HUMAN

Name: Patty Friend

Residence: Birchwood, Alaska

Age: 73

Occupation: I still train dogs, but they’re much littler these days, little Schipperkes.

Years involved with Iditarod: 40 years

Past Iditarod Roles: I just ran the Iditarod once, and that’s in 1979.

Current Location: Settler’s Bay Lodge in Wasilla, Alaska
Date of Photo: March 1, 2022

Temperature: 68 F Indoors

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

First got involved… I first got involved with the Iditarod probably shortly after arriving in the state with some old Humane Society specials, and living in a little cabin on the border of Denali, on the Nenana River. It happened that I was in town when the first race started, and the second. So, I, of course, had to go and watch the start. So, I’ve watched the race over the years. I used to listen to it on the little radio in the small cabin. It’s incredible, and an amazing group of people.

What was one of your most memorable Iditarod experiences?

I suppose one of my most memorable Iditarod experiences was when I had left Anvik, and although it seems very strange that you could get lost or turned around on the Yukon River, it’s very wide. So, we were on the wrong side of the river, the dogs and I. When I’d been back in Anvik, my mom had included some little notices in some little pieces of paper in my drops. I had just taken her little note and I’d put it in my anorak pocket on the front. Well, it got to be dark and it was pitch black, and the dogs, we had a heavy sled because we had just purchased a beaver carcass in Anvik. So, we just took a nap. I snacked all the dogs, and they curled up. It was pretty windy. I curled up too in my sleeping bag. I just put a parka and some pants on for a little bit. Then when I woke up, it was pitch black and I’m thinking, oh. So, I pulled out that little piece of paper from my mom that was in my pouch, and she had said… I had just said, “Aw, mom,” when I read that. But she had said, “You have the power to call upon angels.” So, I thought, well, all right. All right. I call on 10,000 angels. Instantly, there was a horizon, there was a flat…There was a snow machiner with a light on the horizon. I blinked a couple of times and the dear young lad came over and asked if I would like to go to the trail. I said, “Yes, I’d like that.” So, we went on over to the trail.

What does the 50th running of the Iditarod mean to you?

Knowing that this is the 50th Iditarod makes me feel really satisfied to have been a part of this for so many years. It’s such a grand tribute to our state. So many wonderful people. I really can’t grab it in words.

What do you know for sure?:

Well, what I know for sure in life is, if you just put one foot in front of the other, it’s a grand ride.