Lance Mackey
Encyclopedia
Lance Mackey is an America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

n dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...

 musher
Mushing
Mushing is a general term for a sport or transport method powered by dogs, and includes carting, pulka, scootering, sled dog racing, skijoring, freighting, and weight pulling. More specifically, it implies the use of one or more dogs to pull a sled on snow or a rig on dry land...

 and dog sled racer
Dogsled racing
Sled dog racing is a winter dog sport most popular in the Arctic regions of the United States, Canada, Russia, and some European countries. It involves the timed competition of teams of sleddogs that pull a sled with the dog driver or musher standing on the runners...

 from Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks is a home rule city in and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska.Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska, and second largest in the state behind Anchorage...

, who is a four-time winner of the 1,000-mile Yukon Quest
Yukon Quest
The Yukon Quest 1,000-mile International Sled Dog Race, or simply Yukon Quest, is a sled dog race run every February between Fairbanks, Alaska, and Whitehorse, Yukon...

 and four-time winner of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

Career

In 2007, Lance became the first person to win both the Yukon Quest and Iditarod
2007 Iditarod
The ceremonial start of the 35th annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race across the U.S. state of Alaska began amidst the crowds of Anchorage at 10 am on March 3, 2007, and the start of the competitive race, or "restart", began at 2 pm the next day in Willow...

 in the same year. This feat was considered almost impossible by many and is considered one of the most impressive feats ever by a musher and he was nominated for a 2007 ESPY Award based on his performance. He also won the Veterinarians' Choice award after winning the 2007 Yukon Quest and said, "This means more to me than winning this damn race". 2008 was an even better year: Lance won the Tustumena 200
Tustumena 200
The Tustumena 200 Sled Dog Race is a dog sled race on the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska covering 200 miles. The race is run each year on the last weekend in January, and has grown in reputation to draw competitive distance mushers from Alaska, the lower 48, and international locations. The Tustumena...

, followed by his fourth consecutive Yukon Quest and his second Iditarod
2008 Iditarod
The 2008 Iditarod featured 95 mushers and dog teams. The 36th Annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race ceremonally began on Saturday March 1, 2008. The competitive start was the next day....

. In 2009 he chose not to run the 2009 Yukon Quest but captured his third consecutive Iditarod. In 2010 finished second in the Yukon Quest and won his 4th consecutive Iditarod
2010 Iditarod
The 38th Annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race saw 71 participating teams from the United States, Jamaica, Canada and United Kingdom. The ceremonial start was held in Anchorage on March 6...

, before sliding out of the top ten in the 2011 race.

Personal life

His father Dick Mackey
Dick Mackey
Dick Mackey is an American dog musher who won the 1,049-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race across the U.S. state of Alaska in 1978 by the closest margin in the history of the event. His son, Rick Mackey, became the first legacy winner when he won the race in 1983...

 was one of the founders of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, and won the event by one second over Rick Swenson
Rick Swenson
For the Saskatchewan politician see Rick Swenson .Rick Swenson, sometimes known as the "King of the Iditarod", , is an American dog musher who has won the 1,049-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race across the U.S. state of Alaska more times than any other competitor...

 in 1978. Lance's half-brother Rick Mackey also won the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 1983. All three of them won the race on their sixth attempt wearing bib number 13.

Mackey was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2001 but continued sled dog racing entering the 2002 Iditarod race. After scratching from that race, he took a full year off from racing to recover from the disease. He is now considered cancer-free; however, Mackey suffered nerve damage in his left index finger as a result of the operation to remove the cancerous tumor. The nerve damage caused such unbearable pain in the finger that Mackey chose to have the finger surgically removed.

Mackey is married to his high school sweetheart Tonya, who is also a musher. They have four children: Amanda, Brittney, Alanah, and Cain. They run the Comeback Kennel in Fox, Alaska
Fox, Alaska
Fox is a census-designated place in Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, United States. It is part of the Fairbanks, Alaska Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2007 census the population was 353.-Geography:...

.

External links

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