Lance Mackey has just made dog sledding history.

[northofdenali]

http://www.adn.com/iditarod/race_2007/features/story/8704738p-8609221c.html

No other musher has ever won the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod in the same year. His pups were "dancin' and a prancin'" at the end of each; no injuries, one mild illness, and this good ole Fairbanks boy made good - just like his daddy and his brother (dad won in 1978, brother Rick in 1983). Starting bibs are won by "draw", you can't request them unless they're bib #1, which are memorial bibs. All three, dad, brother and Lance, drew bib #13 - fate, maybe?

I was in the Vallata Restaurant (nice place for Fairbanks) when the news came through (8:08 pm Alaska time) and thought they'd toss me out - until they found out why I was whooping, hollering, yelling, cheering, crying, and jumping up and down at the same time.

Lance is one of the nicest, most wonderful guys you'll meet. His wife is just like him; so are his kids. I SO wanted him to win, but knew he would NOT push his dogs, and they hit some rough weather.

He did, he didn't push, he just won. My god, my heart won't quit thumping and it's an hour later!!

Kinda like having your best buddy win the Super Bowl!!

At the Actual start in Willow, Alaska, my guy, Lance Mackey:



On edit: Mods, move if needed (Lounge) - already posted in Alaska forum.

[Maddy McCall]

1. Congratulations, Lance and pups!!

Thanks so much for letting us know.

Quite a feat, to win the Iditarod and the Yukon.

I hope that Blue_in_AK reads this. She's been keeping us posted, and she's posted some really good photographs.

[TomInTib]

2. Good for you and bully for Lance!

Dog-sledding is a fascinating endeavor for this hick from Texas.

Good for all of you!

[northofdenali]

3. All you have to do is get near one of these dogs -

they are amazing intelligent beings, half the time knowing more than the mushers. Beautiful athletes, and real contenders!! I know there'll be lots of photos tomorrow, and I know Blue's been following every word - she's probably too overwhelmed to post!

[TomInTib]

6. I have a pretty much daily encounter with a Chinook

http://www.chinook-dogs.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinook_(dog)

and I am quite the believer in sled dogs.

I have the coolest Golden Retriever in the World.

And I am not kidding.

But my next dog will be a Chinook (that is.. if I am not too old).

[northofdenali]

10. TominTib,

I saw a guy back in the late 70's or early 80's who tried, really hard, with great training and superb conditioning, try to run a buncha Standard Poodles.

If they hadn't been so big, they might have had a chance.

The chinook dogs aren't lost - they still live up here. And your Goldie is represented in our Golden Days Parade every year - because they are one of the most favorite non-running dogs here:




Lousy pictures, but I can't find my non-digitals from last year, and haven't scanned them at any rate! C'mon up, you'd fit right in. Then again, I can think of very, very few DU'ers who wouldn't - and maybe even liven the place up a bit.........

[roguevalley]

11. the more the merrier up here. :) I remember at the start one year in

Anchorage seeing a tiny sled and a team of dachshunds that were being shown by their owner over to one.
It was so darned cute. I am so glad that Lance won. What a feat and what a nice couple they are. His brother and mother were so excited. I bet his dad is still kicking himself for not being in Nome at that moment. BRAVO, LANCE! And bravo, you wonderful, wonderful dogs. GO, LARRY!

[alittlelark]

4. That is so cool!

I have 'Balto' scenes running through my head right now.:bounce:

[ninkasi]

5. What a wonderful team...

Those dogs are gorgeous. They are real champions, and so is your friend. I'm in Texas, about 40 miles north of Houston, so don't know anything about sledding, but it's really great to see the partnership of man and his dogs. Thanks for the post.

[roguevalley]

12. come up to Anchorage late February next year, ninkasi. You can

stand on the street and watch the ceremonial start. It usually is the first of March. Its a wonderful thing to participate in.

[tularetom]

7. You don't know "heart" until you've seen these dogs in action

I had one for 17 years, best friend ever. Unlimited energy, great personality, fantastic with kids. Used to walk me 12 miles every weekend morning. Saddest day of my life was when we had to have him put down.

[La_Fourmi_Rouge]

8. Hey, that's awesome!

I have a special place in my heart for the Fairbanks people - My brother, Deli Dave, was 17 when he joined the culinary union and headed North to help build the Pipeline. He sent me letters and postcards from every camp from Valdez to the North Slope - Chandalar, Old Man, Coldfoot - the names are part of our family folklore.

Dave still works for Rick Winthers at The Alaska Salmon Bake in Alaskaland - He's got good friends at Esther Gold Camp, too. Dave can tell stories until the cows come home about all the characters he worked with and met in the last 3 decades.

