HUMAN
Name: Mark Sass
Age: 69
Residence: I live in Minnesota, and then I live in Alaska in the winter for the last 24 years
Occupation: Retired from one business, maintaining help with Brent is the other one.
Years involved with the Iditarod: Since 2000, my son had been running Yukon Quest and has won that. And the Iditarod, he ran it in 2012 and I got heavily involved from there on, following and helping him.
Iditarod Role: Following my son and helping him at the different checkpoints, and obviously in Unalakleet, Nome over the years.
Current Location: Nome, Alaska
Date of Photo: March 15, 2022
Temperature: 7F Outdoors & 68F Indoors at Iditarod Headquarters
What, who or how and when did you first get involved with the Iditarod?
I first got involved in the Iditarod in 2012 after following my son with the Yukon Quest, several wins, and then he wanted to run the Iditarod, so we got involved. I support him from the backside.
What is your Why? Why are you here TODAY and involved with the Iditarod?
I’m here today involved with the Iditarod because of my son, and then just enjoying working with people and helping make things happen.
Tell me about just one of your most memorable Iditarod experiences.
One of my most memorable Iditarod experiences was following Brent, and he took a charter to one of the checkpoints. He ended up ditching the charter and flew, hopped and skipped, winging it with private pilots with public transportation and a charter to get to Unalakleet from Galena. Following my son and watching him come into the checkpoints and then meeting him in Nome. That was an amazing experience. Spent hours with Richie Diehl and several of the other… Pete Kaiser and staff in checkpoints, visiting when they were in their 24 hour res. It was meeting all the people in the native villages, meeting all the different lifestyles that you see out there. It was amazing, and I’ll never forget that experience.
What in life do you know for sure?
You have to seize the moment and go for it, make it happen and go for it. That’s what life is.