“After a fifteen-year hiatus from dog mushing, I have been unbelievable lucky. Rachael Scdoris and Timmy Osmar asked me to be a part of their team in 2008 … I just could not say ‘no’ to this wonderful opportunity. I will be running Timmy’s beautiful Iditarod team and acting as Rachael’s visual interpreter. Rachael and Timmy have dusted me off, got me back on the runners, helped prepare the dog team, organized strategy, and to them I owe a ‘huge thank you.’”
The Iditarod is also a family affair: Jason Mackey, thirty-five, hopes to keep the prize in the family. Lance Mackey, Jason’s older brother, was the 2007 Iditarod winner. Their father, Dick Mackey, also a champion, also handed down his dogsledding genes to his other sons, Bill and Rick, an Iditarod veteran and champion, respectively.
Whatever team wins the race will receive a large cash prize. The purse for the 2008 Race has been established as approximately $874,800 for the top thirty mushers, with $1049 going to all finishers after the top thirty. The last musher to arrive in Nome wins the red lantern, which he or she extinguishes upon crossing the finish line.
I’m going to watch the Iditarod sports coverage, following the journeys of the competitors mentioned above and checking the race’s progress on its long route—but I don’t think I’ll make it to Alaska. Instead, I’ll stick to my local event’s warmer climate, pull out my costume bin, and see if I can find me some humans to mush here in San Francisco.
Related Story: The Canadian Death Race: Tough Guys, Eh?
Photo courtesy of alaskatrekker.com
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