By Educational Journalist, Joy Davis, IN
Tamara Rose of Fairbanks, Alaska, is inspired by the adventure of it all to run in the Iditarod. She wants to experience the solitude and trust developed as a result of being in the wilderness with her dogs. She wants to see the wide open spaces of land that still exist in Alaska.
Tamara earned her doctorate of veterinary medicine at the University of California-Davis. She moved to Alaska in 2004. Her mushing lifestyle started in 2005. She has been mentored by Aliy Zirkle, Allen Moore, and Judy Currier. Her kennel currently consists of 21 dogs.
Her ‘day job’ is her veterinary practice. She is also a co-owner of a local bakery. This busy lady trains her dogs herself. Currently, she is training two teams of 12 in addition to her job. I wonder when she sleeps. Maybe this is part of the training for sleep deprivation.
Tamara and her team have raced in several races in the last two years. She has run in a variety of weather conditions. She has learned what she needs to do to prepare for a race. The Yukon Quest 300 in 2009 brought out Tamara’s competitive side. She placed 4th in the field. Experience has been a good teacher.
Organization and preparation are two of Tamara’s qualities. In addition to the mandatory items required for the Iditarod, she plans to carry extra dog food and dog coats in the event that they have to wait out a storm. Well, she may need more extra dog coats as one of her team, Hailey, loves to shred her dog coats when she has to wear them while they are camped.
In the summertime, some of her dogs stay in condition by working at tour operations near Girdwood. She said, “The dogs get to run around rather than being bored and hot in the Fairbanks sun.” Tamara enjoys trail running and cycling during the off-season. This past summer Tamara ran in the Equinox Marathon in Fairbanks. She said, “It was my first marathon, and I did it for the dogs. I’m asking them to run a really long ways, so I’ll run a tiny 26 miles for them.”
Tamara knows that preparing for the Iditarod will require lots of hard work, discipline, and loss of sleep. Her goals for the Iditarod are to finish, finish in mid-pack, and have the dogs and herself healthy. This will be a new experience for her and her young team. She has a team that she loves and is confident in their athletic skills.
Keep the focus Tamara. We will be watching for you to cross under the burled arch in Nome.
Please visit Tamara’s blog at: www.trosedogs.blogspot.com
Photos courtesy of Tamara Rose
