An Interview with Iditarod Insider
Iditarod Insider: One on One with Lance Mackey, 2007 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion!
On March 23rd 2007, Lance Mackey came to the Iditarod Trail Committee Headquarters in Wasilla Alaska. Lance had just picked up his brand new Dodge Pick up Truck from Anchorage Chrysler Dodge. He sat in front of the Wall of Champions at the Headquarters and talked to “Insider” about his team, his battle with cancer, and his life changing 1st place finish in both the Yukon Quest and The Grand Daddy of them all The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
Insider: So how long did it take you to recover?
Lance: I still haven’t. I still feel the trail effects… but you know… I’m willing to deal with that. This has been a very emotional ride… a little sleep depravation… no problem.
Insider: How certain were you (going into the race) that you were going to carry on the tradition that your Dad and brother started?
Lance: I was confident that I had the ability and that my team had the ability… but you know there were 81 other competitors out there. To say that I was sure I was going to win… absolutely not. I never count any body out.
Insider: How’s Zorro Doing?
Lance: He’s wonderful he came through everything great… he’s back to normal he’s healthy… and thank god everything turned out alright. He deserves to take a break right now. However, he’s going to be nine this summer (72 in dog years) and he still is the main man on my team. He is no longer a leader, but he is my all around best athlete. He’s been the stud in my kennel since he was a yearling and the team that I have right now is based around him. With the exception of two finishers they are all his siblings. The two exceptions happen to be Zorro’s uncle and half brother. He is the backbone of my success and I owe it all to him.
Insider: And everybody else in the history making team did they make it through ok?
Lance: They did. In fact they’re at home probably wondering why they haven’t been on a run lately. They’re an amazing group of athletes and I’m just honored to be the person to drive them.
Insider: How do you like the new truck?
Lance: Oh man it’s beautiful. We just came from there… It only has 70 miles on it. I still can’t believe that I have a new truck that I don’t have to pay for… it’s incredible.
Insider: Take us back to the finish line… It was one of the most unreal events in the history of this race. People were going crazy. What was it like for you?
Lance: It definitely wasn’t scripted. You have to understand that the Iditarod is a huge event. I’ve been dreaming about this… and me in this dream… since I was a little boy. In all honesty when the crowd was screaming my name and the people I know and love were in tears for me… for what I had just accomplished I couldn’t help but cry with them. Those tears were happy tears. The feelings were incredible… ecstatic. That new truck, that huge check with all those numbers… I never had a pay day like that. I’m proud to be the guy to accomplish what I did this year… how do you not get that excited.
Insider: So you said when you arrived on Front Street in Nome that this was Life changing… was it!
Lance: Oh yeah… I mean I haven’t even gotten to all the e-mails yet. There are all kinds of folks wanting to talk to me about this year and the accomplishments my team made. Radio stations, TV stations. Anchorage Chrysler Dodge wants to make a commercial. And the schools, lots of Schools, that’s going to be a lot of fun. Yesterday I was in a teleconference with a school in South Carolina. Kids have the greatest questions. This is different for me, but I do like it.
Insider: Doing what you’ve done… winning both the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod… has that changed your sponsorship any?
Lance: At the moment nothing has changed in that department however I do expect it to, and the “Red Paw” dog food picked me up last year, and they told me before the race that if I happen to win the Iditarod, there was a huge bonus… so I’m looking forward to that. But you now I am still going to continue to do what I do.
Insider: It is a huge challenge to do what you just did… how do you get yourself in shape for something like this?
Lance: All the exercise I really need is keeping up with my team. We have a kennel of about 60 dogs. Just the every day chores and the style of life we as a family have chosen to lead …. With no electricity no running water… those choices will definitely keep you in shape. I don’t have any secret. I’m the king of junk food, I don’t watch my diet. I just try to keep up with my team.
Insider: So are you looking for a repeat?
