Monday, August 8, 2022

Lance Mackey gives update on health

The mushing community and fandom heard from one of its greatest legends this past weekend when four-time Iditarod and Yukon Quest champion Lance Mackey spoke with Iditarod Insider's Greg Heister to give an update on the former champion's health. You may remember last year Mackey announced that his cancer had returned, but that didn't seem to slow Mackey down. Lance leased/sold his team to give the dogs a chance to run throughout the winter, and then focused on his health, family, and car racing. 

Fans didn't hear much from the musher himself, though every once in a while a friend posted pictures hanging out with the larger than life personality. Still, not much was being shared outside of his circle and as the mushing season of 2022 got underway many let it slip their mind that Lance was in another fight for his life. 

Rumblings of Lance's condition started to circulate in June as fans gathered at the Iditarod picnic. Whispers saying that Lance was "not doing well" was the worry no one seemed to want to say too loudly for fear of making it true. But true it seems to be as Lance Mackey would tell Greg Heister on August 4, 2022 that he'd been taken to first the MatSu Regional Hospital in Wasilla before being transferred to Providence Hospital in Anchorage right after Memorial Day weekend. 

By the end of June through the first part of August Mackey reported he had been in "hospitals or hospital like environments" sharing that when he wasn't in the hospital he was essentially bed ridden. While the two original "dark shadows" from his original diagnosis have been "taken care of" and are "gone," "other issues" have come up and "progressed rapidly." Lance also confessed that he does not want to know what his prognosis is, and that he feels like he has a lot of life left. He's on oxygen but says he can still walk - though he isn't getting around much right now - and says that he's lost at least thirty pounds and is "a rack of bones."

"I'm not scared of nothin'," Mackey told Heister, "It is what it is, and I ain't any more important than the rest of the people on this planet. When it's my stop, I'll get off the bus." He continued, "I'm more scared for my kids, you know, they've been a little traumatized," referring to the loss of their mother in 2020. Mackey's youngest son and daughter are staying with family while their dad is in the hospital. He's kept them away from most doctor visits, and they've only seen him a couple of times in the hospital. With their being so young he doesn't want them to be scared, and he doesn't want only negative feelings to be associated with doctors and hospitals. 

"It sucks, man, it sucks. I ain't gonna lie to you, it hurts, and it's a little bit emotional. But, it's reality, and you can't change that, ya know."

The interview runs just over 13 minutes with Heister, and the Iditarod chose to share the interview audio in full on their facebook page. You can listen to the full interview here.

After the interview was released, Lance Mackey took to his facebook page to share a condensed update saying much of the same as what the interview shared. 



When asked by Greg Heister if Lance had anything he wished to relay to his fans, Mackey spent a good deal of time apologizing for his "letting his supporters down" after 2020 when he tested positive for meth at the conclusion of the 2020 Iditarod. Lance acknowledged this was the first time he really had time to speak on it as he went from "the embarrassment" to going into rehab on the East Coast, to coming home and losing his partner-the mother of his children-Jenne. From there he was diagnosed with the return of his cancer. He hasn't fully spoken out about how sorry he was for letting everyone down.

Knowing Lances supportive fanbase, however, he need not worry about apologizing. Most who have followed his career know that he's been dealt a far crappier hand than most and they continue to encourage and pull for the king of comebacks. 

The entire mushing community is joining in pulling for Lance to make yet another comeback. 

Thursday, July 7, 2022

2022-23 Race Schedule


Race List

Alpine Creek Excursion Sled Dog Race
December 10, 2022
Facebook


Knik 200*
January 7, 2023
Website / Twitter / Facebook 

MUSH Synnfjell
January 6, 2023
Website / Twitter / Facebook

Tahquamenon Country Sled Dog Race
January 7, 2023
Website / Facebook


Gunflint Mail Run
January 7, 2023
Website / Twitter / Facebook

Copper Basin 300*
January 14, 2023
Website / Twitter / Facebook 

Alpine Creek 200/300*
DISCONTINUED
Facebook

Eagle Cap Extreme Sled Dog Race*
January 19, 2023
Website / Facebook 

Willow 300*
It's Complicated
Facebook 

Warm Lake Stage Race
January 25, 2023
Website / Facebook 

Kuskokwim 300*
January 26, 2023
Website / Twitter / Facebook 

Pedigree Stage Stop Race
January 27, 2023
Website / Facebook

Idaho Sled Dog Challenge*
January 30, 2023
Website / Facebook 

John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon*
January 29, 2023
Website / Twitter / Facebook 

