Lance Mackey named Honorary Musher for Iditarod 51

In a short statement released today by the Iditarod Trail Committee, the Last Great Race announced the 51st's running's Honorary Musher would be 4-time Iditarod Champion and Legend Lance Mackey. Lance Mackey dominated long distance mushing in Alaska from 2005-2010 when he won four consecutive Yukon Quest titles (2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008) and four consecutive Iditarod titles (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010) before a number of personal and health setbacks saw him drop in the rankings. The feat of winning those eight titles in the span of five seasons will most likely never be repeated.

The ITC wrote, "Lance was one of the Iditarod nation’s most colorful champions, exciting the crowds and his fans everywhere he went."

Lance was born into a mushing family, he often bragged that he ran his first sled dog race from inside his mother Kathie's womb. Lance's childhood was not your dreamy Norman Rockwell version of childhoods, but he spent a great deal of time watching, studying, and idolizing the men and women of the Iditarod as his father Dick Mackey helped Joe Redingtom start the Last Great Race. 

Lance's young adulthood was fraught with difficulties, most he would later say from his own doings, but when he packed up the wife and kids and moved to the Kenai Peninsula to start fresh, it wasn't long before he picked up stray and unwanted dogs and cobbled together a kennel. He would work hard to qualify for the race he grew up cherishing, and it was his rookie run in Iditarod when Mackey discovered something wasn't quite right. A trip to the doctor discovered he had a very aggressive form of throat cancer. 

Lance Mackey defied the odds and credited his recovery on his dogs. The dogs gave him extra reason to fight, as well as helped him heal. They needed him and he needed them just as much. Mackey was soon back on the runners and even entered the Iditarod just months after treatment (he would later say that wasn't the best of ideas). While Lance and team started to see success in mid distance races, and steadily climbed the standings in the Iditarod and Quest, most counted him out. Even after winning two Quest titles in 2005 and 2006, many did not believe as Lance did that he would be able to continue - and as long as he was winning the Quest it was believed he would never win Iditarod. Two thousand mile races less than a month apart, the experts all said, was impossible to win both. 

In 2007, Lance knew his time had come to prove everyone wrong. Drawing bib number 13 at the Iditarod bib draw the now three time Yukon Quest Champion KNEW he was going to be the 2007 Iditarod Champion. Both his father Dick and older brother Rick had won their Iditarod titles with lucky bib number 13. Lance believed his fate was sealed, and wouldn't you know it, Lance crossed the finish line in first... and would do so for the next three consecutive races. 

Lance reignited the imagination of mushing fans and mushers alike. He didn't have flashy sponsors, gear, or really much of anything but gumption. Mackey with his "Comeback Kennel" was a sort of throwback to his father's days of mushing, and the world ate it up. He would be nominated for an ESPY award, and be the focus of an award winning documentary.

When fans learned in 2021 that the musher was diagnosed with cancer again (a different type than the first) they rallied around the champion musher. Lance's 2020 was already difficult with the shame of testing positive for methamphetamine - for which he went to out of state treatment for - and the loss of his life partner Jenne in an ATV rollover accident leaving their two children without their mother. It just seemed totally unfair that, once again, things seemed stacked against him. Mackey remained quiet for the next year, with just a scattering of posts about car racing, a few kennel updates where the musher was quietly selling equipment and dogs, and a couple kid updates.

Then August of 2022, Lance gave a gut-wrenching interview with Iditarod Insider's Greg Heister. He was calling in from a hospital room where he revealed he had been in and out of the hospital all summer. The musher said he wasn't done fighting and that's exactly what he did up until the very end. When the news of his passing hit social media via a simple post by his father on Facebook, fans immediately took to sending condolences and tributes - and as Iditarod wrote to confirm that the beloved champion had passed fans immediately called for them to choose him as the 2023 Honorary Musher.

