By Nikki Allen, FL, 2008 Summer Camp Teacher
Forty-one year old Blake Matray is more than just your average Iditarod musher; he is also a military pilot who serves our country. Blake is originally from Darien, Illinois, and attended college at the United States Air Force Academy where he graduated in 1990 with a degree in English. As an 18-year member of one of the most honorable professions in our nation, Blake has worked hard to protect our freedom and to keep our great country safe with his service in the United States military. He has served our country twice overseas, with a deployment to Guam in 2001 and then a summer 2002 deployment to Oman where he flew 11 combat missions over Afghanistan in 30 days.
During his 10 years of active duty status flying B-52 bombers for the USAF, Blake became interested in sled dogs through Brad Pozarnsky whom he met while living in North Dakota. He bought two Siberian puppies named Shasta and Thunder and from there the adventure grew. Blake knew that he wanted to run the famed Iditarod Sled Dog Race, (which he believes is one of the last great adventures), from the time he met Brad and started putting a racing team together. Of the 31 dogs currently in his kennel, 26 are Siberians and 5 are Alaskans. Two of the Alaskans are dogs that he and his wife adopted from the Fairbanks Animal Shelter. Blake prefers running Siberians; he feels that they are the true sled dogs and compares them to driving a classic car. Throughout his years of racing sled dogs his friend Brad Pozarnsky has been his mentor, “If I have a question that I need an answer to, nine times out of ten I call Brad and run it by him.”
In 2000 Blake moved to Alaska where he took a job with the Alaska Air National Guard, and now flies a KC 135 air refueling tanker. When he isn’t flying for the National Guard he is training his dog team. He says that this year’s Iditarod will most likely be his last attempt at reaching Nome. He has continued in the last few years to build his kennel in numbers and quality. His Iditarod goal is “to arrive safely in Nome with all 16 dogs.” Blake has a wonderful wife and many other family members who will be pulling for him on his journey. “Everyone is very supportive of my running the Iditarod. Everyone would like to see me and the dogs arrive safely in Nome.”
During this October 2008 interview Blake explained that his training regimen included running two teams of 12 dogs and using ATV’s to train 3 to 4 times per week due to insufficient snowfall. His part-time handlers, Eric Skilbred, a junior at North Pole High School in North Pole, Alaska, and Shannon Chase, a freshman at University of Alaska, Fairbanks and also Roy Stamey and Jonah Lilley, who are family friends, help with the day-to-day training of his dog team. When asked which is more difficult: training his team and running the Iditarod or military training and service, Blake responded by saying “They each have their own challenges; each is very demanding at times. They are similar in that you can be moving along with everything is going well, and then something will occur and what was an easy ride becomes very challenging to deal with.” The military training that Blake has received through the years has definitely been useful in training for the Iditarod. He comments, “Military training is very regimented. Dog training is similar in that respect. Being a military pilot helps you set goals and prioritize things which come into play in being able to successfully manage a dog team.”
When Blake is not flying for the Air National Guard or training his dog team, he and wife Erin manage the Sled Dog Fund, Inc., a non-profit organization that they founded in 2007. The goal of their organization is to use sled dogs to not only race, but also to raise money for special needs children. This past April, their Tails from the Trail banquet and silent auction raised close to $4,000 for the Sled Dog Fund, Inc. Money was then donated from the fund to the Alaska Center for Children and Adults which assists special-needs children in the Fairbanks area and also the Stone Soup Group in Anchorage which assists special-needs families all over Alaska. A local family was also able to receive assistance from the organization when the Sled Dog Fund, Inc. donated $475 to help with the purchase of an autism service dog for their three-year-old daughter. Blake is also starting the Mush to Donate Program to allow all mushers to get involved in raising money for the Sled Dog Fund, Inc. Mushers who run competitively and want to help raise money can have people sponsor them for every mile that they run. The money raised will go to the organization which will, in turn, be used to provide assistance to special-needs kids.
It is evident that Blake Matray fills more than just one important role in his day to day life: Service member, Iditarod athlete, and charitable organization founder, all of which are characteristics that will make us proud to follow him to Nome!
