Written by Nancy Duresky
Wednesday, March 20, 2009
Today I have been thinking all day about the mushers. One of the most inspirational mushers in the race, year after year, is Martin Buser. He came from Switzerland to Alaska to run the Iditarod and stayed on. He just fell in love with Alaska, with Alaskans and with mushing. Then, he fell in love with his beautiful wife. He talks about her all the time. They have two sons, Nikolai and Rohn who are named after two villages on the Iditarod trail in the interior of Alaska. He has arrived to Nome first in this race 4 times and when he wins, after he wins, instead of sleeping until he is refreshed, he gets woken up so that he can congratulate and celebrate with every musher who finishes the race. In every thing he does, he is that deeply kind-hearted.
In 2002, when I arrived in Nome, it was announced that after he finished the race, Martin Buser was going to be sworn in as an American Citizen under the burled arch. As incredible as it could happen, he finished first that year – he was the champion and set a record – complete the Iditarod in under 9 days. I was there. As he traveled down front street, his son ran up to him and gave him a big American flag which he carried over the finish line – the speed of the dogs made the flag wave in the breeze behind the sled. And the next day, under the burled arch, with his family by his side and his fans watching, he took the oath to become an American Citizen. Later, when asked why he became an American citizen — he was already well loved in America and a part of the American family, he said (my words now) that after 9/11, if there was war to defend this country, he wanted the world to know that he would stand with all Americans to defend this land. It was so very moving and that feeling is so much a part of the Iditarod.
There is also Deedee Jonrowe. Some feel she is the current top female musher in the world. What a wonder and wonderful person. She is not only a top contender year after year, and a fashion plate to boot, she is a cancer survivor. In 2002 she was diagnosed with breast cancer, went through surgery and chemotherapy, yet, came out of the treatment stronger than ever. When she ran the Iditarod again, due to her steely determination, she placed 18th. And she is as sweet and soft spoken as she can be. In fact, I have never heard her say an unkind thing about another musher or anyone for that matter.
Lance Makey, who this year came in first in the Iditarod for the third time in a row, is also a cancer survivor. In March of 2007, I was flying up to Nome the day Lance was projected to win for the first time. In February, in 2007, Lance had just won the Yukon Quest. For years, people said you could not win both the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod in the same year with the same team. Here was Lance, about to accomplish the impossible. I boarded the plane to go from Anchorage to Kotzebue to Nome, who should sit in the seat right next to me, but Dick Mackey, Lance’s father. He now lives somewhere like New Mexico or Arizona. He is the musher who several years ago beat Rick Swenson by one second. And he was sitting right next to me and he was on his way to congratulate and celebrate with his son for accomplishing the impossible. I couldn’t help myself. Even though I was shaking in my shoes talking with an Iditarod legend, I introduced myself and began to talk with Dick Mackey. Actually, I was mostly listening. He told me that a few years before, at the Iditarod Banquet, where Lance had not done so well, he said to his Dad, I have the most painful and strangest tooth ache. It kept bothering me on the trail. Well, it was throat cancer and Lance was in for extensive surgery and chemo therapy, and the long recovery. His Dad said Lance would come home from treatment feeling terrible and park his truck by his dog lot and just look at the dogs. He was too sick to take care of them, those tasks fell to his wonderful wife and family. But he found strength and inspiration just by looking at his dogs. He began to compete again, and in 2007, he won the Yukon Quest and then the Iditarod. On the plane, his father would stop talking, stare at the floor, shake his head and say, “No one else ever, EVER, has done this.” I could almost physically feel his Dad’s love of and pride in Lance and all of his triumphs. And, Lance did it again in 2008. This year, he decided not to race the Yukon Quest so that he could help a rookie musher train longer. He came in first in the Iditarod again. I read where he is going to retire his strongest lead dog. Some people say that retiring his leader is the toughest challenge he’ll have for next year. It’s worth a trip back to Nome in 2010 to see what happens.
There are so many good mushers trying for the championship each year. I would like DeeDee Jonrowe to come in first. I would like Ray Reddington, Jr. to come in first, or Jessie Royer – actually, any musher who comes in at all, let alone first, will get my sincere applause. I have what some would consider a pipe dream. I would like Rick Swenson to win it again. There are fewer and fewer long time mushers in this race (notice how I didn’t say old timers.). They have retired or passed on. There are terrific younger mushers coming up. One of the newest mushers that I really like is Melissa Owens. However, she is one among many. I would just like Rick, who is from the old school, to win this race for the 6th time in honor of all the men and women who started this wonderful event.
Stay tuned for more from Nancy!