FAIRBANKS — Lance Mackey has won four Yukon Quest championships, but the Fairbanks musher said this year's leisurely run that ended Thursday evening will go down as his favorite.
Mackey, 44, guided his young team across the Fairbanks finish line at 5:23 p.m., good for 14th place. He said the education that both he and his dogs got along the way made it especially satisfying, calling it his "best, funnest Quest ever."
"You don't have to win to be successful, and I think that was my trip this time," he said. "It was really nice to see the whole team mature."
Mackey's 2013 Quest, ended with an embarrassing scratch in Dawson City, Yukon. The cancer survivor sat out last year's race while dealing with lingering health problems, some of which have left him vulnerable to cold in his hands and feet.
Those setbacks led Mackey to rebuild his kennel, and this year's Quest became the first test for a team almost entirely composed of 2-year-old dogs. The team — who are now 1,000-mile veterans, Mackey pointed out — will run the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in a few weeks.
"I hate to say it's a training race, but it's been exactly that for me," he said. "I'm ecstatic the way they stood up."
After struggling in frigid temperatures during the first few days of the race, Mackey said he enjoyed socializing and watching the scenery the rest of the way. The intentionally relaxed trip allowed him to recharge his passion for mushing, he said.
Only two mushers will finish behind Mackey, but he took the back-of-the-pack run in stride, bursting into laughter when his girlfriend, Della Severtson, presented him with an "almost red lantern" trophy at the finish line.
"I've had a rough few years, and it's been nice to think about nothing but the dogs and their future," he said.
Mackey said his health problems haven't gone away. His hands still get cold, despite using hand warmers and electrically heated gloves, and he described his feet as "like popsicles" at the finish line.
Despite those challenges, Mackey said he's ready for more. Just a few minutes after arriving in Fairbanks, he was asking when he could sign up for next year's race.
"This just makes it all go away," he said.
Fellow Quest musher Dave Dalton extended his own record for completing the Yukon Quest with an 11th-place showing. The Healy musher arrived at 11:43 p.m. Wednesday, the 19th time he has crossed the finish line.
Dalton was followed by Brian Wilmshurst, of Dawson City, who claimed 12th place when he arrived at 2:24 a.m. Thursday. Two Rivers musher Ryne Olson took 13th when she arrived at 12:56 p.m.
Kristen Knight Pace claimed the final spot in the money, finishing at 9:33 p.m. Thursday in 15th place.
Whitehorse musher Rob Cooke likely will claim the Red Lantern today, which is awarded to the final musher to cross the finish line.
Jeff Richardson is a reporter for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner