[skeptoid]

There is a LOT to this story. In 1978 Lance Mackey's father Dick won wearing #13 and his brother Rick won in 1983 wearing #13. They were both running their sixth Iditarod.
This week Lance won his sixth attempt of the Iditarod wearing #13.....against over 80 other dog teams.......just days after winning another 1000 mile race.

Bob Hallinen / Anchorage Daily News
Lance Mackey and his lead dogs Larry and Lippy under the burled arch
in Nome after winning the 2007 Iditarod Sled Dog Race on Tuesday March 13, 2007.

He's also a cancer survivor who amputated a finger to become more functional.

See the Anchorage Daily News iditarod 35 page and The Official Site of the Iditarod for MUCHO more info .

[MoralSense]

He's not a woman -- i.e., he's not Susan Butcher. ESPN-PC ain't interested. Too busy promoting the WNBA.

[ASOC]

WHat was the example used locally? Effort the same as mushing from Chicago to Salt LAke City in 25 days.

Loved the race this year, and given the conditions (80+ mph winds, temps to -40 and so on) this is indeed a real race on the last frontier.

But, March Madness trumps most everything......

[Alberta's Child]

His back-to-back victories in the world's longest and gnarliest sled-dog races set a new standard for toughness in Alaska but barely registered a blip Outside.

I understand this is a remarkable accomplishment, but he's got a long ways to go. Rick Swenson is a five-time winner of the Iditarod, and there are a number of four-time winners, too.

And Doug Swingley's 2002 victory was legendary -- as he ran his team through weather conditions that bogged down all of the other teams and crossed the finish line something like 7 or 8 hours ahead of his nearest competitor.

[cyclotic]

Lance Mackey's story gets more impressive every time I read it.

Because he lost his salivary glands to cancer, he has trouble swallowing food without water. So, because he was racing for the win, he barely ate for 219 miles.

[Chena]

THANK YOU, SKEPTOID!!! I was reading the Anchorage newspaper online this morning and read Beth Bragg's excellent article. I passed it on to family and friends via e-mail, but also thought about posting it here too. I didn't though because I can't stick around the computer today to respond to comments.

BUMP!!