Iditarod -- The 1978 Finish

I couldn't leave the Iditarod buzz without sharing the story of the 1978 Iditarod. Some of you will know it, but for those that don't, it was the closest finish in history. One that went both ways before a final decission was made. Here's the story courtesy of the Anchorage Daily News. Clearly Dick Mackey (Lance's father) still gets a smile out of this one!


For 800 miles, Dick Mackey and Rick Swenson rarely lost sight of each other. With a few others, they jockeyed for position along the length of Alaska. At the end, they found themselves out in front of everyone else and proceeded to stage the darnedest finish the race has ever seen.


"By the time the two men reached the streets of Nome, they were virtually running side by side," Daily News reporter Doug O'Harra wrote. "One hundred yards out, they were even. By the time they entered the 50-yard chute, Mackey had a slight edge. Both men were running.

"Then Mackey's dogs trotted under the burled arch, the finish line." The dogs tangled. "His sled stopped just short of the finish line. Mackey collapsed.

"Swenson ... kept going and dragged his sled under the finish line. Though his leaders crossed second, Swenson himself crossed under the arch ahead of Mackey.

"Bedlam erupted."

The decision about who won the 1978 Iditarod is debated today whenever race fans gather. But the rules and race officials said it was the lead dog's nose, not the musher's behind, that determined the winner. They awarded Mackey the victory by one second.