For more than 30 years, “13” has proved to be a rather lucky number for one Alaskan family. In 1978, Dick Mackey won the Iditarod on his 6th try wearing bib number 13. Then in 1983, son Rick takes the title back for the Mackey family on his 6th try wearing bib number 13. Flash forward 24 years, little brother Lance becomes the king of the Mackey family and the Iditarod, you guessed it on his 6th try wearing bib #13! That year, Lance won his first of three straight Iditarod titles. The road to the winner’s circle was not an easy one for Lance. Though it might sound like mushing is in his blood, he still overcame unbelievable odds to not only join the ranks of his father and brother, but to surpass them. The Iditarod has been called one of the ‘last great races on earth’. It is over 1150 miles of the most gorgeous and treacherous terrain one could imagine. It starts in Anchorage, AK and ends in Nome.

Native Alaskan, Lance Mackey, now calls Fairbanks, AK home. The 38-year-old father and athlete is now a fulltime musher and owns Comeback Kennels with his family.

His career in mushing got off to a slow start. In fact, he didn’t even realize mushing was a dream for him. “I grew up around dogs, but my dad always left me the bottom of the barrel racing dogs,” said Lance, “it was his way of teaching me and my brother Jason responsibility.”

As a teen, the highlight of Mackey’s racing career was a 4th place finish in the Jr. Iditarod. By the time he was 18, Mackey had gone from 140 dogs to none. He even became a commercial fisherman for a time. After marrying and becoming a father to his wife’s three small children, he ended up with 10 dogs before he knew it. Mackey just wasn’t sure the title of IDIT champ was in the cards for him. The 10 dogs he had accumulated were actually used to have fun with the kids. “The only racing they were doing was up and down our driveway,” said Mackey. Then the mushing bug bit again. “I think the fever had always been there. I was so proud of my dad and brother, they were legends, I was always bragging about them”

In 2001, he couldn’t resist the temptation of the ultimate race any longer. He ran the race with borrowed and “left over” dogs. “I just wanted a belt buckle for completing the race, only 600 people in the world have them,” he said. He finished 36 out of 58. But then, he realized if he had finished only 6 places higher, he would have also gotten a portion of the “race purse.” He also wanted to make his family proud.

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