Lance Mackey, the musher with all the magic

Another year, another record?




That tends to be the refrain for Fairbanks musher Lance Mackey. He was the first to win the Yukon Quest and Iditarod back to back in 2007. Last year, he set the Iditarod record with a fourth consecutive victory in the 1,000-mile race from Anchorage to Nome.

By extending that mark this month, Mackey would tie five-time champion Rick Swenson of Two Rivers as the winningest musher in race history.

Swenson notched his fifth championship in 1991 at age 40. Mackey is 40.

Ultimately, the fitness of the dogs is typically more important than the age of the musher. Competitors need only listen to what Mackey said at the end of last year's race, the second fastest ever.

"I had seven dogs who would go to the end of the Earth for me, and nine more who would try," Mackey said. "I've got a lot of young superstars and a bright future with them."

That future has arrived.

And as much as Mackey loves to talk up his dogs, competitors know the musher plays a huge role.

"He could take your dogs and beat his team with your dogs. That's how good of a musher he is," said Hugh Neff, a Mackey friend who finished ninth. "It ain't just about the dogs -- it's about him. And the magic he has that nobody else seems to have."

Neff isn't alone in that opinion.

"He'll probably be the first to tell you (it's) his dogs ... (but) he doesn't have the best dog team," said Zack Steer of Sheep Mountain, who wound up 12th last year. "I ran with him in the middle of the race. My team was as fast or faster. He wins because of him and because of his passion."


Mackey believes that what he does well is understand his team, allowing for calculated risks that can change a race in an instant.

A flash decision last year to push from Nulato through Kaltag and on to Unalakleet -- a 140-mile marathon -- while four-time champion Jeff King rested provided Mackey the lead for good.

"I don't think that I do anything with my running to jeopardize the dogs or the future of the dogs," Mackey said. "I gamble ... (but) I'm not going to win the Iditarod at the expense of my team."

If Mackey plans to join Swenson in the five-victories club, he's going to have to outrun a slew of top-flight mushers -- including a crack crew of 20-somethings unwilling to wait another decade or two for glory.

In addition to Swenson, who is 60 and sporting an artificial hip, Mackey will face four-time champion Martin Buser of Big Lake, who in January finished fourth at the Kuskokwim 300 Sled Dog Race; 2004 champion Mitch Seavey of Sterling; and his son, the promising 24-year-old Dallas Seavey.

In addition there are:

• The Runners-up: Both DeeDee Jonrowe of Willow and Paul Gebhardt of Kasilof have finished second twice. Canadians Sebastian Schnuelle (2009) and Hans Gatt (last year) would both be champions now if Mackey had chosen another profession.

• The Questers: Two River neighbors Aliy Zirkle and Sonny Lindner have triumphed in mushing's other marathon, the Yukon Quest.

• The Kids: OK, they're not exactly kids, but close enough. Dallas Seavey, 24, was eighth last year; Mike Williams Jr., 26, of Akiak was nipped at the finish line to wind up second in January's Kuskokwim 300; Pete Kaiser, 23, of Bethel finished third in the same race; and Melissa Owens, 21, of Nome has moved to Knik to focus her training.

• The Doublers: In recent years, a formula for Iditarod success has been to run a strong Yukon Quest in February. Signed up for both 1,000-mile races are Gatt, Neff, Schnuelle, Ken Anderson of Fairbanks, Jodi Bailey of Chatanika, Kelley Griffin of Wasilla and Michelle Phillips of the Yukon.

But Mackey has already gotten at least one break.

His nemesis, four-time champion Jeff King of Denali Park, has either retired or is taking this Iditarod off. The duo's battles along the Norton Sound coast over the last few years have delivered most of the thrills in a race threatening to become boringly predictable.

As in Mackey-Mackey-Mackey-Mackey-Mackey.