Unless you're Jodi Bailey of Chatanika.

When the 42-year-old guides her 16 dogs down 4th Avenue on Saturday, it will be her second 1,000-mile race in less than a month. Just 16 days ago, she celebrated a seventh-place finish in her first Yukon Quest from Whitehorse to Fairbanks.

Never before has a rookie finished both sled dog marathons back to back -- a demanding schedule that's gained some popularity since four-time defending Iditarod champion Lance Mackey delivered back-to-back victories in 2007 and 2008.

But Bailey is no normal rookie.

She's tough. The Quest featured nasty winds and crazy cold temperatures.

She's well connected. Husband Dan Kaduce is a four-time top-10 Quest finisher who was the Iditarod rookie of the year 12 months ago.

She's got a hell of a resume. After all, how many Iditarod rookies can claim a victory over Mackey? Bailey beat Mackey, a good friend, to the finish line of the Gin Gin 200 race in Paxson three years ago.

"Yeah, that's my little claim to fame," she said. "But that's a much different race. I became 'The Woman Who Beat Lance Mackey,' and we've joked about it between ourselves many times."

February's Quest turned out to be no joke. Temperatures plummeted to minus-50 and winds blew, forcing nine mushers to scratch, with three others withdrawn. Only 13 racers finished.

"Wow did it get cold," Bailey wrote on the couple's website after the race. "I have never been so thankful for the wonderful beaver mitts Dan got me. Not often at minus-50 do we hook up a team and go out, so this was a real test for my gear."

Good gear kept her warm, but it couldn't ward off weariness.

"As you get more tired, it is harder and harder to focus," she said. "A simple question, 'Do you want moose stew or chicken soup?' felt like it required more brain power then I had.'

"We got some high winds and heavy snow leaving Dawson. But when every you dance with Mother Nature you have to real aware that you're not leading. She took her shots at everybody at some point in time along the trail."

But the Quest also delivered some moments Bailey will cherish the rest of her life.

"After Eagle Summit you travel over Rosebud, another summit known for being long and hard," she wrote on her website. "When you get on top, you travel around the ridge line. Here is where things got insanely beautiful for me.

"Picture this: Night time, full moon, above tree line, with a team of dogs you love all working smoothly together, and a 360 moonlight view of the world around you. It was amazing, so beautiful I thought my heart would explode!

"At one point I stopped to snack the team, and after I fed them I was checking booties and giving everyone a little love when they broke out in a beautiful howl. Heads thrown back to the moon, beautiful howl. I just had to join in.

"There we were all singing on top of the world."

Before too long, they were hugging at the finish line -- a little sad, too, that they'd returned to civilization in Fairbanks.

"It's a big accomplishment, but that part hasn't really sunk in," Bailey said. "I'm a little bit in shell shock about being in town."

She quickly caught up on her sleep, ate everything in sight and got ready for the drive to Anchorage.

"The toughest part of the whole thing was getting all those (food and gear filled) drop bags ready. All of them had to be finished before we left for the Quest."

Now comes the challenge of the Iditarod. The field of racers is both deeper and more than twice as big.

"But the team is beautiful. They have a little over 3,500 miles on them this year, and most of them have finished two -- if not three -- thousand-mile races (during their lives)."

The Iditarod requires different strategies and logistics. But some things remain the same.

"The dog's steady gait can be hypnotic and the quite relaxing," she said. "So much of the trail is just quiet beauty and the privilege of having nothing in the world to worry about but those 14 tails and the next mile of trail."

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Reach reporter Mike Campbell at mcampbell@adn.com or 257-4329.