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.”
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.
A little analysis from a distance
It’s down to the wire for Lance Mackey and Ken Anderson in the 2008 Yukon Quest International.
Once the big news “blackout” between Dawson City and Pelly Crossing was over, word began leaking out about lost trail and the obvious duel between reigning three-time champion Mackey and Anderson in the suddenly sweltering 2008 Yukon Quest.
The Quest web site began posting word that Mackey had missed a critical turn way back at King Solomon’s Dome, which is the first hurdle mushers faced leaving Dawson City. That misstep cost him several hours. Word is, he lost more than three hours.
By the time the Iditarod restart gets under way on Sunday, March 2, some 96 mushers should be on the trail, which means there will be more than 1,500 dogs loping and trotting northwest from Willow, on the same trail and within three hours of each other. (It’s enough to make you feel sorry for the checkers at the first checkpoint, Yentna, who have to cope with all these dog teams pretty much at once, roughly four hours into the race.)
There isn’t a musher on the Iditarod trail that weekend who doesn’t think at least one of his or her dogs is something special, or who doesn’t have some kind of friendship with one of those canines in harness, charging up the trail.
Throughout this year’s Iditarod, I hope to post a few quick profiles of some of those dogs, selected from a mixed bunch of dog teams, from front runners to the back of the pack.
Starman is running for Ed Stielstra of McMillan, Mich.
Age: 5
Sex: Male
Weight: 56 pounds
Breed : Alaskan
General bloodlines: Sire from Martin Buser’s kennel and the dam from Ross Saunderson’s kennel.
Where does the dog run? He will run anywhere but most useful in lead.
Race experience: Iditarod 2005 and 2006 (and various mid-distance events).
What makes this dog special?
“Starman is priceless because of his seemingly endless energy and quick recovery time late in the race. He is one of the rare leaders that will leave a coastal checkpoint as fast as he came into the checkpoint. He is not necessarily the sharpest knife in the drawer but hey, neither is anybody who wants to run the Iditarod.”
– Ed Stielstra
The Iditarod Trail Committee’s Iditarod XXXVI Dog Handler Certification Class has been moved to the Fairview Community Center located at 1121 E 10th Ave. (between 9th and 10th street on Karluck St) in Anchorage. The class will begin at 10:00 am Saturday, Feb. 16th. It will move to the Fairview Lions Park located next door to the Center for the hands on training immediately following the inside class. Dress warm and get ready for lots of fun with the dogs!
For more information about the class and for directions, please contact Deby Trosper at 907.352.2212 or 907.232.9090.
Anderson chases Mackey out of Eagle
By day four of the 2008 Yukon Quest, it appeared that Lance Mackey was once again in the driver’s seat, a position he’s become increasingly comfortable with since he first won the race as a rookie in 2005. He’s won the last three. Just looking at the numbers of dogs, Mackey is having a good race and his runs are classic Lance Mackey: Long, steady with good speed, and he’s taken one or two shorter breaks than the competition.
There is one exception: Ken Anderson. Mackey’s neighbor from Fox, Alaska, is hanging right in there, though he’s down to 11 dogs. The pair pulled out together from Eagle, a remote community on the Yukon River, at just after 7 a.m. Alaska time on Wednesday, Feb. 13.
Mackey, Anderson jockey to front
Before the 2008 Yukon Quest started, mushers were speculating about which team was going to challenge three-time defending champ, Lance Mackey. Dan Kaduce was among those mentioned as a contender, along with Brent Sass, Hugh Neff and Ken Anderson. By day one of the Quest, Kaduce obviously was the first to make a move, by running almost nine hours straight from the starting line in Fairbanks to Chena Hot Springs.
The Alaska Sports Hall of Fame recently announced that Joe Redington Sr. and Rick Swenson were inducted as members of the Class of 2008.
Other Athlete inductees include Carlos Boozer, Utah Jazz forward and National Basketball Association All Star, Trajan Langdon, the first Alaskan to play in the NBA and Mark Schlereth, three-time Super Bowl champion.
Joe Redington Sr., the “Father” of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race from Anchorage to Nome. Redington was widely regarded for his role in establishing and promoting the race, which went on to become Alaska’s premier sporting event. Redington competed in the race 17 times, finishing as high as fifth place. He died in 1999.
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Past champ, analyst to lead the way for Scdoris
Joe Runyan is training dogs this winter in the Kenai Peninsula’s Caribou Hills, far from his home in the Lower 48, expecting to once again drive a team in the Iditarod after a 14-year hiatus.
This time, the former champion will work as Rachael Scdoris’ visual interpreter, covering for Tim Osmar, who is slowly healing from a badly broken leg and is unable to safely work a sled.
