February 22, 2006

• Larry won the Yukon Quest!

  Larry
  is Lance Mackey’s lead dog.  Lance had a commanding lead over Hans
  Gatt and William Kleedehn when they left the last checkpoint before the
  Dawson City finish line.  (The race is supposed to finish in
  Whitehorse, YT, but this year’s trail conditions dictated a
  turnaround-route that took the teams into Dawson, back along the trail
  and then back again to Dawson.)

  Then, Lance got off the trail.  Larry tried to go the other way,
  the right way, but Lance overruled him.  By the time Lance
  realized his mistake, he’d lost three hours.  He said he was
  crying, just boo-hooing, and apologizing to his dogs as he headed back
  toward the correct route.  He was sure, when he rode into Dawson,
  that he’d lost the race after having assured this one, his second win
  in a row.

  When Gatt and Kleedehn pulled into Dawson an hour later, they were
  surprised to learn that Lance had won by such a narrow margin. 
  Lance, who had an index finger amputated shortly before this race to
  put an end to excruciating pain from nerve damage, was having a hard
  time speaking when radio and TV reporters tried to interview him at the
  finish line.  I think his expression and the grip he has on Larry
  in this picture says more than any words could.

  Go, Larry!

  • 10:33 pm
  • 2 Comments