ASK THE MUSHER Vol 9: Lance Mackey

[tilstede]

Hi, another curious norwegian calling

As many others in this forum I follow Iditarod closely, and even take some days off from work to enjoy news from the trail 24/7. After a week, I'm quite exhausted and fight to stay tuned all the way to Nome. What impressed me a lot last year, when watching video clips with you from Bering Street CPs, was your endless stream of word, commenting and analyzing the race.

A question - mushing seems to imply a lot of counting and planning. When on your way to Nome, do you do a lot of calculations (miles left till next CP, length of breaks, hours before dawn etc.), or do such things automatically fall into place based on experience?

[ThisSpaceForRent]

Lance...

Nothing on the "required list"...nothing that you Really need to be "competitive" but what decadence/Good luck charm or "must have" do you ALWAYS have in your sled bag?

I got chastised in the past (think "arctic snow suit" forum") for spelling your wife's name Tonga...it is typically spelled Tonya....which is correct.

P.S. She ROCKS with her blogs during races!!!!

tsfr

[Di*]

Hey Lance !

Can you tell us more about your experience on Conan's show? Was it worth a trip all the way to New York?

[emwcee]

Yes, I'd love to hear more about your experience on the show, Lance. How did you feel before going on? What goes on behind the scenes in a show like that?

I know I had a lot of good responses to my YouTube video of your segment, before it was removed by the "YouTube police."

[mithious]

I must say, that first year you won, I was crying like a baby, then last year...to get to Alaska and find out I'm staying at the same motel as you all...I was in shock Thanks sooooo much for all the kindness you showed me and Spirit....it was great getting to talk with you and Tonya, Cain...and all the pictures....if it wasn't for you my trip would've been ....

Thank you sooo much Lance!!!!!! I think Spirit has a crush on Lippy I hope you all liked the brownies? They were from all of the BSSD crowd here!!!

You have such a down to earth attitude...I love that about you...I hope you can pull off a repeat this year....You are in my prayers!

I have been watching you race and have wondered how much running you do......I figure, to keep ahead of the faster teams, with you having "some leader trouble" you HAVE to be doing a heck of a lot of running behind your team....are you? Or do your dogs actually have that top end speed that you can kick into when you need? You are amazing Lance and deserve all that you have accomplished....

You have done something every musher said wasn't possible.....TWICE I understand what drives YOU...but how do you transfer that to your team? How do you get them excited about running back to back races? Are there many little tricks, or is there one main thing that motivates your team?

Please tell Cain thank you too for letting me get a picture with him....he was kinda shy

Congrats Grandpa and HUGE thanks again to all of you

[lmackey]

Lance...

Nothing on the "required list"...nothing that you Really need to be "competitive" but what decadence/Good luck charm or "must have" do you ALWAYS have in your sled bag?

I got chastised in the past (think "arctic snow suit" forum") for spelling your wife's name Tonga...it is typically spelled Tonya....which is correct.

P.S. She ROCKS with her blogs during races!!!!

tsfr

The only "must" is plenty of bottled water.

You are correct Tonya's name is spelled TONGA but so many people mispell it she gave in and spells it the traditional way.

[lmackey]

Hi, another curious norwegian calling

As many others in this forum I follow Iditarod closely, and even take some days off from work to enjoy news from the trail 24/7. After a week, I'm quite exhausted and fight to stay tuned all the way to Nome. What impressed me a lot last year, when watching video clips with you from Bering Street CPs, was your endless stream of word, commenting and analyzing the race.

A question - mushing seems to imply a lot of counting and planning. When on your way to Nome, do you do a lot of calculations (miles left till next CP, length of breaks, hours before dawn etc.), or do such things automatically fall into place based on experience?

....yes, math is a very BIG part of the strategy dog races.

[lmackey]

Hey Lance !

Can you tell us more about your experience on Conan's show? Was it worth a trip all the way to New York?

Yes - Being a guest on Conan was a once in a lifetime experience, it was fun and seeing the BIG city was as well. I think they all drive crazy in NY

[lmackey]

Yes, I'd love to hear more about your experience on the show, Lance. How did you feel before going on? What goes on behind the scenes in a show like that?

I know I had a lot of good responses to my YouTube video of your segment, before it was removed by the "YouTube police."

Everyone was very gracious in New York, and they asked a lot about Alaska, they of course all asked about Sarah Palin. I had a ton of radio interviews set up while I was there to promote the Discovery Channels series on Iditarod. They kept me so busy I really was in a whirlwind, I did get to see the Balto statue, it is much bigger than I expected..

[lmackey]

I must say, that first year you won, I was crying like a baby, then last year...to get to Alaska and find out I'm staying at the same motel as you all...I was in shock Thanks sooooo much for all the kindness you showed me and Spirit....it was great getting to talk with you and Tonya, Cain...and all the pictures....if it wasn't for you my trip would've been ....

Thank you sooo much Lance!!!!!! I think Spirit has a crush on Lippy I hope you all liked the brownies? They were from all of the BSSD crowd here!!!

You have such a down to earth attitude...I love that about you...I hope you can pull off a repeat this year....You are in my prayers!

I have been watching you race and have wondered how much running you do......I figure, to keep ahead of the faster teams, with you having "some leader trouble" you HAVE to be doing a heck of a lot of running behind your team....are you? Or do your dogs actually have that top end speed that you can kick into when you need? You are amazing Lance and deserve all that you have accomplished....

You have done something every musher said wasn't possible.....TWICE I understand what drives YOU...but how do you transfer that to your team? How do you get them excited about running back to back races? Are there many little tricks, or is there one main thing that motivates your team?

Please tell Cain thank you too for letting me get a picture with him....he was kinda shy

Congrats Grandpa and HUGE thanks again to all of you

Hey good to hear from you...Thank you
What gets my dogs excited? All I know is we "click", I always keep a good attitude with the dogs, even when I feel miserable, it makes a huge difference, they pick up when you are down and it becomes contagious. I stay positive ...that's it. I think they understand what we are doing and the goal.