Femundløpet*
February 1, 2023
Website / Facebook 

Caledonia Classic
February 3, 2023
Website / Facebook

Lake Minnetonka Klondike Dog Derby
February 3, 2023
Website / Facebook

Yukon Quest Alaska*
February 4, 2023 
WebsiteFacebook 

Willow Jr. 100
February 10, 2023
Website / Facebook

Yukon Quest Canada*
February 11, 2023 
Website / Twitter / Facebook 

Goose Bay 150*
February 11, 2023
Facebook

Bergebyløpet N70
February 12, 2023
Website / Twitter / Facebook

Amundsen Race*
February 23, 2023
Website / Facebook 

Race to the Sky*
February 10, 2023
Website / Facebook 

UP200*
February 16, 2023
Website / Facebook 

Northern Pines Sled Dog Race
February 18, 2023
Website / Facebook 

Canadian Challenge*
February 21, 2023
Website / Twitter / Facebook 

WolfTrack Classic Sled Dog Race
February 26, 2023
Website / Facebook


Two Rivers 100/200*
TBA
WebsiteFacebook 

Junior Iditarod
February 25, 2023
Website / Facebook

CopperDog 150
March 3, 2023
Website / Twitter / Facebook

Iditarod 51*
March 4, 2023
Website / Twitter / Facebook 

Can-Am Crown International*
March 4, 2023
Website / Facebook 

Finnmarksløpet*
March 10, 2023
Website / Facebook 

Percy DeWolfe Memorial Mail Run*
March 9, 2023
Website / Twitter / Facebook 

Taaqpak 120
March 11, 2023
Website / Facebook

Hudson Bay Quest
March 15, 2023
Website / Facebook


Nome to Council 200*
TBA, March 2023
Facebook 

Kobuk 440*
April 6, 2023
Website / Facebook

Junior Kobuk 440
April 22, 2023
Website / Facebook


*Iditarod/Yukon Quest Qualifying Race

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Sunday, June 26, 2022

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.

Tuesday, May 3, 2022

Yukon Board responds to Alaskan Board's 2023 Quest Press Release

Yesterday a press release was issued that caused a stir in the long-distance mushing community when the Alaskan Board of Directors for the Yukon Quest announced that the race as we have come to know it is no more. As with most splits, the reasons are all he said she said, but the reason given last night was that the Yukon Board "would not budge" on their proposed rule changes. Now that board is coming out saying that's simply not the case. You can read the Anchorage Daily News article shared last night here. Below is the statement posted on Facebook today by Yukon Board President Susan Rogan:

The Yukon board became aware of this Alaskan board press release this morning when our ED received a phone call from the Fairbanks News Miner. They were gracious enough to send us a copy so we could discuss the contents of it for their news article. The press release was created and sent out unilaterally by the Alaskan Board and ED with zero knowledge of it or involvement on behalf of the Yukon board. 
There is a false statement that needs to be dealt. That being that the Yukon Board refuses to have a race without significant changes. In fact, the Yukon Board agreed to support a 1000 mile Yukon Quest International Race in 2023, with exactly the same rules as in 2020. And this was what the Alaskan board wanted. 
We agreed to put the trail in to the border as usual, to organize the start banquet, start line, and checkpoints as per usual. We agreed to share the facebook page, website, etc. all as per usual. 
There were two items the Alaskans did not like. One was that the Yukon board stated that we would raise the purse for the shorter races, while the Alaskans would be responsible for the purse for the 1000 mile race. The other was that we wanted to run the shorter races according to our format with mandatory rest. It was the Yukon's turn to host the 300. Both boards had agreed with the idea of having 2 or 3 shorter races in order to involve more mushers and develop their skills with an eye to them being feeder races for the Yukon Quest. 
The Alaskan board however, decided that the Yukon would host a 300 mile race, according to the 2020 rules. 
The Alaskan board also announced in the meeting last Friday that they had held a meeting with the Rules Committee that day, without inviting the Yukon Board or letting us know about it. They said the Rules Committee had already passed a decree that there would be NO RULE CHANGES, for the 2023 race. (Even though we had discussed previously that both sides had a few housekeeping issues they'd like addressed.) FYI, the 'Rules Committee' has no Yukon members, and one of the RC members sits on the Alaskan board, in fact is one of the two board members on the negotiating team. Anyway, the Alaskan team said the Rules Committee had already ruled that they would not change any rules, so no changes would happen. And we as the board asking for changes, need 3 votes of four on the negotiating team to change anything, which we won't have, so no changes would happen through this route either. That my friends is how it went down. 
The Alaskan board concluded their negotiation by adding, 'the Yukon side pays for half of everything', (refering to the purse I presume), and the final insult, 'the Yukon Quest is an Alaskan race, originally organized by Alaskans, and will continue in Alaska...'
The Yukon delegation stated that the existing Yukon board would not agree to this proclamation by the Alaska board, and that it was a surprise to us but we were prepared for it. I said this was not a negotiation. It was 100% what the Alaskan Board wanted, not one inch was given toward the ideas of the Yukon Board. We added that this was not done in good faith. (secret meeting with the rules committee included.) The negotiations were concluded, there was nothing more to discuss. 
The Yukon delegation said we would have a special meeting on the Yukon side to ask our membership if they would like to work with Alaska in putting on the 2023 race according to their sole wishes. If our membership voted 'yes', then we would ask them to step forward to form a board and do the work. If they voted 'no' and therefore to have separate races, then we would have to talk about where to from here. (Just for this year? Permanently? Have a race at all? Dissolve the organization? Who gets what? name, logos etc.)
This morning, before becoming aware of the Alaskan 'press release', we sent an email to the Alaskan board asking them to confirm 'what we heard' - and we itemized the contents of the meeting. We asked them to correct anything we got wrong. We went on to say we should work together in a spirit if dignity, honesty and respect, to honour the Yukon Quest and all of our stakeholders past and present. Having a public feud serves no one. And yet, here we are. 
To be clear: The Yukon Board agreed to support the 2023, 1000 mile race according to the 2020 / existing rules. We AGREED to the rules and structure that the Alaskan board wanted. We never pulled an ultimatum. We said the existing board members would resign. We said we did not have the power to make a decision not to have a 1000 mile race, we would have to put it to our membership in a special meeting. 
The only point of disagreement was the Alaskan board insisted that we would run the shorter races that we alone were hosting, the way the Alaskan board wanted it run. And they probably still had the feeling that we should pay half the purse for the 1000 as is normal, though that did not specifically come up. 
These are the facts. I have the 'sent messages' to the Alaskan board to prove it if necessary.
The Yukon board has still not had a single phone call or email from the Alaskan board, not even a copy of the press release. It was given out to everyone BUT the Yukon board.
The Yukon Board objects to the way this 'press release' was handled. The reputation of the Yukon Quest and our stakeholders, deserved better. We do however feel that at this point, it is important to be clear about what the Yukon board said. 
Susie Rogan, President of the YQIA (Yukon Board) 
Bonnie Michaudville
Executive Director


