Interview with Jeff Dieter

What do you find the biggest challenge preparing for the Iditarod?
My biggest challenge in training was completing the Qualifiers. Each musher has to run a 200 and 300 mile qualifing race, and the 300 was very difficult. It was about 55 below zero and I dropped a lot of dogs in the first 200 miles. It was tough to complete the race, but after finishing I had a sense of accomplishment and learned a lot from the race.

What is the biggest challenge for you on the trail?

The Iditarod was actually a lot of fun, but the biggest challenge was getting myself to sleep in the checkpoints.

How do you keep yourself motivated when you're on the trail?

I keep myself motivated by listening to a lot of music and thinking about my future goal and not focusing to much on the current conditions (especially if it is going really slow). I love Nickelback, Yonder Mountain String Band, Eminem, and Linkin Park when I am driving dogs.

What inspired you to want to race in the Iditarod?

When I was 5, I moved to the village of Noorvik about a hundred miles above the Arctic Circle. This is where I first learned about dogs and dog racing. I then read a book by Gary Paulsen, at age ten, called "Winterdance." This is what got me hooked on the Iditarod.

In your opinion is the Iditarod more physically challenging or more of a mental challenge?

Definetly a mental challenge! Keeping up beat and happy is very important for the dogs.

What is the main key to completing the race?
Staying happy and upbeat is really crutial for completing the race. It is also important to give the dogs plenty of care and make sure they are getting adequate hydration and calories.

Fun info
Running dogs is an incredible experience and sled dogs are a completely unique lifestyle. I spend about 3 hours a day feeding, scooping and maintaining the dogs. During the winter, I spend about another 6 to 8 hours training the dogs and entertaining the puppies.

Pictures

The Iditarod after global warming =P

Introduction

What athletic challenge takes strength, endurance, stamina, determination, and focus to enable the athlete to feel a sense of accomplishment? Perhaps the Olympics, marathons, triathlons, or even the Super Bowl may come to mind. However, these pale in comparison when one considers what it takes to complete the Iditarod Dog Sled Race. Only through hard work and perseverance can an individual survive Mother Nature’s ultimate test known as the Iditarod.

History

The origin of the Iditarod dates back to 1925 when the city of Nome, a northwestern Alaskan city on the Bering Sea, was threatened by a diphtheria epidemic. Children in Nome were dying due to the lack of serum needed to fight this disease. Hospitals in Anchorage had the only fresh supply of serum. The dilemma was that the ocean was iced over and the railroad stopped more than 600 miles short of Nome. It was decided that the antitoxin would be transported by dogsled the additional 674 miles from Nenana to Nome. Twenty dog teams of about 150 dogs relayed the medicine in a record of five days. Balto and his musher, Gunnar Kaasen, endured temperatures sixty below zero and 70 mile per hour winds while running the last leg of the relay, a 53 mile journey. Balto is now well known as the “Hero of Nome” and “Balto the Wonder Dog” (The Official Site).

Mother and Father of the Iditarod

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race was first run in 1973. Dorothy G. Page and Joe Redington Sr. were intrigued that dog teams could travel over the vast Alaskan land that was not accessible by automobile. Dorothy and Joe have become known as the “Mother of the Iditarod” and the “Father of the Iditarod”. These two people felt strongly that this amazing piece of Alaskan history should never be forgotten. They decided to reenact a similar dog sled trail in honor of what had been accomplished with the journey to save the children of Nome (The Official Site).

The Red Lantern

Sled dogs were often used to carry mail throughout Alaska. Dog drivers relied on roadhouses to stop at between villages. Word was relayed ahead to other roadhouses that a dog team was on the way. A kerosene lamp was hung outside the house to help the mail carriers locate their next stop along the trail. The lamp was not extinguished until the musher safely arrived. Beginning in 1986, Chevron USA continued the tradition by hanging a red lantern on the burl arch in Nome. The lantern is lit at the start of the race and not extinguished until the last musher has crossed the finish line. This last musher across the burl arch becomes the winner of the Red Lantern (Fuerst 17).

