Iditarod Volunteer

An Iditarod volunteer’s first experience in “The Last Great Race”

Sharon Jackson fullfilled a lifelong dream working as a volunteer in the Iditarod. Volunteers are an integral part of the race, providing support for mushers and their dogs. Approximately 1,700 volunteers participated in this year’s race.

By Sharon Jackson
Special to the Turnagain Times

For 37 years the Iditarod Dog Race has run from Anchorage to Nome. For the most part, people write about the great athletes, the dogs, and the mushers who brave impossible weather, and treacherous terrain, to compete for the coveted title, Champion.
What many don’t realize is the mass of volunteers that come from all over the planet to make the race happen. Those people who scoop poop, lay hay, string fences, give medical aid to mushers, and dogs, and those who spend months in advance organizing an event that stretches 1049 miles across “ The Great Land.”
I was introduced to the race in 1973 on a small black and white television while watching a show called ABC’s Wide World of Sports. I have always had a love of dogs, and it amazed me that the mushers and dogs could travel across Alaska in the terrible weather, and on the almost impassable terrain. I followed it every year after that, and as I followed it; I started to realize that there were many other people involved. . I began to read everything I could about the race, and its history. I found it so interesting that I wanted to get involved. It became a passion for me, and a life’s dream.
I came to Alaska in 2000, and one of the first things I did was go to the start of the race in Anchorage. I spoke with people from Europe, Asia, South America, and all over the United States, that had volunteered to come to Alaska and work the race. They were people from all walks of life. There were professional people, working class people, and retired people. The two common threads I found were that they all loved dogs and they had all had the same dream that I had; to become involved in something that happens nowhere else on earth. I knew at this point that no matter what it took I would be an Iditarod Volunteer.
I finally got to work as a Pooper Scooper in McGrath, Nikolai and Takotna. I worked with the children of these villages, and it was an experience I will never forget. To them, the race is the event of the year. We worked hard to clean up after the dogs, and take care of whatever needs the mushers, and other volunteers had. I don’t think my body has ever been so cold, and my heart so warm. I watched the children’s eyes as the mushers came in to the check points. They were bright with excitement, and anticipation. They scurried around cleaning up poop, and laying beds of hay for the dogs. They asked countless questions about what it was like outside of their small communities, because many of them had never left home. I watched the other volunteers work diligently to complete their tasks, checking mushers in, and feeding them after they took care of their dogs. The vets that come from all over the world, at their own expense, to check the dogs, and make sure they are healthy enough to go on to the next check point, and when they are not, taking care to make sure that the dogs are tended to, and taken care of properly. Needless to say, after three days, I was completely exhausted. As tired as I was, I was also energized with an intensity I have never known in my life. This whole experience made realize that I wanted to be a real Itidarod Volunteer.
This year I became a member of the Iditarod Trail Committee, (ITC). I went to dog handling classes in Chugiak, and learned how to work with the mushers to get their dogs to the starting line. If you think it is easy holding a team of dogs in check with a gang-line, while running a quarter of a mile with them is easy, think again. If you happen to stumble and fall, the first thing you learn is to tuck and roll out of the way of the dogs and sled. They will run right over you, and the lines will get all tangled. I don’t think I was ever as sore as I was when I finished training.
I arrived at the Anchorage start at 7:30 a.m., and met with the other dog handlers, to get our assignments. I learned that there were over 1,700 volunteers between Anchorage and Nome. Many had been involved since last year, preparing everything for the race to take place. The intensity and excitement of working with the dogs and mushers in the chute, was so exhilarating that I wasn’t tired until the end of the day, and I got back to my room and realized what I had just been through.
My shoulders ached, from the dogs jumping, pulling and dancing to the starting line. My back hurt from bending over for such a long period, and my legs ached from running with the dogs for almost a quarter of a mile. All in all, I felt wonderful.
After the starts in Anchorage and Willow, I took a few days to rest, and then flew to Nome to fulfill my lifelong dream. What an experience. The temps were well below zero, and the wind blew constantly. There was nothing that even seemed warm. I spent time with the other volunteers, and the more we talked, the more excited we became. The cold seemed to go away, the closer the mushers got to Nome.
When the announcement was made that Lance Mackey was just a few miles outside of town, the once empty Front Street, magically filled with people. There are only a little over 3,000 people that live in Nome, and it seemed that there were 5,000 to 10,000 people lining Front Street. The other volunteers and I had worked hard in the freezing weather, to complete our tasks, and we looked at each other with saddened eyes. We knew that it was almost over…our dream.
When the dogs passed through the Burl Wood Arches, we hugged one another and tears came to our eyes. For thirty seven years I had dreamed of this moment, and now it was here. I was in Nome Alaska, watching the finish of the Iditarod Dog Race. Interestingly enough, for me, there was no let down. You see the race, in my mind, will go on and on. I finally realized what being a volunteer for “The Last Great Race” was really about. Lance Mackey said it best when he stopped his sled at the arches, and was surrounded by media, and people wishing him well, and congratulating him on his victory. He simply said, “First things first, let’s take care of the dogs.”

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