A few weeks ago I was asked how a Texas girl way down in San Antonio became a Lance Mackey fan. Fair question and deserving of an explanation.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I became a dog mushing fan back in the early 1970s when my family lived in Alaska. I remember the old mushers like George Attla, Joe Redington, Dick Mackey, Lolly Medley, Gareth Wright, Chester Topkok and Roland Lombard. Those names are familiar and summon from the dusty closets of my memory the sights, the sounds and the smells of Alaska nearly four decades ago. They are the teenage memories of a middle aged woman peering back through a fogged and cracked lens. Memory, imperfect and mutable, is the stuff of our souls, it makes of us the individual person we are. So, somewhere back on the archival micro-fiche of my life are the four short years I was an Alaskan. Now, 37 years later, Alaska is calling me back.
I’ve followed the Iditarod race on the internet for about 10 years. As the coverage and reporting have improved and expanded it has fueled my interest and allowed me to connect with other dog mushing fans and the mushers themselves. Lance Mackey first appeared on my radar in 2004. That year several sets of brothers were running the Iditarod, Lance and brother Jason, were among the brothers of the “Oh Brother Where Art Thou” year. At the time I smiled and thought, “How great, Dick Mackey’s boys are running this year.” Mitch Seavey won the race that year, Lance was 24th, a respectable finish.
The next year, 2005, Lance won the Yukon Quest on his rookie run. He then went on to place 7th in the Iditarod. Whoa! This guy just ran two 1000 mile races back to back, won one and placed in the top 10 of the other! Who is this guy?!!!
I went looking for everything I could find about Lance Mackey on the internet. His story brought me to my knees. The more I read, the more captivated I became. I read about the diagnosis of throat cancer right after his rookie run of the Iditarod and his long ordeal with radiation treatments. The cancer left him without saliva glands and even a year later he was still on a feeding tube. I read about how his dogs help to bring him back from the slippery edge of oblivion. I read about the nerve damage in his left hand and the amputation of his left index finger. He was running dogs right after the finger surgery.
It all seemed kind of spooky to me. I underwent cancer treatments at the exact same time. Different cancer, (mine was breast on the right side) but still, that spring and summer were four rounds of chemotherapy, radical surgery, a month of recovery and in the Fall, two months of radiation treatments. I also suffered nerve damage from the radiation therapy. The love and trust of a dog also helped me through the toughest days of the ordeal of cancer. (My Lucky is the same age as our hero, Larry.)
Lance became inspirational to me. His dogged, single minded determination was uplifting and reaffirming. Beating cancer can make other obstacles in life seem rather small and he made me mindful of what was truly possible.
In 2006 Lance again won the Yukon Quest and was 10th in the Iditarod. He was not just knocking on the door, he was about to kick it in. Could he do it in 2007, could it ever be done? The stars aligned that year and he made history. His rise has been meteoric and spectacular, and many will say he can’t stay at this level. They doubt he has the experience or the knowledge to remain as the top long distance racing team. I think they continue to under-estimate him. Lance is the most natural born dog man since the days of Attla and Lombard. Of that I’m certain, and that’s why I’m a Mackey Maniac.
South-Paw Sarida
Snowless in San Antonio
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I became a dog mushing fan back in the early 1970s when my family lived in Alaska. I remember the old mushers like George Attla, Joe Redington, Dick Mackey, Lolly Medley, Gareth Wright, Chester Topkok and Roland Lombard. Those names are familiar and summon from the dusty closets of my memory the sights, the sounds and the smells of Alaska nearly four decades ago. They are the teenage memories of a middle aged woman peering back through a fogged and cracked lens. Memory, imperfect and mutable, is the stuff of our souls, it makes of us the individual person we are. So, somewhere back on the archival micro-fiche of my life are the four short years I was an Alaskan. Now, 37 years later, Alaska is calling me back.
I’ve followed the Iditarod race on the internet for about 10 years. As the coverage and reporting have improved and expanded it has fueled my interest and allowed me to connect with other dog mushing fans and the mushers themselves. Lance Mackey first appeared on my radar in 2004. That year several sets of brothers were running the Iditarod, Lance and brother Jason, were among the brothers of the “Oh Brother Where Art Thou” year. At the time I smiled and thought, “How great, Dick Mackey’s boys are running this year.” Mitch Seavey won the race that year, Lance was 24th, a respectable finish.
The next year, 2005, Lance won the Yukon Quest on his rookie run. He then went on to place 7th in the Iditarod. Whoa! This guy just ran two 1000 mile races back to back, won one and placed in the top 10 of the other! Who is this guy?!!!
I went looking for everything I could find about Lance Mackey on the internet. His story brought me to my knees. The more I read, the more captivated I became. I read about the diagnosis of throat cancer right after his rookie run of the Iditarod and his long ordeal with radiation treatments. The cancer left him without saliva glands and even a year later he was still on a feeding tube. I read about how his dogs help to bring him back from the slippery edge of oblivion. I read about the nerve damage in his left hand and the amputation of his left index finger. He was running dogs right after the finger surgery.
It all seemed kind of spooky to me. I underwent cancer treatments at the exact same time. Different cancer, (mine was breast on the right side) but still, that spring and summer were four rounds of chemotherapy, radical surgery, a month of recovery and in the Fall, two months of radiation treatments. I also suffered nerve damage from the radiation therapy. The love and trust of a dog also helped me through the toughest days of the ordeal of cancer. (My Lucky is the same age as our hero, Larry.)
Lance became inspirational to me. His dogged, single minded determination was uplifting and reaffirming. Beating cancer can make other obstacles in life seem rather small and he made me mindful of what was truly possible.
In 2006 Lance again won the Yukon Quest and was 10th in the Iditarod. He was not just knocking on the door, he was about to kick it in. Could he do it in 2007, could it ever be done? The stars aligned that year and he made history. His rise has been meteoric and spectacular, and many will say he can’t stay at this level. They doubt he has the experience or the knowledge to remain as the top long distance racing team. I think they continue to under-estimate him. Lance is the most natural born dog man since the days of Attla and Lombard. Of that I’m certain, and that’s why I’m a Mackey Maniac.
South-Paw Sarida
Snowless in San Antonio
I do not know who took this photo, if you know please drop me a note so I can credit them or edit as needed.
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