Lance Mackey staved off a strong challenge from his neighbor, Ken Anderson, and hung on to win his fourth Yukon Quest in a row.
Anderson got within four minutes of Mackey as the two wound their way down the Yukon River into Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, in the wee hours Wednesday. But catching up that late in a marathon race usually can’t be sustained, and Anderson’s dogs slowed down just a hair at the end. Mackey finished at 1:23 a.m., 15 minutes ahead of Anderson.
Both dog teams looked great coming into the finish, said Gwen Holdmann, Anderson’s wife. That’s something both mushers should be proud of. They have lots to make them smile, actually. Mackey’s string of victories is remarkable, and his dogs proved once again that they can run some long distances and still maintain good speed. He also finished with a string of 11 dogs, dropping off only three at checkpoints along the way.
He did it in 10 days, 12 hours and 14 minutes.
Mackey sounded happy, and relieved. “I had some issues this time,” Mackey said. “it was challenging. I had great competition pushing me along, and I found myself having to make decisions that hopefully didn’t back fire,” such as not stopping at McCabe as planned because Anderson had pushed on without taking a break there. The pair went 14 to 16 hours without stopping at that point.
He said he had a sore neck from looking back over his shoulder the last 100 miles, knowing that Anderson, who is known for finishing fast, was hunting him down. Towards the end, Mackey even turned around on the runners and faced backwards just to relieve his aching neck. He also took time to enjoy the moonlit night and warm 30-degree temperatures, occasionally whistling to his dogs to keep up the pace.
“All in all I think it was a great race,” he said, “good for spectators, good for myself to have to really be on my toes and make some smart decisions. The whole thing was good. I was really impressed with the dogs and how they stood up; their enthusiasm, stamina and endurance. They’re a pleasure to drive, real low maintenance.”
And they’re all some very familiar faces to anyone following Mackey’s remarkable run of victories in the last three or four years. Yes, nine-year-old Zorro was in there, and he finished. In fact, 10 of the 11 finishers were Mackey’s core group who are with him in every big race. They were Hobo and Rev in lead at the end; and there was Hansom and Larry, Foster, Boycuz, Rapper, Dread, Battel and Lippy. Of the group, only one was a two-year-old newcomer.
Anderson also has to feel good about managing such a strong finish despite being a rookie. It’s notable that his dogs had never run this race before, and that’s a huge disadvantage. They never knew what was coming around the corner or when the whole race was going to end. Mackey’s team had been here before. Dogs that have run a race remember exactly where the finish line is. They have incredible recall for trails, better than humans, in my opinion.
Anderson was running around Whitehorse on Wednesday, but I got hold of his wife on her cell phone, and she said they were both thrilled that he had done so well, and that he’d run a race that Holdmann had run twice and loves. Then her thoughts turned to the immediate future — the Iditarod. “I’m a little nervous about getting ready for Iditarod,” she said. Anderson has just a week to rest up before heading into pre-race Iditarod meetings. And then, there’s the dogs. These Quest dogs are supposed to run Iditarod as well. “We have a little different dogs than Lance,” she said. “They’re not quite as exuberant and happy go lucky. I asked him if he told them that they’re going on the Iditarod, but I guess he hasn’t broke that to them yet,” she said, laughing.
The big question for Mackey now is which dogs are going to be at the starting line in Anchorage. He said he wasn’t absolutely sure — “I always make up my mind at the last minute,” he said — but that the core Iditarod team will likely be some smaller dogs he left at home; most of them will be run by his step-son, Cain, in the Junior Iditarod starting Saturday, Feb. 23.
Mackey’s Quest dogs were bigger, suited to the heavy loads and hills. They were 13 males and one 60-pound female (Lippy).
He has two fresh leaders at home, and some tested veterans, and may fill in some holes with some of his Quest team, he said, then dropping this gem: “Ultimately, I want to take my best team on the (All Alaska) Sweepstakes.” That’s the $100,000, winner-take-all race in Nome that starts at the end of March, after Iditarod. “I still want to do well in the Iditarod, but I won’t be disappointed if I don’t win, but I will be targeting the Sweepstakes. It’s been my goal all year.”
Hmmm. When Lance Mackey has a goal, he has an incredible track record of making good on it.
Meanwhile, there was still teams on the trail fighting for position in the 25th annual Yukon Quest. David Dalton had almost a half-hour lead over Michelle Phillips for third place as the pair took off Wednesday morning from Braeburn for the final 100-mile push to the finish line. Brent Sass appeared to have a lock on fifth place. It took Mackey 11 and a half hours to make that run.