Soldiers help ensure success of ‘Last Great Race’

Photo By Mary M. Rall | Sled dog racing veteran DeeDee Jonrowe of Willow begins her 35th Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race March 6 in Fairbanks, Alaska. Jonrowe was an Army family member, who moved to Alaska in 1971 when her father was stationed at Fort Richardson. (Photo by Mary M. Rall/U.S. Army Alaska Public Affairs)  

FAIRBANKS, AK, UNITED STATES

03.06.2017

Story by Mary M. Rall 

United States Army Alaska

FAIRBANKS, Alaska -- The official timed start of the 2017 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race commenced in Fairbanks March 6, and more than 100 Fort Wainwright Soldiers volunteered to lend a hand in support of the historic event.

The ceremonial start of the “Last Great Race” occurred March 4 in Anchorage, the restart for which traditionally takes place in Willow, said Restart Coordinator Darrell Davis.

The decision to relocate the restart about 290 miles north to Fairbanks has only occurred twice before in the event’s 45-year history, Davis said, noting unsafe trail conditions led to the decision to relocate the restart to the “Golden Heart City” of Fairbanks this year for the third time.

Operating the restart isn’t an easy endeavor, Davis said, adding it takes about 300 volunteers to setup and breakdown the mile-long restart route and more than five miles of fencing, provide assistance directing hundreds of spectators and act as dog handlers in support of the event.

“All outside areas are setup by volunteers the day before the race,” Davis said. “After the race, we’ll tear all of it down. So, in 48 hours, we’re pretty much building a venue for the largest sporting event in the state.”

Davis has been volunteering in support of the Iditarod for 20 years, and said the Soldiers at Fort Wainwright have been tremendously supportive when the restart has been relocated to Interior Alaska.

“The military folks have been awesome,” he said. “We really appreciate all the assistance.”

Spc. Ryan Clare with 25th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, was one of the many Fort Wainwright Soldiers who volunteered as dog handlers at the event, which commemorates the role sled dogs played in the settlement of state.

“I like coming out and doing these events, because it’s like one of those Alaska things that I’m not going to have the opportunity to do the rest of my life,” Clare said.

Danielle Hinkkanen, the owner of 23 Mile Kennel in North Pole, certified the dog handlers prior to the event. The handlers were responsible for helping with more than 900 sled dogs in support of the 73 competing mushers.

“I had the pleasure of giving the dog handlers course to these Soldiers,” Hinkkanen said. “They were soaking in every bit of info I threw their way and treated my sled dogs with such care.”

Clare said he appreciated the level of responsibility the Soldiers had as volunteer dog handlers.

“A lot of these people are very serious,” Clare said, explaining he didn’t want to do anything to take away from the mushers’ success. “We’re just out to have a good time, but this is what they do, and we don’t want to mess that up.”

According to Hinkkanen, ensuring the safety of the dogs and a good start to the more than 1,000-mile race for the competitors isn’t necessarily an easy endeavor.

“It's worth noting that it wasn't a short distance from the staging area to the start chute, and these dogs have an incredible amount power,” she said. “Volunteer handlers are key to the success of the start of the race.”

Approximately half of the 100 volunteer Soldiers supporting the event did so through Fort Wainwright’s Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers program, to include Spc. Anthony Ortiz, who serves as the BOSS representative for Charlie Company, 25th BSB, 1st SBCT.

“Part of the BOSS program is providing better opportunities for Soldiers, and what better opportunity is there than to be a dog handler at the Alaska Iditarod?” Ortiz asked.

Ortiz said the dog handlers helped unload the dogs from the trucks, hooked them up to the sleds and walked them to the race line prior to the start of the race.

“It’s pretty awesome,” Ortiz said. “I mean, how many people get to do this in their life?”

Although participation in the Iditarod may have been personal landmark for the Soldiers volunteering in support of the event, an article written by Fairbanks journalist Brian Patrick O'Donoghue in honor of the race’s 25th anniversary notes the Army’s history with the race began with the very first Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in March 1973.

According to O'Donoghue, then Fort Richardson Commander Maj. Gen. Charles M. Gettys was planning a mission to test the benefits of military use of snowmachines in 1972 but opted to postpone the training for a few weeks after meeting with Joe Redington Sr., who’s credited as one of the Iditarod’s founders.

Gettys, who was a sled dog racing fan, agreed to have his Soldiers use the snowmachines to mark the Iditarod Trail from Knik to Nome, O'Donoghue wrote, forever making the Army part of the history of the first “Last Great Race.”

• Date Taken: 03.06.2017
• Date Posted: 03.09.2017 13:59
• Story ID: 226339
• Location: FAIRBANKS, AK, US