Iditarod heard those pleas, and they have chosen wisely. Jr. Iditarod, also, will have Lance as their honorary musher and members of the Mackey Family will be in attendance at the race. For the Iditarod, the Honorary Musher or their representative ride in the first sled out of the chute driven by that year's Jr Iditarod champion. In Lance's place his two youngest children, Atigun and Lozen, will ride in the sled through the 11 miles through Anchorage. 

You can read the press release here.

Neff speaks to fans about Iditarod decision

Never one to let things go, Hugh Neff hasn't stayed quiet after he announced yesterday the Iditarod Review Board denied his application for the 2023 race. The former Yukon Quest Champion posted more details to his Facebook account citing how he and Jim Lanier knew that Iditarod would not let him run months ago. Neff planned to run dogs from Lanier's kennel again this year, and used their win in the Kobuk 440 as proof that his "forced scratch" from Iditarod 2022 was a farce. 

To hear Hugh's side of things is to hear one conspiracy after the other for the last decade or so. The Quest was out to get him. The Iditarod was out to get him (and in one race he suggested that Iditarod wanted to kill him when they wouldn't send a rescue team out in the middle of a storm out onto the Norton Sound to find the wayward musher). Different mushing clubs/associations who chose to deny him membership due to the Quest's decision to bar him from the 2019 race because of his dog's death in 2018 was found to be caused by musher negligence. So then the vet teams of races were out to get him. Mark Nordman, the musher's hinted, dislikes him and is jealous of him. And don't get him started on all of those fake mushers with tv deals (Seavey? Redington? Holmes?) he's following in the traditions of Alaska and real mushers whereas they're just about money. 

Neff's statement last night cited mushers by description and not name siding with him, stating they won't speak publicly for fear of retribution. In an odd sort of twist it seems Neff is trying to take a few pages out of Dallas Seavey's book after Seavey had to deal with the fall out of the Musher X scandal, with a big difference being mushers spoke out publicly for the musher. Even rivals who had not great things to say about the youngest Iditarod Champion wrote letters of support for Dallas. So far, if Hugh does have supporters in the community, they aren't coming forward.

In his statement on facebook the musher promised he is not going anywhere and plans to continue mushing in "Alaska's Greatland". A quick scan of mid distance race rosters does not show Hugh with any future races lined up.

Neff denied Iditarod entry

Hugh Neff navigates a turn in
Anchorage during the ceremonial 
start of Iditarod 50. March 6, 2022.

In a series of Facebook posts Friday night, Yukon Quest Champion Hugh Neff reported that his Iditarod Registration was rejected by the Race Board. The musher did not mince words and hinted at conspiracy against him as well as the kennel he plans to runs dogs out of - Jim Lanier's Northern Whites Kennel.

All entries for the Iditarod are reviewed by a committee which determines if a team meets the requirements - regardless of past experience on the trail. These decisions are not typically made public by the race other than approvals being posted to the roster. The committee takes in consideration kennel conditions, current races, as well as past Iditarods (when applicable).

Neff has had a string of concerns in the last few years stemming from the Yukon Quest barring him from racing the thousand mile race until he could requalify after they found him negligent in the death of his dog Boppy in the 2018 race. Other races, including Iditarod, followed suit in denying Hugh's entries in the 2019 season. 

Neff ran in the 2022 Iditarod but had to scratch in Ruby due to concern for his dogs. Controversy surrounded his scratch as the musher and the race differ on what happened with Neff accusing Mark Nordman of having a vendetta against him. 

This is a developing story.

Covid vaccination recommended but not required for Iditarod 51

Riley Dyche wears a mask during the
ceremonial start in Anchorage, Alaska.
March 5, 2022.

Iditarod released a statement to fans, mushers, and media this weekend with an update to their Covid-19 Policy ahead of the 2023 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. After three years of ever changing plans (sometimes mid-race) to keep villages as well as participants in the race safe, the Iditarod has chosen to walk back some of the previous year's policy on what will be required of mushers in March. 

