NOME — Ken Anderson, a former collegiate wrestler, wound up having just enough wind in his lungs and strength in his legs to power 44 seconds ahead of Martin Buser, claiming his career-best finish of fourth place in the 36th Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

After both mushers took a few seconds to catch their breath and snack their dogs with small pieces of beef and pork fat, they shook hands. “Those sprinters, those stage-stop dogs, are hard to beat in the home stretch,” Buser told Anderson as the two smiled.

 

Anderson’s previous personal best was 5th in 2003. He’s been steadily finishing in the top 20, and lately, top 10, since then. But never has he had to work so hard in the final miles.

“This is my closest finish, and I don’t want to ever do any more of those,” he said as steam rose from his head and shoulders at the finish line.

Anderson was never sure how things would pan out, since the field was so deep with good dog teams, but he figured he might have a chance at a high finish at Koyuk. But he added, “You never know when they’re going to take off and have a great run or a poor run. I try not to think of placement. It worked out well.”

All of the 14 dogs in Anderson’s team ran the Yukon Quest this year; many with him and several with Julie Estey, who scratched at Slaven’s cabin. Anderson, who enjoys a fast-moving dog team, changed his approach this year in training to more closely mirror the regimen of his neighbor in Fox, Alaska, a certain Lance Mackey. He even ran the Yukon Quest this year, nearly beating Mackey. The net result was a slower-traveling dog team. “They’re just kind of a ‘git-r-done’ outfit,” he said. “Maybe that’s what it takes.”

Buser joked about the trouble he had “getting air” to his 50-year-old lungs. “I got out-dogged and out trained, and I didn’t have responsible leaders out front,” he said, mentioning that is something he intends to work on next year. And, personally, Buser said he was “moping” at one of the checkpoints — he’s accustomed to fighting for first place and sees anything else as subpar — when he talked to Iditarod ironman, 67-year-old Jim Lanier. “He said, ‘Get over it,’ ” Buser recalled. “Y’know, that’s exactly what I needed to do. It’s what Rohn (his son in this race) would tell me to do. It is all relative. Fifth? Some people would be elated,” the four-time Iditarod winner said.