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When Alaska’s “Last Great Race on Earth” begins March 4, sixth-graders at Luverne Middle-High School and staff at Rock Veterinary Clinic in Luverne will be following mushers along the 1,000-mile race course.
The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race enters its 51st year, while this year’s Luverne sixth-graders are the third class to follow mushers on the race from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska.
Sixth-grade teacher Deb Hoogendoorn leads the curriculum that has students reading “Alaska’s Iditarod” by Emily Schlesinger and “Woodsong” by Minnesota author Gary Paulsen.
“We take the information we gather to practice our reading skills and relate what we have learned to the live event,” she said.
Each student also selects a musher to follow during the actual race that begins March 4 and can end as soon as eight days later.
Musher and Minnesota native Brent Sass is a favorite among the Luverne students.
Sass won last year’s 50th anniversary race (finishing the race in eight days) securing his first Iditarod win.
“Brent is an inspirational speaker and sends a message of believing in yourself and working hard to achieve your dreams,” Hoogendoorn said. “Many past students will ask about the race, especially if they catch me wearing an Iditarod shirt.”
Hoogendoorn wore an Iditarod T-shirt Friday, when students zoomed with the musher whose parents live in Excelsior, Minnesota.
Sass lives in Eureka, Alaska, having moved there in 1998 and worked with four-time Iditarod winner Susan Butcher. He completed his first race in 2006 and raises his own dogs, Alaskan huskies.
Sass told students he cares for 58 dogs.
“I love what I do,” he said, while sharing the camera with lead dog Slater and his brother, Pink.
When not racing, Sass operates a dog sled tour business.
Care for the dogs is extremely important, and Sass withdrew from the 2017 Iditarod because his dogs struggled to pull the sled.
“We carry a spot tracker,” he told the students. “Press the button and the vets will come.”
Dr. Tschida: one of 50 vets at the race event
One of 50 veterinarians monitoring the health of almost 1,000 dogs at this year’s race is Dr. Emily Tschida (pronounced Chee-TA) from Rock Veterinary Clinic in Luverne.
Tschida, an avid Iditarod fan, was chosen to volunteer her time and expertise to this year’s event in October. She applied for a veterinarian position in previous years but hadn’t been chosen until this year’s race.
“It has always been an event that has fascinated me,” she said. “I am surprised they took me because I didn’t live in Alaska and I don’t have a lot of sled dog experience.”
Veterinarians work in teams of three or four, overseeing the health of all the canines and helping in case of emergencies. The vets follow the mushers along the 1,000-mile road as the dogs and mushers reach each of the 26 checkpoints.
The application warns volunteer veterinarians of crowded living conditions, haphazard meal times, sparse rest periods and travel by air or in snow machines.
The event only selects four rookies annually to replace the seasoned, retiring veterinarians.
“Many individuals do not function well under these conditions,” cautioned trail committee veterinarian Stuart Nelson Jr.
“I can never recall a general musher meeting prior to a race when someone hasn’t expressed concern for having their dogs examined by a rookie veterinarian.”
Tschida’s interest in the Iditarod grew from reading and watching stories about the infamous race depicted in “Balto” and “Togo.”
Interest in animals led to her career in veterinary medicine.
She’s worked at the Rock Veterinary Clinic for 10 years as a general practitioner and surgeon.
“One thing about veterinary medicine, it is comparable,” she said. “Dogs are great, and they are super fun.”
Dog sleds helped in 1925 epidemic
Traveling by dog sled is the most common mode of transportation across Alaska.
The Iditarod mimics the path taken by a sled dog team in 1925 when serum needed to reach Nome from Anchorage to combat the diphtheria epidemic.
Gunnar Kaasen drove the final two legs of the pony-express relay into Nome behind his lead dog, Balto, through a blizzard hurling 80 mph winds.
Togo was also a lead dog who led his team across the most treacherous stretch of that 1925 trip.
Sixth-grader Maesa Boyenga said she’s excited to learn more about sled dogs and mushers after learning about the transfer of medicine.
She’s following Brent Sass as her Iditarod musher.
“He went to high school with (LHS sixth-grade teacher) Mrs. Thone,” she said. “I was excited to learn more.”
The students follow their assigned mushers at the race’s start March 4 and monitor the mushers’ daily check-ins on Iditarod.com.
Hoogendoorn plans to add Dr. Tschida’s experiences to the curriculum.
“We plan to reach out to her to come and tell us about her experiences and more inside happenings when she returns,” she said.