runner this year, grabbed the bag of golden nuggets as leader at the half-way point, but has now dropped down to 9th place; his father (previous winner) is right behind him at 10th.

www.iditarod.com

LATEST

Just reading the latest leader board must give you some idea of the battle that is going on across the snows of Alaska. Currently Lance Mackey is still in the lead, but with only 11 dogs. He is dropping few minutes when he stops by at a check-point – just time enough to tend to his dogs, before he presses on again. Currently he has just arrived -and left White Mountain check point.

Jeff King coming up behind has just arrived at Elim, nearly two hours behind – but he has 12 dogs. He had built up a massive lead of half a day, but that has been whittled down, and currently he has been overtaken by Lance Mackey, winner of the last three Iditarods. Mackey took an incredible seven minutes at one post, before whipping back to continue on the trail.

But Hans Gatt is right behind him – Gatt was almost as fast as Mackey, in and out of Kaltag, the last race post when he took a lightning fast 14 minutes stop before racing back on the trail. Ally Zirkle, first woman, has dropped down to mid-teens. Don’t ignore previous winner Martin Busser – creeping up from mid-20s to figure at No. 13 currently.

Then there are the dogs . Racers start with 16, but they may have to drop dogs if they get injured. King dropped another dog at Nulato – but Martin Busser, a previous winner, although down at position 15, has 15 dogs.

And a friend of a friend who is an official has emailed to say that it could be a very fast finish.

This year the top competitors are all macho males – the highest women is Ally Zirkle at 11. Next year maybe!

And this is when lack of sleep can cause the most experienced musher to make mistakes – and with the pack snapping at your heels, a few seconds can make a big difference. The mushers will be depending even more on having a really savvy leader, and Lance Mackey must be missing Hobo, his hugely experienced lead dog who is sick. These dogs are part of a musher’s life, and one, Savidis, has already withdrawn because Whitey, one of his best dogs, slipped his harness and has taken off – latest news is that Whitey has been found and re-united with Savidis.

After Cancer

HAVING FUN AFTER CANCER! — Verite Reily Collins writes about Cancer Side Effects

Tag Archives: Lance Mackey

Iditarod nearing Finish – Mushers hard on each others' heels – No. 5

Post 5. Nearing End

Post 4. Aliy slips past men

Post 3. Father and Son battle

Post 2. JIM LANIER FIRST TO CRIPPLE –

Cancer survivors race in world's toughest race

Heading across Alaska

Yukon Quest

Cancer survivors love to prove themselves in this race

World's toughest race and cancer connections

Iditarod beaten by cancer survivors

Hooked on dog sled racing? How to get going

Dog sledding is excellent exercise

Here’s how to get going

7. Latest on Iditarod – what it means to man and dog

Stop Press

Latest – latest: Ramey Smyth is now less than one hour behind John Baker. You can’t take this totally as true standings – it all depends on how much time mushers need to allow their dogs to rest (by this time in the race they don’t think about resting themselves), but it is getting HOT!

Now, fresh from a lap top that somehow managed to pick up a signal along the trail:

Judy Currier scratches

2. Iditarod FAQ

No 2 FAQs behind the Iditarod

Iditarod – Last Great Race on Earth

1. WHAT IS ‘THE LAST GREAT RACE ON EARTH’?

Sporting record falls to a cancer survivor

Dog sledder Penny Evans reports on

‘A record falls overnight …

whilst pink bootees push double mastectomy musher over finish line…’

Iditarod – toughest race on earth

STOP PRESS

As the Iditarod piles into its final 200 miles, eagle-eyed watchers on video will notice there are gaps in the line of mushers’ dogs.

No, they haven’t forgotten one – but these racing dogs have strong personalities. In the training runs, mushers test them alongside each other, and find which dog gets on with which kennel-mate.

Back to the race – 1,150 miles of racing across frozen seas, icy mountain passes and thick snow, spending 8 – 18 days on the trail, depending on weather – yet one year this race needed a photo-finish to determine the winner.

LATEST

Follow “After Cancer”