Lance: You know I think that’s about the only thing I can do to top this. Again, I’m not looking to make history books and break records; I’m just trying to do my job the best I can, so yeah if I can come back next year and win another Iditarod … or win the Quest Great! But I just try to do the best I can with what I have in front of me at that particular time and this year just happened to be my time I guess. The stars aligned just right, and it’s not for lack of trying and devotion to my sport and pure determination. I’m determined to do the best I can in these races. I don’t have the big sponsors and everything I earn in these races go back into my kennel and for my kennel to be top caliber, I need to do well. This is a very expensive sport.
Insider: Let’s talk about the plan… Martin Buser, Jeff King, Doug Swingley… they all have plans, strategies… what was yours?
Lance: My plan is simple… do whatever it takes to get the job done. I’ve had schedules, set plans in the past, and inevitably it backfires. For my team’s sake the strategy is I go as fast or as slow as they pretty much demand. My schedule is theirs. I want them to all have a positive experience. I go by what they are capable of doing at that particular time. It works for me. I no longer go to a race to “race” so to speak… I go there with the intention to get as many members of my team to the finish line healthy, and in doing so; my positions have climbed steadily from 40th to first. My team is the number one priority, not the money, not the truck… my dogs are the key ingredient to acquiring those things, but in reality I’m nothing without them.
Insider: A lot of the media talked about how great it was to see a new face at the front of the Iditarod Pack… that said, how long do you see yourself competing in the Iditarod?
Lance: Well you know I’ve actually thought about that a little bit and I don’ know. I don’t want to try to duplicate something every year. There’s a lot to life other than racing dogs, I know that. And I’m looking forward to spending some time with my wife and fulfilling some of the dreams that she has, but right now it’s all I know, and it’s one of the things I’m good at and I’m not quite forty years old. The people I’m racing against… well… some of them are in their fifties and beyond. Now if they’re at that age and that competitive than why shouldn’t I be? I’m going to go as long as I possibly can as long as I’m feeling good and competitive. You know this sport is too expensive to basically just go on a camping trip each March.
Insider: You know, behind you is the Iditarod Wall of Champions… pretty soon your likeness will be on that wall too… how does that feel?
Lance: When I was growing up superman and spider man didn’t mean anything to me… I grew up in a mushing family… the folks behind me are my heroes. Rick Swenson, Susan Butcher, Emmitt Peters, and of course my father (Dick Mackey), my brother (Rick Mackey), growing up around these folks… it was a different world. And (for about ten years) it was hard for me not to be a part of that lifestyle when I was out commercial fishing and “running wild” .
I’m just a normal person, it’s amazing to me to be sitting here as an Iditarod Champion. Kids… coming up to me asking for my autograph, telling me that they rooted for me… that just blows my mind.
There are people who say I’m an inspiration. I’m humbled by that. But you want to know the truth, my inspiration was living. My initial goal when I had this little bout with cancer was just to live… and live on purpose… I had some goals and one of them was to win the Iditarod. So for me to be to be an inspiration to folks just blows my mind, because all I wanted to do is live, and fulfill my dreams. For my peers to vote me as an inspirational musher, I was at a loss for words, I still am. I still don’t quite understand all this. I am a normal guy who happens to love what I do. Running on one runner on the Farewell Burn through the Dalzell Gorge… that was just something I had to deal with. Most folks in my situation would have done the same thing. I am just honored.
Insider: One final question Lance, why do you think that people rallied around you the way they did… especially people from Alaska.
Lance: That’s a good question, as an Alaskan I think most Alaskans appreciate the fact that all I am is me. I don’t pretend to be anybody else, I tell it like it is, the way I see it. I keep it real. I’m emotional about things that mean a lot to me, I don’t have a problem expressing that. I think folks in Alaska are like that. It goes back to the question about why don’t I have big corporate sponsors, and maybe it goes back to the fact that I’m not all polished and proper. I’m not going to cut my hair, and I’m not going to do something that I don’t believe in. And really all I try to be is down to earth. I think folks respect that. I’m not the kind of person that’s willing to put on a show. My show is as real as it gets. I say what I believe, and sometimes I say things that I probably shouldn’t… but that’s me.