It remains to be seen just what this will mean come February for "the other" premiere long distance race in Alaska, but by the looks of it, the Yukon Quest as we know it is gone for good. 

Monday, April 11, 2022

Just one team remains on the trail of the Kobuk 440

It will be several hours before the red lantern finishes in the 2022 Kobuk 440 (close to five hours to go unless they pick up the pace), but Kotzebue are excited to cheer the musher in. Jim Bourquin should finish around 6:30pm Alaska Time tonight, which means he will most likely be late to the Awards dinner (and miss the musher meeting). 

Bourdin is a transplant from Washington State, when he moved up in 2009 to work with Iditarod musher John Baker. He ran his first Kobuk 440 in 2010. 

This will conclude the major mid and long distance mushing season in Alaska. Teams are already prepping for some dryland races scheduled to take place later this year, while many are gearing up for a Summer Tourist season on glaciers. It's been a fantastic season, comment below with your favorite moments!

Sunday, April 10, 2022

Neff wins Kobuk 440 two minutes ahead of Diehl

 In a near photo finish, Hugh Neff driving the Northern White Kennel dogs, came into the finish in Kotzebue just two minutes ahead of Richie Diehl this morning. Neff's win comes after a "forced scratch" in the 2022 Iditarod when officials and veterinarians grew concerned that the pace he set for his team was not conducive for the team's wellbeing. Neff came to the Kobuk with something to prove, and it looks like he has. 

Richie Diehl nearly took the win after starting last night with a one hour deficit to make up against the former Yukon Quest champion. Diehl ate up miles and time throughout the night to come within two minutes of placing ahead of Neff. Diehl told the Kobuk 440 volunteers at the finish that he was "Tired. Long night chasing down Hugh. Almost, but not quite." 

Neff's team definitely slowed as he made the last leg into the finish, which is to be expected when the team took the lead day one and held it throughout the entire race. Breaking trail, keeping a top speed, it all takes it out of the team - even the best prepared ones. Diehl held back early in the race before picking his way and managing a solid top three. Diehl made his move overnight to try and take the championship, and it nearly paid off. While Neff's team looked like they were ready to be done, Diehl's team came charging into the finish all pulling hard and tails up and wagging. Diehl should be very proud of what he accomplished.

Teams will continue coming into Kotzebue for the next 24 hours or so. Next in line should be Eddie Burke, Jr. who is about six miles from the finish so in under the next hour. He'll be followed by Ryan Redington.

Kobuk 440 is LIVE

Diehl trying to chase down Neff

While most of us were sleeping, Richie Diehl made his move over night and has pretty much negated the one hour lead Hugh Neff had on the team from Aniak. Only two to three miles separate the two teams with about 5 miles until the finish. It's unlikely that Neff loses this one, but it's always a possibility that when a team is driven hard from start to finish they don't quite make it to the finish. Still with only five miles to go the musher and his team of all white, all female, Alaskan Huskies should be able to keep the Real Diehl team at bay.

Now is a good time to get over the Kobuk 440 Facebook page as they will most likely go live as the teams approach Kotzebue.