Husky News

Iditarod champ Jeff King will share experiences of the grueling sled-dog race.

Jeff King first entered the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 1981.

“I entered with the goal of just surviving,” King said. “I’ve been racing ever since.”

A few years later, the Denali, Alaska, resident was thriving.

King, a four-time winner of the approximately 1,050-mile race, will be the featured guest today and Sunday at IceFest at the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium.

Among the world’s most successful mushers, the 51-year-old King’s victories include the Iditarod in 1993, 1996, 1998 and 2006, as well as more than two-dozen first-place finishes in races across Alaska.

Most people consider sled-dog races as “a beast of burden pulling event,” King said. “It is most certainly not.”

King likens sled-dog racing to “a herd of antelope running across the desert.”

“There is much more running going on than pulling,” he said. Each dog only pulls about 4 pounds.

While in Dubuque, King will take questions, sign autographs and show clips of the film “Iditarod 2006: Mother Nature’s Turn to Dance,” a chronicle of the 2006 race.

“We’re very fortunate to have Jeff here,” said John Sutter, the museum’s director of marketing. “To have someone as well known in a winter sport makes it a perfect fit for IceFest.”

King was awarded the coveted Leonhard Seppala Humanitarian Award in 2003 for his consistent, high-quality dog care. King designed an innovative sled-dog harness that eliminates the use of necklines — giving the dogs more freedom to run.

He likens his dogs to a team of marathon runners.

“I am clearly part of the team,” King said, “but my job has more to do with organization and motivation.”

Originally from the San Francisco Bay area, King spent part of his youth in Glen Ellen, Calif., home of the Jack London State Historic Park.

“I think the Jack London State Park had an influence on me going to Alaska,” King said.

“The Call of the Wild” author popularized cold-weather adventurism, and King moved to Alaska at 19 to experience some of London’s tales for himself. King settled at Denali National Park.

“I went on a dog sled the first winter I was there, and it was kind of an epiphany,” King said.

King began devoting his spare time and money to building his own team of Alaskan Huskies. Now, King and his wife, wildlife artist Donna Gates, own and operate Husky Homestead, home to approximately 75 sled dogs.

“For every 10 (dogs) I raise,” King said, “one will make a winning caliber team.”

Source: THonline