When Covid-19 broke in the US in 2020, the Iditarod was days into the race. In "the race bubble" where the outside world isn't even a thought, mushers and most volunteers had no idea what the rest of the world was dealing with. The first time teams - especially those in the lead - found out things had gotten bad "out there" was when race officials had to inform teams that checkpoints were changing or being done away with entirely to prevent possible exposure.

When the pandemic continued past a year and into 2021, everyone held their breath to figure out what Iditarod would do. The ITC worked diligently with the villages and came to the conclusion the safest thing to do was to run what would be called the Gold Trail Loop, a similar trail to what Joe Redington originally invisioned for the race before deciding to go to Nome. Teams ran to the ghost town of Iditarod and back staying away from most villages, and not allowing villagers into checkpoint areas in other. Vaccines were still up in the air for many and so quarantining pre-race was the standard requirement with testing every few days. 

In 2022, Iditarod required all mushers, personnel, and volunteers to be vaccinated by January 1 to be able to participate - there would be no exceptions. This caused several well known names to withdraw due to their stance on the vaccine or for medical reasons that kept them from being vaccinated. The race ran from Anchorage to Nome but bypassed the popular checkpoint of Takotna by request from community leaders who just could not take the chance of exposure. 

For participants in the 2022 race there was frustration over the written policies. It seemed to never be fully finalized and questions continued all the way up to race day and beyond. To see that the 2023 policy is still being worked out fully has given volunteers pause. Still, knowing that vaccination status would not have to be given has gotten many excited in Alaska and volunteer numbers could possibly increase from the last two years.

With a smaller roster so far for the 2023 race, fans often asked if it was the possible continuation of the vaccination mandate that was keeping teams from entering. While that does not appear to be a deciding factor for most, it could allow teams like Jessie Royer and Wade Marrs the opportunity to come back to the race they have been top contenders in. Neither is currently signed up for the 51st running of the race. Mushers must sign up by November 30 to make sure they do not have to pay a higher fee for late sign ups. Volunteer sign ups should begin sometime in November.

What do YOU think about the latest changes to the policy? Comment below with your thoughts.
And if you're feeling generous and want to help keep this blog going you can "buy me a slice of pizza".

Iditarod Picnic and Musher Sign Ups

Saturday marked the unofficial start of the race season as volunteers and mushers gathered in Wasilla for the annual Iditarod picnic at the Race Headquarters. Unlike previous years, the picnic was sparsely attended by fans and mushers alike. Normally one could guarantee bumping into the biggest names of North American mushing past and present. Names like Dick Mackey, Raymie Redington, and Dan Seavey were a shoo in for the "old timers" who came to swap stories with each other (almost always the same trail stories they've shared for nearly fifty years), while names like Jeff King, Martin Buser, and Mitch Seavey kept people guessing if the "old dogs" had another win in them.

Instead, only one previous champion signed up Saturday - and did so via the web from a beach somewhere warm. Only 21 teams in total would be on the roster by the end of the day. While those in attendance joked that the low attendance of mushers would give those signing up a greater chance to win their entry fee back, there was a definite air of uncertainty about the event.

Also noticeably absent was Iditarod CEO Rob Urbach. Since joining the Iditarod in 2018, Urbach has attended every public event. The enthusiastic leader often hyped up the next season promising new ways to jump into the 21st century. Yet this year it was once again Chaz St. George as the face of the Iditarod at the event, and he quickly just thanked attendees before breezing through the musher drawings without going through the traditional announcement of number of sign ups and reading down the list.

Discussion of the day was obviously the lack of those signing up. Karin Hendrickson attended the picnic but did not sign up with a sigh suggesting there were too many unknowns for her to be sure she'd race this season. Hendrickson also pointed to financial insecurity being a big reason for a lot of teams. She was overheard saying that she knew of "at least" five kennels "getting out of dogs" because they could not afford to continue to keep up a kennel.

