HUMAN

Name: JIM LANIER
Age: 83
Residence: CHUGIAK, ALASKA
Occupation: DOG MUSHER AND RETIRED PHYSICIAN
Years involved with Iditarod: SINCE THE 1970’S
Iditarod Role: RUNNING THE RACE
Current Location: IDITAROD HEADQUARTERS
Date of Photo: SATURDAY JUNE 29, 2024 DURING IDITAROD PICNIC
Temperature: 72F 

What, who or how and when did you first get involved with the Iditarod?:

I got involved with the Iditarod in the 1970s. I always wanted to do the “Northern Thing” after reading Jack London as a boy. And then I came north into the sixties and shortly after that ran into Joe Redington and his family and friends and I heard he was going to start up the Iditarod. And in the early seventies I actually saw the second Iditarod start at Mulcahy Stadium. And then in 1979 I did it myself for the first time and I’ve been doing it ever since.

What is your Why? Why are you here TODAY and involved with the Iditarod?

So as of today, I’m still involved with the Iditarod and I have 40 dogs at home and I’m training them to run every year. And this year Mike Parker’s going to run my team as a rookie.

Tell me about your most memorable Iditarod experiences?:

One of my most memorable Iditarod experiences, and still is, is getting to Nome. I always look forward to that because of all the friends and the other mushers who were there and I could celebrate with them and my family. But other than that, on the trail, most memorable were the times when I got in trouble and then managed to get out trouble. Like going through the ice on the Yentna River and many other things that were… Some not mentionable.

What do you know for sure?:

What I know for sure in life is the people in it and the people who are in a dog race, not to mention the dogs who are in the dog race, that’s what I know for sure.