It’s official, at least as official as any announcement of this type gets in distance mushing: Doug Swingley has called it a career.
“I’m retired,” the four-time Iditarod champion said by phone from his home in Lincoln, Mont., on Thursday, Feb. 21. “I’m living the life of Riley. I’m done. Melanie (Shirilla) and I are into stage racing. We’re still raising Iditarod dogs, but we don’t have any plans on going back.”