2018 Iditarod Champion Joar Leifseth Ulsom did not attend the picnic, but as the event rolled on those checking Facebook read the announcement the Norwegian made stating he was stepping back from long distance racing to focus on his "beautiful little family" and figuring out the "elusive Kuskokwim 300 win." Both five-time Iditarod Champion Dallas Seavey and Iditafan favorite Aaron Burmeister announced at the end of this year's race they, too, are taking time off for family both having children getting to the age of having their own interests outside of dad running Iditarod.

Iditarod 50 was a huge accomplishment for the race, and while fans felt that the race did not do enough to celebrate the milestone, it feels like this is a new wave for the race as a whole. It may be fitting that so many of the mushers that made the last fifty years memorable are absent at the beginning of the next fifty. It's clear that the race has changed a great deal from when Joe Redington and his merry band of mushing enthusiasts came up with the hairbrained idea that dogs could travel a thousand miles over an overgrown yet historic trail system. Today it's a streamlined machine of a race that travels in almost a blink of an eye.

Even with the quieter picnic, there were still many smiles and reasons to laugh and celebrate. With so few mushers needing their Iditarod picture for their website bios, Official Photographer (who is "retired" but still on hand to help) Jeff Schultz was mobbed several times by race fans asking for autographs to sign his work. Kristy Berington and Andy Pohl rode through the picnic on their tandem bike before returning a little while later with Anna to sign the Seeing Double racing kennel teams up for another go (Andy, of course, was there to take the photos). 

Jason Mackey was so excited to be able to sign up again that he showed up well before sign ups opened at 9:30am. The team that [wo]man the table said he was there before they showed up to set things up. Mackey, of course, is hoping to keep the family tradition of winning the Iditarod alive. Mackey's father Dick won the Iditarod, and then Jason's brothers Rick and Lance are also Iditarod champions. If Mackey draws bib number 13 at the musher's banquet this year you might as well just give him the win (Dick, Rick, and Lance all won their [in Lance's case first] Iditarods with the number).

Matthew Failor and Dan Kaduce both signed up - in part because they won a free entry fee for being the "Most Inspirational" (Matt) and winner of the "Humanitarian Award" (Dan). Liz Failor was on hand to snap photos of husband Matthew as well as give tips to KattiJo Deeter on how to fill out her application. That's right, last year's rookie who got stuck in a terrible storm and ended up scratching, KattiJo (who explained that it's "Katie Jo" but that her mother "was a terrible speller") Deeter is returning for another go at the belt buckle. Deeter proclaimed she would be very jealous if she hit that portion of trail and it was calm as "the first time rookies won't have to go through [what she did]!" Deeter was also having a hard time coming up with an answer for her occupation and her hobbies. There were plenty of peanut gallery members to help her out, however. Husband Jeff was on hand to swipe the credit card. 

At this time, only one team from Black Spruce Kennel will run this coming Iditarod. Jeff noted that the logistics "back home" are just too much with the both of them out on the trail and that when he races KattiJo "takes care of so much". He didn't say 100% absolutely not that he wouldn't run, but did stick to "at this time" there were no plans to run two teams like they did in 2022.

Overall, while the roster is Yukon Quest roster sized, fans should expect it to grow some before the end of the year (when the deadline to sign up is). There should be a lot of excitement as many of the teams that are often knocking on the door to get into the top ten will have a great chance of improving (in some cases drastically). Will Brent Sass be able to hold off the teams ready to make sure he doesn't repeat? Who has the best chance of taking home the prize? Those questions are being asked far too soon. The better question is - who do you think has plans to sign up but wants to keep us guessing for now?

To see all of my photos from the day you can view my facebook album.

Make sure to subscribe to Mushing Radio's podcasts as we'll be talking this week all about the Iditarod picnic and what it all means for the future of The Last Great Race.