Iditarod history repeats itself: Mackey wins 4th straight

Long-run strategy pays off again for Mackey and his dogs

By KYLE HOPKINS
khopkins@adn.com

Published: March 17th, 2010 12:08 AM
Last Modified: March 17th, 2010 12:08 AM

BOB HALLINEN / Anchorage Daily News

Lance Mackey wins his fourth consecutive Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race pulling in under the burled arch on Front Street Tuesday afternoon March 16, 2010 in Nome. Mackey dogs Rev, left, and Maple wear the rose garland under the arch.

NOME — Lance Mackey, stripped to long underwear and a knee brace, scanned the innards of the White Mountain city hall refrigerator, looking for grub.

“What else you got?” asked the Fairbanks musher, who had just widened his lead in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and was hours from his fourth straight victory Tuesday in Nome.

“Hot dogs,” said a race volunteer. Mackey approved. He’d have two, slathered in mayonnaise, along with a paper plate stacked with fried chicken, mashed potatoes and corn.

Mackey always had drive. Now, resting at a mandatory village pit stop 77 miles from the Nome finish line, he just needed fuel. Under the parka and the snowsuit and the blue jacket with the ripped left sleeve, the most dominant musher of his time is a thin rope of muscle, scar tissue and sinew who looks more like a trucker or heavy metal roadie than a world-class athlete.

But that’s just what he is — declaring his dominance once again with a 65-minute win over his closest competitor Tuesday afternoon in Nome to earn a $50,400 paycheck, a Dodge truck and another chapter in the mushing mythology.

“I had seven dogs who would go to the end of the earth for me, and nine more who would try,” Mackey said at the finish line. “I’ve got a lot of young superstars and a bright future with them.” (Click here to read the full article).

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