Susan Bucher was always his fave in the race...

[northofdenali]

9. LFM, your brother works about 2 blocks from my original Fairbanks home.

He probably knows my husband, who flew loadmaster for Wein Air during most of the Pipeline buildup; usually with a buncha guys headed to the Slope. The "Southern Route" (Fairbanks to the Brooks Range and back) was Old Man, Prospect (Pump 5), Coldfoot and Dietrich; the "Northern Route" (Brooks Range to Prudhoe) was Galbraith Lake, Chandalar, Toolik, Happy Valley, Franklin Bluff, and Prudhoe. It just depended on the day of the week, and the time of day, and how drunk the pilot was, and how much money the returning pipeliners had......... :rofl:

Check your PM; I really have no doubt that your brother and my spouse have at least crossed paths in this number of years in this small of an area in this big a state!

It was an INCREDIBLE race, sort of like a 2-point win at the end of the Alabama-Auburn game! No one really lost - but I am so glad that Lance won!

:hug: to a brother of a northern brother!

[roguevalley]

13. my dad drove pipe on that route. I will never forget him calling us to

tell us he had lobster for dinner and it was -180 below with the wind blowing at the Chandalar Pass. :)

[La_Fourmi_Rouge]

16. Sounds like a great finish!

Who came in second?

Did the guy with the poodles make a run this year?

What were conditions like? I hear the permafrost is melting in some places.

What's a PM?

[Blue_In_AK]

18. Paul Gebhardt in second

[northofdenali]

21. A PM is a personal message - go to my DU and check your inbox!

Here's the Iditarod website, they have all the latest standings and lots of great info: http://www.iditarod.com/ The Anchorage Daily News is http://www.adn.com/ and the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner is http://newsminer.com/

Haven't come down yet! Paul Gephardt was in second, Zack Steer in third and Martin Buser in 4th. I think all top-10 this year are from Alaska, which is quite a thrill as well.

[uppityperson]

14. I saw your title and had to come see. Quest AND Iditarod?

That is so cool! Congratulations to a musher who knows how to treat his dogs. Congratulations to Lance and his wonder-dogs!

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

15. I think this is my favorite sporting event.

And I love the origin.

Here it is for those unfamiliar:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iditarod_Trail_Sled_Dog_Race#History

[uppityperson]

22. And, for those that don't know what the trying Yukon Quest is...

Less stops to restock at, less ability to drop off dogs or get vet care, 1000 miles, Mid-Feb, Whitehorse-Yukon-Fairbanks.
http://www.yukonquest.org/

The 2007 Yukon Quest was a cold-weather, endurance run, almost from Start to Finish. Temperatures along the trail were reported as low as -55 F (-48 C) and rarely climbed above -10 F (-23 C).

Lance Mackey ran a near-perfect race, gauging the abilities of his dogs and adjusting to the changes in trail and temperatures. His total run time of 10 days, 2 hours and 37 minutes established a new Yukon Quest time record for running the 1,000 mile trail between Whitehorse and Fairbanks, knocking over 1/2 day off the previous record from 1995.

Lance also became only the second person in Yukon Quest history to win three races in-a-row, giving his kennel the recognition of the second Yukon Quest dynasty. For the third consecutive year, Lance's lead dog Hobo Jim claimed the Golden Harness Award with his new running mate, Lippy, giving Lance's 'Mackey's Comeback Kennel' six Golden Harnesses so far!

http://www.salon.com/wlust/feature/1997/12/16feature.html

THE "ALTERNATIVE IDITAROD" IS NOT ABOUT COMMERCIALISM AND SPONSORS; IT'S ABOUT LIFE AND DEATH AND COVERING 1,000 MILES BY DOG SLED... (article follows)

I lived on the Quest route for a yr and was amazed at what they went through.

[Blue_In_AK]

17. Still celebrating down here, too, NOD

I am so thrilled for Lance, and although I don't know him personally, I just love the way his personality shines through in every interview. What a guy. I don't believe you mentioned the fact that he has survived a battle with throat cancer in 2001 and had to have a finger amputated. Amazing heart, both he and his dogs. I think this has been the best Iditarod victory ever (with the exception of maybe some of Susan's back in the '80s.)

Here are my shots of Lance and his amazing dogs from the start in Willow.









Now, take a good, long, well-deserved rest, Lance. You really need it after 20 out of the last 30 days on the trail in subzero temps and biting winds. You are a true champion. :)

[Blue_In_AK]

19. For you fans, you can watch a couple of nice videos here

http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=6223744

And the link to the story in this morning's Anchorage Daily News....

http://www.adn.com/

"No one thought it could be done.

