Last great race on earth
MALA ASHOK
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Susan Butcher was the first woman to be placed in the top 10 of the Iditarod race.
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PHOTO: AP
SUSAN BUTCHER: Remarkable endurance.
The Iditarod is indeed a race beyond comparison. Can you imagine an approximately 1,800 km race, through some of the roughest, yet most beautiful areas of Alaska? It's the most challenging landscape that Mother Nature offers.
The race runs over mountain ranges, dense forests, frozen rivers and wild coasts. The competitors are called "mushers" and they ride dog-sleds "powered" by their team of "mushing dogs"! The temperatures are often freezing, and continuous hours of darkness are a reality. All this is a prescription for danger, which makes it a race extraordinaire.
This race lasts an average of 15 days and usually approximately 14 sled dogs pull each sled. Though the race is entirely an American (run in Alaska) event, it draws a lot of world interest.
A tribute
It is the spirit of adventure that fosters a desire to compete in this unique race. The organisers and managers are volunteers — from different professions, who are there for the fun of it. They themselves ride across and `ferry' dog food and other supplies.
The race gets its name from the fact that it is `run' on the historic Iditarod trail, which served as the mail and supply route from the coastal towns of Seward and Knick, to the interior mining camps. From there it proceeded to various interesting and populated camps till it reached Nome. Mail was sent inwards, to the camps and gold was the reward for this service. There is evidence that in 1925, Nome, the inland city was in the grip of a Diphtheria epidemic, and the serum to cure it was sent in through mushers and mushing dogs in their sleds.
There is a lot of strategy involved in planning for, and competing in this race. Every musher uses different means, and attends to each detail meticulously — even the type of dog food to use.
The rules specify the equipment each racer must have. These include, a heavy duty Parka (ski-jacket) and sleeping bags, an axe, snow-shoes (since the race is run on snow), musher food, dog food, and even shoes to protect the dogs' feet!
This is perhaps one of the few events in the world where men and women compete in the same playing field. Susan Butcher was the first woman to place in the top 10. Libby Riddles was the first woman to win the race in 1985. Susan was the second to do so in 1986. Also, she has been the champion in 1987, 1988 and 1990. This shows remarkable endurance. Alas! Susan died on August 6, 2006 at the age of 51 from leukaemia.
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