HUMAN

Name: LANCE MACKEY
Age: 48
Residence: FAIRBANKS, ALASKA
Occupation: DOG MUSHER
Years involved with Iditarod: LITERALLY SINCE THE VERY BEGINNING. MY PARENTS WERE PART OF THE ORIGINAL EVENT. AND I GREW UP AROUND THE EVENT. BUT MY FIRST RACE WAS IN 2001. I’VE COMPLETED 12 OF 14. THIS IS MY 15TH ATTEMPT.
Iditarod Role: DOG MUSHER
Current Location: FINGER LAKE, ALASKA
Date of Photo: MARCH 4, 2019
Temperature: 15F / OUTDOORS

What is your Why?.. Why are you here today and involved in Iditarod?:

OH, MY LORD! THERE’S SO MANY THINGS, BUT IN A NUTSHELL, IT’S THE ADVENTURE. THE LIFESTYLE AND, YOU KNOW, THE STATE SPORT. THERE’S NOTHING LIKE THIS STATE. AND TO TRAVEL IT BEHIND A DOG TEAM IS SECOND TO NONE. I MEAN, I DON’T KNOW ANY OTHER EVENT IN THE WORLD THAT YOU CAN TAKE AN ANIMAL ACROSS THE STATE OF THE COUNTRY AND, YOU KNOW, TAKE A WEEK OR TEN DAYS; DOESN’T MATTER THE POSITION YOU COME IN, YOUR SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT AND, YOU KNOW, THE – A LITTLE BIT OF PRIDE INVOLVED THERE. IT’S A RACE, BUT IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT POSITION YOU COME IN. I TELL PEOPLE ALL THE TIME “YOU DON’T HAVE TO WIN TO BE SUCCESSFUL. IF YOU FINISH THIS EVENT, YOU WON.”

Tell me about your most rewarding experience on Iditarod?:

WELL, THAT’S PRETTY EASY. IN 2007 IT WAS MY FIRST WIN. AND I HAD WON THE YUKON QUEST A COUPLE OF TIMES SO I NEW THE FEELING OF WINNING A MAJOR EVENT. BUT I DON’T THINK PEOPLE THINK THAT THE QUEST IS AS COMPLICATED MAYBE AS THE IDITAROD, SO IT REALLY IS — I DON’T KNOW. I VISUALIZED THE ‘07 WIN BEFORE IT EVER HAPPENED AND SAW THE FACES OF THE PEOPLE AND THE CHEERING OF THE CROWD. AND TO PULL UP ONTO FRONT STREET, THE PEOPLE WERE TEN DEEP FROM THE TURN ALL THE WAY TO THE BURLED ARCH. AND IT WAS SO LOUD, IT WAS LIKE A ROCK CONCERT. I DON’T KNOW HOW TO DESCRIBE A DRY TEAR, BUT THAT’S WHAT I HAD. BECAUSE I HAD BEEN CRYING FROM WHITE MOUNTAIN PRETTY MUCH ALL THE WAY TO NOME. IT WAS AN ADRENALINE RUSH. IT’S THE ADRENALINE FEELING LIKE NO OTHER.

What do you know for sure?:

I KNOW FOR SURE I’M SITTING ON FINGER LAKE IN THE MIDDLE OF 2019 IDITAROD. AND HERE IN A FEW HOURS, I’M GOING TO HEAD OVER TO RAINY PASS AND I’M GOING TO HANG OUT THERE. AND THEN I’M GOING TO DO THE SAME UNTIL I GET MY BUTT TO NOME.