The thrill of Victory . . . and the Agony of defeat.

One more dog story (news) and I’ll move on to other things . . .

Over the last two weeks I started my Iditarod coverage but with all that has happened never finished so tonight I’ll give you the end . . . and the rest of the story.

Jump back to the middle of March and the closing days of Iditarod 36 . . .

Sled-dog racing pundits said it couldn't be done.

The Thrill of Victory . . .

Win the brutal 1,000-mile Yukon Quest Sled Dog Race and the punishing 1,100-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race both in one year, both — in fact — in the space of little more than a month?

Impossible, you say . . . and then a hardscrabble, cancer-beating musher from Fairbanks by the name of Lance Mackey did it.

But that was last year’s race in 2007.

How about an instant replay this year?

First the Quest was run through the Yukon Territory in Canada and in Alaska in bone-numbing, flesh-freezing 40-degree below zero temperatures that left Mackey with frostbitten feet.

The Iditarod started this year with Lance Mackey still hobbling around on those frostbitten feet, in sled-dog-taxing temperatures often near 40-degrees above zero, sometimes warmer.

At approximately 2:45 a.m. on March 12, 2008 Mackey rode his sled behind a smoothly trotting dog team that passed beneath the burled arch on Nome's Front Street to claim a second straight Iditarod victory with a time of just over 9 ½ days.

Congratulations Lance!

The bond between dog and musher isn't easily explained. Traveling 1,100 miles by dog team makes this bond much closer, but without any doubt, it is the 1000's of miles of training each year that connects the musher and dog team. A little insight into the heart of a Champion . . . Sleep deprived after the 2006 Iditarod, Lance Mackey came close to capturing in words this bond when he discussed what occurred between him and his team 5 miles out of Nome.

The enormity of his stop might have been lost to those at the finish line because the spotter vehicle didn't have a chance to hear what Lance was saying to his dogs. Sitting around in Nome the next evening, Lance recalled those final moments on the ice with his team on the 2006 Iditarod. As any musher will tell you, arriving in Nome throws a musher into confusion - After 1,100 miles on the trail alone and focusing completely on the dogs, some mushers even question whether they want to reach Nome, as when they get there, so much changes.

Lance knew that things would change when he arrived under the burled arch, and that the people and excitement would distract him from his dogs. Pausing on the sea ice a few miles from Nome, Lance had one last quiet moment with his team before their 're-entering' process began. Wind whistling overhead, he set his brake and walked to the front of the team. Patting his leaders vigorously while looking straight into their eyes, nose to nose, he told them: "Guys, when we get there, I won't be able to tell you, because of all that's going on. I'm telling you now: We did it. We did it."

One must wonder if these lines were sincere, or just borrowed from a Hollywood movie. Yet with more knowledge of Lance, you learn that the musher's moment on the sea ice was completely heartfelt.

What can be learned from hearing about such an emotional moment between musher and dog at the end of the world's most highly competitive sled dog race? It is evident that the race isn't just a race - it is but one small part of the mushing lifestyle lived by many each year. The bond between musher and dog that Lance celebrated a mere 5 miles from the finish line is what the Iditarod, and dog mushing, is all about. Without it, the mushing lifestyle wouldn't be complete.

The Agony of Defeat . . .

Following on the heels of the Iditarod the 408-mile All Alaska Sweepstakes is a race from Nome to the tiny village called Candle and back. The race was first held 100 years ago and on the centennial year the winner-take-all first prize is $100,000.

Mitch Seavey, the Sterling-based musher and 2004 Iditarod champion came from behind late Friday night to claim victory . . .

A terrible thing happened to Lance Mackey, in the course of the running of the All Alaska Sweepstakes a snow machine struck Lance’s sled, destroying it and seriously injuring a key dog on his team, Zorro.

He was in third place in the Sweepstakes at around midnight Friday just 20 miles from the finish line when two snowmachines came up fast from behind.

“I was flashing them like mad with my headlamp,” he said. “I was shining my headlamp right in his face, but they kept on coming at me. I jumped aside, and by 30 feet further up the trail, there was a snowmachine sitting on the middle of my sled.”

The snowmachine impaled the sled bag with its runners.

“Three or four dogs were sucked underneath and Zorro was trapped in the sled bag,” Mackey said. Zorro is the foundation stud dog in Mackey's Comeback Kennel.

Mackey's $3,000 sled, made by Canadian Hans Gatt, made it to Nome but was ruined. It was of no consequence compared with his dogs, he said.

"That's only material," he said. "I would give my life for my dogs. I can't make anyone know how important animals are to me."

When Mackey crossed the finish line at 1:59 a.m., there was no indication anything had gone wrong on the trail. Despite finishing third behind Denali Park's Jeff King and Sterling's Mitch Seavey, who captured the winner-take-all jackpot, Mackey hammed it up for the crowd. He signed autographs and posed for pictures for a good hour after his finish.

"That was a front," Mackey said. "I had a fan club there. Why ruin it for them? I do things in different ways. But now, people know the other story."

If he’s been killed the consequences for Mackey and his future in sled dog racing could be very serious.

The early reports are not good. Zorro’s hind legs are apparently paralyzed, there’s swelling on his spinal cord, and it’s unknown whether the damage is permanent or not. Zorro was flown to Seattle for further treatment after being stabilized in Nome.

Update from today . . . The veterinarian treating Zorro says he will make a full recovery from injuries suffered when he was hit by a snowmobile.

However, Kobi Johnson, an Iditarod trail veterinarian, believes Zorro's racing days are probably over. The 9-year-old faces weeks of recovery from four broken ribs and severe bruising. Meanwhile, the snowmobile driver who hit Mackey's sled dog has come forward. Mackey put out a plea Saturday in Nome for the driver to identify himself, and that happened Sunday, he said.

Just a few minutes ago we got a report on Zorro’s condition. He has been examined by a veterinary neurologist in Seattle and completed an MRI to fully evaluate his spine. The results suggest that despite significant trauma to Zorro’s chest and spine, he is expected to achieve a full recovery over time without surgical intervention.

This closes out this year’s Iditarod saga with gladness . . . excitement . . . pain . . . and the reality of life is just sometimes hard . . . on us all.

Ice