Mackey wins another

i'm pleased...4-time Quest winner Lance Mackey won his second consecutive Iditerod sled dog race this morning at 2:46 am.

the all-Alaska route includes the shore of the Bering Sea and commemorates a trail used by sled dogs that delivered diphtheria serum to Nome in 1925. this year, unusually warm spring conditions have made the trail soggy going for the dog teams. to make matters worse, two of Mackey's lead dogs argued (Hobo, a former Quest winner & lovely dog, had to be dropped from the team.)

fortunately the team was able to persevere! Mackey gets a new truck and $69,000 (i suspect his dogs prefer the Quest prize, where they get fed steak.) but Mackey told the New York Times that winning the cash prize is important because otherwise he'd "have to get a real job."