Ask The Mushers
Bruce Linton

What was your favorite checkpoint along the trail and why?

I had two favorite checkpoints on the trail this year. The first was Takotna, where I took my mandatory 24-hour rest. In my first Iditarod run in 2007, I never really was able to take a 24-hour rest because I got stuck at Rainy Pass in a blizzard for 32 hours. Therefore, this 24-hour rest at Takotna was really my first. It was so nice to get some rest, spend some time with other mushers and take care of my dogs in a relaxed manner. The locals there were all extremely friendly and the food was just incredible!

I also really enjoyed the Ruby checkpoint. It was nice to finally make it to the Yukon River and the view from the town was beautiful. As I was about to leave the checkpoint at about 11:30 p.m., there was the most incredible display of Northern Lights that I have ever seen. I will never forget running down the Yukon River with the Northern Lights in the sky above me. As I state in my Iditarod Journal, "I turned off my headlight and listened to the intense breathing of my pups as the silhouettes of their moving bodies were cast on the snow beside them from the cathedral of shimmering lights that danced above us." It was an amazing experience!

How do you select the dogs you use for your team?

The Iditarod is an endurance event, so the training program that my race team is involved in takes many months. We begin our race program in early September (when the temperatures start to cool off) and we usually start with about 32 dogs. We run the dogs approximately 1,000 miles before January and then run them another 1,000 to 1,500 miles in additional training runs and in races in the winter months. From all of that time spent with the dogs, I can see which dogs perform the best, which dogs run well with the others, and which ones are the good leaders. From that, I choose my team. It can be one of the hardest decisions that I have to make all winter!

What is the toughest obstacle to overcome when racing the Iditarod?

It can be the weather if Mother Nature decides to be cruel. In my first Iditarod, I got stuck in a blizzard for 32 hours at Rainy Pass. Temperatures were 22 below zero and winds peaked at 80 mph on the top of the pass. Conditions like those can be life-threatening. In other years, when the weather is not as severe, I think it is dealing with the sleep deprivation. It is hard to train yourself to be able to function on 1 to 2 hours of sleep a day for 10 to 15 days on the trail. You just deal with it the best you can (with all of the emotional highs and lows that result from it) and try and take it one run between checkpoints at a time.

What do you miss most while you're on the trail?

My wife. With all the hard work and sacrifies she has made so that I can participate in the Iditarod, it is really a shame that she can't be there with our dogs and I to experience all of the incredible times that I have with them.

How do you prepare for one of your dogs getting injured during the race?

The Iditarod is an endurance event, and with any endurance event injuries can happen. Injuries can also happen in the months when the dogs are in training leading up to the race. During that time, you learn how to care for them and how to heal them. So, in the race, I prepare for dog injuries by becoming, through experience, knowledgeable on how to take care of the common injuries that may occur. If the dogs get injured more severely then I am used to, or if they get too tired or lose too much weight, then I can drop a dog at a checkpoint and let the very capable veterinarians do their job and take care of it. The vets also help coordinate with the 'Iditarod Airforce'. After the dogs are dropped and cared for by the vets, they are flown back home so the dog can rest and get cared for at home.