SECTION HEADING
IDITAROD. AL ASKAN WINTER. 1,000 MILES.
Y
ou may immediately think of the
sled dog race, held each year
across 1,000 miles in the remote,
cold wintry heart of Alaska. This
story is about a human powered race that
covers the same course.
The Iditarod Trail Invitational (ITI) is
rated as one of the top ten extreme,
ultra-endurance races in the world. The ITI
began in 2000 and the finisher's list has
around 65 names – some of the hardest,
most stubborn and determined winter
athletes in winter sport, and in 2016 I
added my name to that list, making history
as the first Aussie to complete this
incredible race. More people climb Mt
Everest EACH DAY than have finished the
ITI!
18 | MULTISPORT MAGAZINE
The ITI is a race you need to qualify for
via a select series of winter races, submit a
resume´of your experience to the race
directors, endure and survive whatever
Alaska will throw at you. There are three
distances comprising 130, 350 and 1,000
miles, with one of three disciplines to
choose – bike, foot or ski. You must
complete the 350 to qualify for an
invitation for the 1,000. There are two
routes on the 1,000 – the north route for
even numbered years and the south route
for odd years. The race starts around the
end of February or early March in the midst
of an unrelenting Alaskan winter. The ITI in
its current format has been running since
2000, but racers have been competing
since 1989 when the first bikers made it
to Nome.
This is a tough, unique endurance race
that requires specialist gear and
knowledge, held in a remote, wild and
unforgiving landscape. Competitors
compete solo, totally self supported. These
last 2 points really appealed to me in a
world slowly being sanitised for mass
consumption and weakest links, it was
refreshing to have an event that put
responsibility solely on the racer.
Bill Merchant (race owner and director)
is a hard man, having raced the ITI many
times, and he sums it up well.
“Sometimes when you offer too much
support you cheat the true adventurer out
of a big part of why they are on the trail.
They come to race, to confront and