No one that is, but Lance Mackey, the musher in the dirty red snowsuit who hugged his wife, Tonya, at the finish line, then raced to embrace his lead dogs, who licked and slobbered all over his badly windburned face.

That was the only visible sign of the beating he had taken on the trail, but hidden beneath his right glove was a frostbitten middle finger coated with canine foot salve, covered in toilet paper and wrapped with duct tape to blunt the pain."

That's one tough hombre. :)

[RestoreGore]

20. A True Triumph Of The Human And Canine Spirit

Congratulations to him and his strong beautiful partners. I hope they all are now getting a much deserved rest.

[janx]

23. KICK

!!!!!!!!!!!!

[janx]

24. The Incredible Lance Mackey--

in Five Hundred Words or Less

http://www.iditarod.com/2007/dailyarchives/story_349.html

With an inconclusive prognosis, Lance returns home and sits for hours in his truck, the heater full blast, and studies and contemplates the dogs tethered in his dog yard. Gradually, his strength returns, and for ten minutes he lugs half a bucket of feed down a line of hungry huskies. The interval increases to twenty minutes before he returns to the truck for another redeeming rest, and day by day, he recuperates and the "plan" transforms from an idea into a singular passion. Dick Mackey, thinking out loud to that time in the past, told us "the dogs brought him back to life."

[northofdenali]

25. janx, it's your turn to brag, too - not just us Alaskans!

C'mon, you've got a prime connection here! :hug:

[northofdenali]

26. Kicking my own, but for those who are enthusiasts -

Lance's dog Zorro is going to be fine. Link to the msot recent Anchorage Daily News (as well as a VERY touching photo of Lance & Zorro) is here: http://www.adn.com/iditarod/race_2007/features/story/8709539p-8611825c.html

What a buncha saps we are, eh? :loveya: Zorro :loveya: Lance!

[graywarrior]

27. Awesome!

:headbang:

[northofdenali]

28. Better believe it, graywarrior -

I was lucky enough to be at the finish line for this year's Yukon Quest when Lance came in. The finish line is on the Chena River behind the Visitor's Center in Fairbanks. The start and finish lines alternate between here and Whitehorse each year. Usually, there's a couple hundred folks when a musher finishes, because (a) it's damn cold and (b) there's no way to tell exactly when the team will arrive. He was far enough ahead of the next team that folks at the Chena Lakes checkpoint (last before the finish line) called me, I zipped on downtown, and those puppies were barking, tails wagging, leaping in the air... happiest dogs ever. There had to be at least 1500 folks there!

I knew Lance was going to try for the Irod again, he'd already said so, but everyone, from extremely experienced Iditarod mushers (King, Swingley, Swensen, Buser) to odds makers in Vegas said it could NOT be done. No way could anyone run both races in the same year, and win.

Wrong.

A poor man with a small kennel, a lovely and loving wife, a ripped snowsuit and a 14-year-old truck that barely made it to the Whitehorse (Yukon Territory) start of the Quest, believed in himself. A cancer survivor with more heart, guts, brains, and love of his dogs than any 10 other mushers believed in himself. His fans, his fellow mushers - when Jeff King was in the #2 spot and Lance was #4 in the 'Rod, Jeff himself said that Lance winning would be "magical" - and he believed in himself.

By god, if Lance can do this, we CAN get our country back! WE can win, too!

If janx will tell the story of her peripheral but important involvement, it'll just make this all the more sweet! C'mon, janx, your turn!


Lance near the Quest finish line, on the Chena River. ("In the chute")

Not many realize that not only did he win the last 3 Yukon Quest races, he won this years' race in record time - 10 days, 2 hours, 37 minutes, and every dog in fine shape (LOOK at 'em)!

Link to the Quest homepage: http://www.yukonquest.org/servlet/viewnewslist

The Irod is the "Last Great Race on Earth". The Quest is "The Toughest Sled Dog Race in the World", mostly because of terrain, temperature, and the distance between checkpoints. It's only been won by a woman once - in 2000 - Aliy Zirkle of Two Rivers (Fairbanks). And it got started as a drunken bet.......

It's no wonder we Alaskans love this sport, these dogs, and these mushers. They're incredible in every sense of the word. A many-time Quest musher, Dave Dalton, has Alaska and the Quest route tattooed on his back..........

:hug::grouphug::loveya::grouphug::hug: DU'ers! After my FIL died on the 3rd, I needed something, and got way, way more than I expected. This win and Lance's skill, and his dogs, are probably a direct result of the good karma, prayers and thoughts of my fellow DU'ers!! :* :* :* :rofl:

Wouldn't you rather see this than an overblown adolescent in a flight suit he didn't earn, with stuffed codpiece thereon?