UpNorthica

By now it’s well-circulated that Lance Mackey has finished first in what is often called “The Last Great Race on Earth.” You’ve probably heard that this, his second consecutive victory, was won in just under 9 1/2 days. And how he feigned sleep at one of the last checkpoints, only to steal away and regain a solid lead, when his closest runner-up could be heard snoring. That part will be told over and again, perhaps for years to come; a laughably simple play of cunning that made for a movie-climax ending.

Mackey finished four days ago, though. I’ve held off on my last post for the race, in anticipation of a more triumphant win: That of Blake and Jennifer Freking, of Finland, MN.

The couple completed the course Friday, in 11 days 21 hours and 40 minutes. Blake crossed the finish line following just nine seconds behind Jennifer. Why was theirs such a victory? Not just because it was a ‘tough race’ for them – there’s no such thing an easy run at the Iditarod. Jennifer had broken a finger in the Beargrease marathon, and the pins were removed just prior to this, her first Iditarod. Their great trial though, came from the tragic collision of a snowmobiler with Jen’s team, killing one of her dogs, Lorne, and injuring another, Aries. At first, she’d thought half her team had been wiped out. But when the remaining 11 dogs were deemed still healthy and willing, the couple tempered their resolve to keep pressing through the challenges as they had started: Together. Jennifer writes :

At the time of the accident, we were both sure our race was over. However, on the long run to the checkpoint we realized we would be working through this tragedy whether we were on the trail or scratching. If we were not traveling together as we are, it would be harder to go on. But we have each other for support and company. We just want to travel the rest of the trail with no thoughts of competition at all.

They did press on, in the end passing another Siberian Husky musher, Karen Ramstead on the last few runs. And Blake’s team of pure-bred Siberian Huskies even set a speed record for that breed.

Jennifer finished 50th out of all the mushers, Blake 51st. How little did they know that they truly had won, back between Galena and Nulato, when heartbroken over their loss and with only 3 hours’ sleep, they chose to keep going. Their devotion to run together, grieve together, and finish together, is what makes them champions in my book; this is what I’ll be talking about for years to come.

UPDATE: Aries’ condition is stable, Jennifer reports on their site. Despite a bit of soft-tissue damage to his shoulder, he is expected to recover well.