Wobbly_Alaska Posted March 16, 2010 Report Share Posted March 16, 2010 news of the north..... From miracle worker to living legend: Mackey wins 4th straight Iditarod KTUU.com Web Extra: Lance Mackey on approach to Nome 0:44 Also on KTUU.COM KTUU to provide live coverage of Iditarod finish by Andrew Hinkelman Tuesday, March 16, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The first win was so remarkable and inspirational it was dubbed a miracle. The repeat a year later proved the first was no fluke. The dominance of 2009's three-peat was spectacular. Lance Mackey's fourth consecutive Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race victory is simply unmatched in the 38-year history of The Last Great Race. The 39-year-old cancer survivor made history on Tuesday, triumphantly crossing beneath Nome's burled arch on Front Street around 3 p.m. with 11 dogs in harness, further burnishing his already luminous legend. Two other people had won three straight Iditarods: Doug Swingley and the late Susan Butcher. Neither could pull off a fourth. Mackey joins an elite group of mushers with four overall victories: Swingley, Butcher, Martin Buser and Jeff King, Mackey's irascible nemesis. Rick Swenson is the only five-time winner. Tuesday's victory was also a triumph over what many, including Mackey, believe was an attempt by other mushers to accomplish through the rule book what they could not do on the Iditarod Trail. Several mushers complained to the Iditarod Trail Committee about Mackey's admitted use of marijuana during the race. Mackey has a medical marijuana card and is quite open about using the drug to help cope with the lasting effects of his cancer. As a result, the ITC implemented drug testing on the trail this year. So far no one has been disqualified for a failed test. Mackey said before the race he would not use on the trail. Many longtime observers felt like the complaints about drug use served as extra motivation for the man who was already chasing Iditarod immortality. "I think this is where they feel the sport's led and came to, and I think it's kind of unfortunate," he said before the race. "This is a dog race and the dogs should be the number one concern." Mackey bested a field that included King, Buser, Swenson, and a man who soundly defeated him in another 1,000-mile race a few weeks ago, Yukon Quest champion Hans Gatt, using his signature move: the nearly nonstop marathon run to blow past resting competition. After starting 49th from Willow on March 7, Mackey started picking off teams: He was 34th after Yentna Station 12th after Skwentna Back to 24th after Finger Lake 14th after Rainy Pass 16th after Rohn 9th after Nikolai 8th after McGrath 15th after Takotna, where he took his mandatory 24-hour layover 11th after Ophir 2nd after Cripple, the halfway point 2nd after Ruby, where he took his mandatory 8-hour layover 2nd after Galena 3rd after Nulato 1st after Kaltag, where he passed a resting King to take the lead for good Mackey made the run from Nulato to Unalakleet in 18 hours, 27 minutes, plus a seven-minute stop in Kaltag. No one -- not the previously front-running King, not Gatt, not 2009 Iditarod runner-up Sebastian Schnuelle -- could equal Mackey's stamina on the brutal Iditarod Trail. Instead Mackey kept the competition at arm's length, never allowing them to seriously challenge his team over the last third of the race. King waved a figurative white flag on Monday when he stopped to rest in Elim rather than push through as Mackey had done. As a result King lost his hold on second place to Gatt, who is attempting to do what Schnuelle did a year ago -- win the Yukon Quest, then finish second in the Iditarod in the same mushing season. It appears Ken Anderson will take fourth. He arrived in White Mountain nearly four hours after King and is more than an hour in front of John Baker. Hugh Neff is 41 minutes behind Baker and only 18 minutes in front of Ramey Smyth for sixth. Schnuelle is solidly entrenched in eighth. Dallas Seavey passed his father Mitch Seavey for ninth on the run from Elim. As of 10 a.m. Tuesday the Red Lantern belonged to rookie Hank Debruin. Contact Andrew Hinkelman at [email protected] and follow @KTUUSports on Twitter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckee Posted March 17, 2010 Report Share Posted March 17, 2010 That is so cool, and I love the caribou rack he picked up along the way for a souvenir. Very nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92xj Posted March 17, 2010 Report Share Posted March 17, 2010 Such an awesome race!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muff Posted March 17, 2010 Report Share Posted March 17, 2010 I was trying to see who won all day at work and never heard who won....thats great congrats to him.. there is a Wolfe Islander at the back of the pack....he is a rookie this year.....keep it up Hank we are all pulling for you to finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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