The man they call the “winningest musher in the world” will figure heavily into this weekend’s race – but not as a competitor.
The John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon starts on Sunday. As always, the organizers have thrown in a little something new to keep things interesting. Like Jeff King, Iditarod champion from 1993, 1996, 1998 and 2006. This guy has logged over 100,000 miles on a dog sled.
While I’d love the thrill of seeing him as one of the mushers, King has made the trek from his home in Alaska, for other purposes.
Tonight, he’ll be the keynote speaker at the annual Gala Dinner and Silent Auction. And as extra incentive for mushers, he’ll be dining again with the first to arrive at the Trail Center checkpoint, midway through the race. Hello gooberburgers! Dude – he gets to eat all weekend long; I guess you can’t *not* envy him for that.
Even though he won’t be competing, King hasn’t been resting on his laurels. In this radio interview, he reveals that he’s been dabbling with skijoring as well. It’s a good listen; he also talks about how he cross-trains his dogs in the warm months, and sounds off about the spread of GPS technology in dog sledding.
Photo: Flickr user Alaskan Dude.
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