HUMAN
Name: Zack Steer
Age: 49
Residence: Palmer, Alaska
Occupation: I’m a logistics coordinator for Donlin Gold, but a previous musher.
Years involved with Iditarod: Six times as a musher, as a racer, and at least two years as the logistics coordinator for Iditarod.
Iditarod Role: Currently, I’m not officially affiliated with Iditarod, but through my employment with Donlin, here as a sponsor. Representing Donlin, and of course the race itself.
Current Location: Anchorage at the Lakefront
Date of Photo: March 2, 2023
Temperature: 20 degrees
What, who or how and when did you first get involved with the Iditarod?
I got involved with the Iditarod back in 1997 as a handler for Robert Bunson, who was an Anchorage-based dog musher. Robert needed a handler, I helped him out that winter. And this was before you had to be pre-qualified for Iditarod. He told me that he wasn’t running the dogs the next year, so I signed up. And within one year of my first sled dog ride, I was on the runners at the start line in Anchorage, and raced in 1998 on the way to Nome, and had a memorable year. Finished close to Rookie of the Year, but really got involved with the race and fell in love with the race.
What is your Why? Why are you here TODAY and involved with the Iditarod?
I’m here today at the Lakefront with Donlin Gold and our team of sponsors and supporters of the race, to support the event in Alaska, and support the mushers in their journey. And to recognize how important it is to the state of Alaska and to all the people between Anchorage and Nome, and around the world.
Tell me about just one of your most memorable Iditarod experiences:
One of my most memorable Iditarod experiences was… I’ve had so many. A couple. One was actually the year that I scratched. I started six times, I scratched once. I cracked some ribs when I got tossed off my sled outside of Rohn. I continued in the race for two more days. It was pretty painful, and I ended up going home. It was probably the best decision I ever made, because two days after I arrived at home, my second child was born. And if I had stayed on the trail, I would’ve missed that. So that was the one scratch I will never regret. And I’ve had lots of other great experiences along the way. Mostly, when I look back, from racing years ago, I think about the relationships and the friendships that I’ve made, which endure to this day.
What in life do you know for sure?
What I know in life that’s for sure, is that everything changes. And the Iditarod teaches you that. You can prepare for everything, and no matter what, something else will come and be your challenge. So you just need to be adaptable, and you need to be persistent. And the Iditarod taught me some of those core values. They stick with me today in my professional career and have helped guide me as I raise my kids.