KASILOF, Alaska — Every year, students write to me and other mushers with a series of questions for some school-related project. And once in a while, one of them just seems to hit the mark with well-worded and insightful queries. I got one recently from a boy named Jack that covered what longtime race fans would consider well-trodden territory. But Jack asked such open-ended questions that I felt compelled to cut right to the heart with my answers. And while the resulting dialog covered the simple basics, it seems worthwhile to compile the Q&A into a column to be posted here. Some fans are new to the sport and might appreciate this. For others, who, like me, sometimes gloss over the simple joy of running sled dogs as they talk about the minutiae of run/rest schedules, it’s never a bad idea to take a refresher course.
Here are Jack’s questions:
Q: What is it like to compete in the Iditarod or any sled dog race?
A: It is like nothing else I’ve ever done. The Iditarod, more than most other races, takes you to places mentally and physically where most people these days never go. You get tired, sore and sometimes hurt, and yet you find that you not only can keep going but also still have fun. It gives you new perspective on the rest of life.
Q: How do weather conditions affect the race, you and the dogs?
A: Weather is one of the biggest factors. Many mushers race their dogs according to a schedule, stopping when their team needs to rest, whether that is at a checkpoint or not. That means they’ll pull over for six hours or so in the middle of nowhere. If the weather is bad, that will limit their ability to run the race according to their plans, forcing them to pull over at checkpoints for shelter. Heavy snow also slows the teams down, causing mushers to change plans again. Weather is the single biggest factor affecting the race.
Q: What does it take to train a puppy and prepare it for a race? At what age do you usually start training?
A: I start training puppies at 6 months, and some start earlier; it depends on the musher. I actually start working with them at 4 weeks by teaching the pups to eat food from my hand on command. They learn to run in harness at 6 months, but don’t do real training until they are at least a year old. They don’t race competitively until they are 2 years old. They can race until they are 9 or 10 years old. Many live to be 15, or older.
Q: What characteristics do you look for in a dog?
A: I look for athletes, first, and a willingness to run in harness. If a puppy has those two things going for it, it will become a sled dog. Next I look for speed. Like people, dogs are not all equal in their abilities. Some run faster than others. I want a team to be evenly matched with plenty of speed. I also want them to have good fur to withstand cold weather. Those are the main characteristics.
Q: On the trail, what do you need to do for the dogs to keep them going?
A: All of winter’s training is what builds them up to keep them going in a race. Early in a race, I don’t have to do much to keep them going. In fact, I have to work extremely hard to slow them down and get them to stop. The early part of the Iditarod is all about pulling over, resting and feeding to keep their energy level up. If they run too fast or too long early in the race, they won’t have enough energy to finish strong late in the race, and they’ll “fade,” which means they’ll run slower and slower. Generally, I make sure they get just enough sleep and as much high-quality food as they can digest. Later in the race, when they might rather keep napping on a bed of straw than get up and run, I rely on our bond to keep them going. That’s what I meant by saying the winter’s training is what keeps them going. I mean the relationship that I have built with them. If they’re feeling sleepy at Unalakleet, 800 miles into the race, but I ask them to get up and keep going, they stand up, shake off the straw and begin trotting forward. They’re doing it for me.
Q: What does it feel like to cross the finish line and complete the Iditarod, or any race?
A: It is a wonderful feeling to cross under the burled arch in Nome, or the finish line in any race, but the feeling is mixed because you know it is over. Part of you wants to keep going since it is all you have known for about two weeks, and all other thoughts have been shoved aside for that time. Mainly, you feel so proud of the dogs and amazed at their ability to cross more than 1,100 miles under their own power, carrying you along for the ride.
Thanks, Jack, for asking, and for helping me remember the basics as we close in on another intense season of distance sled dog racing throughout Alaska, Canada, the northern United States and Norway, capped off with the Iditarod in March.