Michigan native places highest among rookies in Iditarod sled dog race
A Farmington Hills native finished the highest of any rookie in the Iditarod, a world-famous sled dog race through the Alaskan wilderness.
“It was amazing,” said Samantha LaLonde, 29, of placing 15th out of 22 competitors who finished the race of more than 1,100 miles. It took her 12 days and 14 hours.
The race featured two Michiganders this year. Dane Baker of Royal Oak, also a rookie, finished 21st.
The race began with 33 mushers, the term for someone who races sled dogs. Some quit the race or were eliminated when they fell too far behind.
LaLonde credited her top finish among the rookies to the 16 dogs on her team and to Dallas Seavey, a six-time champion that she trained under for the past two years.
She finished the race with nine dogs, as some experienced minor injuries along the way, which is typical for Iditarod racers.
Mushers don’t get much sleep but they travel through stunning landscapes, she said. In particular, she enjoyed the 700 miles of the journey on the Yukon River.
LaLonde, a 2013 graduate of Harrison High School, went to Northern Michigan University in Marquette to pursue a degree in outdoor recreation management.
She graduated in 2017 and later got a job as a dog handler for a company that runs sled dog tours in Alaska. She later worked for Seavey and that’s how she was introduced to the sport.
LaLonde, who is unsure if she will compete in the Iditarod again, plans to open her own dog kennel.
Baker, 25, was happy just to finish his first attempt at Iditarod.
“It’s pretty special,“ he said. “I’ve always wanted to do it for a long while. It was lots of fun with moments of misery. I didn’t expect to place.”
The race was stressful at times and, after more than 13 days on the trail, he appreciates a full night of sleep.
“The weather was really nice,” he said, with temperatures at night of -20 to -30 degrees. It could be as high as 40 degrees during the day.
He called the Iditarod the “Super Bowl” of sled dog races, but isn’t sure he wants to do it again.
It’s expensive to enter, train and care for 16 dogs. The cash prize, even for a champion, does little more than pay expenses.
“We do it because we like it. There’s no such thing as a rich musher,” he said.
Baker planned to go to college after he graduated from Royal Oak High School in 2018, but instead took a job at a dog kennel in the Upper Peninsula.
He planned to take a gap year and learn how to race dogs. But after the year was up, he got a job transporting sled dogs to Alaska.
He returned to Michigan, but missed Alaska. He reached out to friends for job prospects and got an offer from musher Matthew Failor, originally from Ohio, who had raced in the Iditarod. Baker’s interest in mushing grew and he began training.
This year’s race was the longest in the 53-year history of the Iditarod. It began with a ceremony in Anchorage on March 1; the official departure was two days later in Fairbanks, about 350 miles to the north. It was the fourth time the race starting point was moved because of lack of snow. The race ends in Nome.
Veteran musher Jessie Holmes, an Alabama native, won his first championship this year, completing the route in 10 days.
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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Michigan native places highest among rookies in Iditarod sled dog race
