3/16 Iditarod 2008

Here's a great shot of one of the Team Norway mushers stopping just before the finish to let his mom, sled to the finish with him.

One of the few all Siberian Husky sled teams. Very beautiful dogs.

Sealed with a kiss.

And my favorite musher of 2008. Gene L. Smith.

Smith is a rookie this year at the age of 64. He may be the oldest rookie this season (you’d have to verify that), but he is definitely tenacious. When I caught up with Gene, he was leading his dogs down the Bering Sea towards Front Street. As Gene told me, “[he’d] been the lead dog since the top of Cape Nome.” That’s approximately 12 miles of hoofing it.

Gene set off from Safety at 9:19AM on Sunday and arrived under the burled arch at 6:47PM that evening. He was passed up by several mushers along the trail. I can’t say whether they offered encouragement to Gene, but I know when I saw him coming into town on the sea ice leading his dogs, that I needed to shake his hand and congratulate him on his perseverance and dedication for not giving up. He said, “I’ve gone this far, there’s no point in turning back.”

Cim Smyth told Gene that there were 40 dog teams better than Gene’s. He agreed. Gene told me that he started out shooting for the top 20…top 30… top 60… top 90. Well Gene you met your last goal and cinched 75th place.

Congratulations to Gene on finishing the Last Great Race.