The Last Great Race

The Iditarod is commonly known as “The Last Great Race on Earth”. This name is obvious when it is considered what Mother Nature has in store for mushers and their dogs. The Iditarod is a competition only possible in America’s Last Frontier. The Iditarod cannot be compared with any other competitive event in the world. The race is over 1,049 miles of the toughest and most beautiful terrain Mother Nature has to offer. To put that distance into perspective, it is equivalent to the distance between Cleveland, Ohio and Orlando, Florida. Racers pass through mountain ranges, frozen rivers, desolate tundra, and dense forests. According to musher, Earl Norris, “The Iditarod is not a race. It’s a survival test.” Temperatures range from 50°F to 60°F below zero. What you mainly have to watch out for when you’re running and pushing and really over-extending yourself for hours at a time, is gasping and gulping in huge lung-frosting breaths of air and sweating too much under all the warm clothes (O’Harra 68). While on the trail there are often times of complete loss of visibility in blizzard-like conditions. There are also long hours of darkness on the trail. Animals pose a real threat to the mushers and dogs. Moose, wolves, caribou, and buffalo all roam Alaska. Moose are the most dangerous obstacle that mushers come across on the trail (The Official Site). Susan Butcher recalls her close encounter with a moose on the trail. The moose "ran into the team, kicking and stomping and, within probably eight seconds, she had killed two dogs and injured 13 others," Butcher said. "I held her off with an ax for about 20 minutes, and then another musher came along and shot her.” “I was scared out of my wits,” Butcher said. “There was nothing I could do—I was just watching my dogs get tramped” (Thurber). Snowmobiles are also a threat to the trail. They can damage the trail and break snow bridges making it possible for a team to fall through the ice. Mushers seem to be in agreement that Rainy Pass is the most treacherous and dreaded portion of the race (Vaudrin 31).

Physical vs. Mental

Mushers have their own opinions on whether the Iditarod Sled Dog Race is more a physical or mental sport. Bill Vaudrin recalls what he believes the Iditarod stands for. He says, “This is the Iditarod: unspeakable beauty, mixed with very real pain. It’s also life, in a nutshell. It’s how it is, and always will be—probably, even, how it should be. Pleasure unearned is pleasure unappreciated. It’s the things we work for, suffer for, that give us lasting satisfaction.” Frostbite is very common in mushers on the trail for 8-14 days straight in the extreme temperatures. Many may suffer broken bones or illness. A lack of sleep often leads to hallucinations (Vaudrin 31). Getting lost is inevitable; however the idea is to not get lost for too long (Roberson).

Famous Mushers

The Iditarod has served as a way for several individuals to make their mark in history. Rick Swenson has been the only five time winner of the Iditarod. He is the only musher to have entered twenty races and never fell short of the top ten finishers. Susan Butcher was the first woman to have finished in the top ten. She went on to win the Iditarod four times before losing her battle with leukemia. In 1985, Libby Riddles became the first woman to ever win the Iditarod Sled Dog Race. Men and women of all ages, hometowns, and backgrounds enter the Iditarod each year (The Official Site). Cliff Roberson, a four-time racer, is also a neurosurgeon. He enjoys the Iditarod because it is so far from the way he was brought up and it is a real challenge and accomplishment (Roberson). Each musher, whether winner of the Red Lantern or winning first place, has accomplished a feat few dare to attempt. Each musher takes pride in their accomplishments and continues to strive to improve.

Conclusion

The Iditarod Sled Dog Race is an American icon because it illustrates the hard work and perseverance needed to achieve a goal. The Iditarod is a symbol that commemorates how heroic and brave the men and dogs were during the diphtheria epidemic. Men and women are now able to continue on the tradition. Americans will do whatever it takes to feel a sense of accomplishment and to achieve a goal. The Iditarod Sled Dog Race is the perfect example of what it takes to overcome any obstacle that a person may encounter. Every year, on the second Saturday in March, a new opportunity presents itself. The hard work and perseverance makes everyone a winner no matter what the order they cross under the burl arch in Nome.

Works Cited

Works Cited

Fuerst, Jeffrey B. Iditarod: Dogsled Race Across Alaska. Bothell: Wright Group, 2000.

The Official Site of the Iditarod. 2009. Iditarod Trail Committee, Inc. 22 Apr. 2009 http://iditarod.com/.

O'Harra, Doug. "Nature Refuses to Let Up." Iditarod 1985 1985: 68.

Roberson, Cliff. Interview with Kasey-Dee Gardner. Iditarod: A Musher's Life. Discovery Channel. 4 May 2009 http://www.discoverychannel.com.

Thurber, Jon. "Susan Butcher, 51; Four-Time Winner of Iditarod Inspired Global Interest in the Race." Los Angeles Times 7 Aug. 2006. 4 May 2009 http://articles.latimes.com/2006/aug/07/local/me-butcher7.

Vaudrin, Bill. "Twice Over the Iditarod." Iditarod Trail Annual: 29-37. Rpt. in Anchorage to Nome Race. N.p.: n.p., n.d.