Lance Mackey arrived in Nome Alaska at 2:59 pm Alaska Time yesterday, with 11 dogs, and is the first musher in Iditarod Race history to win four back to back Iditarod Championships. His time: eight days, 23 hours and 59 minutes. Mackey gave all the credit to his dog team and especially his three year old female lead dog, Maple.
Lance's father, Dick, was won of the founders of the modern Iditarod, and won the race in 1978. Lance's brother, Rick, won the race in 1983.
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"Never the same boring outcome"? Maybe after this year, if what he says is true about this being his last Iditarod.
ReplyDeleteI've always wondered what they race on if there happens to be a stretch with no snow.
And honestly, that whole dogteam/handler drug testing thing? How would pot really give him any sort of advantage other than if there was a big bag of Fritos at the end of the run?
Lance Mackey actually takes a prescribed drug with a certain amount of time release THC in it (the active ingredient in marijuana) to stimulate his appetite. Due to throat cancer and his operations, he has lost almost all sense of taste, and so keeping him fed is a problem as there is no joy in it. For the race he gave up the drug just to run clean and have no questions raised, even though he had a waiver. Lance Mackey is the real deal and the real deal has no fear of doing it without a net and without drugs and even with real physical liabilities.
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Pretty amazing story.
ReplyDeleteWatching the video, one of the first things that came to mind is that number of dogs, kept that way... today's lawmakers worst nightmare (or hottest target).
And how joyful those dogs look.
No one with brains is going to mess with an Iditarod runners dogs; they love them as much as their families. In this year's race once guy spent years preparing for his run, lost a dog in mid-race, and quit everything to find it. And he did find it, four days later. He cried he was so happy to find that dog. Do dogs occassionally die on the race? Sure. They die in the Olympics too. But these dogs and these men are bonded in a love for something that is very deep, very powerful, and without end. Neither man nor dog would trade the life they live for immortality on a couch.
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Minor point-- Iditarod isn't just men. Think Susan Butcher, Dee Dee Jonrowe, Jessie Royer, Aliy Zirkle.
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