A fifth Iditarod for Ludington musher Al Hardman?

To decide later this year between Iditarod and Quest

Andy Klevorn - Multimedia Services Manag

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Hardman is a four-time Iditarod veteran, having finished the 1,100-mile Alaskan adventure in 1997, 2000, 2002 and 2004, vowing 2004 was his last year.

But the 64-year-old has changed his mind and decided he’ll return to run another long-distance sled dog race next year.

He’s about 60 percent committed to running another Iditarod, but said he may instead choose Alaska’s Yukon Quest.

“I still haven’t ruled out the Quest,� he said. “The thing that attracts me to the Quest is just to do it.�

The Yukon Quest, a 1,000-mile race, is run in February, just a few weeks earlier in the season than the Iditarod. The race runs between Fairbanks, Alaska, and Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada. This year, it starts in Alaska and ends in Whitehorse.

He’ll talk to mushers who have completed the Quest before deciding which race he’ll enter. The lure of something different is one reason Hardman in considering the quest.

Hardman, 64, signed up for the Iditarod on Day 1 — just in case he is going to participate — wanting to get the best possible starting position. Last year, the Iditarod Trail Committee allowed the mushers who signed up first to choose their starting time. This is important for mushers who try to fit the race into a set schedule of run and rest times. But that 2007 rule was in place for one year only, and the Committee has since gone back to a random drawing for start times. Hardman had already sent his entry money in when he found out about rule change, and he can get a refund, so he left his entry in early. Being an early entrant still gives him an advantage over mushers who sign up later in the year.

He said he’s got a full team of capable dogs and with no other driver ready to take the team. He’s it.

“I guess, if I’d have had some candidate in line (someone else to run the race), I’d have backed off,� he said.

In the end it’s always about the dogs.

“They love to run,� he said.

Hardman walked through his Ludington kennel last week, naming off the dogs, and their parents. Sackett, one of Hardman’s best dogs, fathered much of his current up-and-coming team.

Other dogs, purchased from more famous names in the sport, like four-time Iditarod winner Susan Butcher, are also still in the kennel.

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Eider, a dog Hardman purchased from Butcher before the 2002 race, is the kennel’s top dog, Hardman said.

“He’s the star of the Iditarod, that one,� Hardman said of Ider. He’s finished four Iditarods, one with Hardman’s son-in-law Jim Conner, then two with Baldwin native Gregg Hickmann and once with Walhalla fishing guide Kevin Morlock. Hickmann and Morlock have both been handlers for Hardman through the years. All three started helping Hardman prepare his teams for the Iditarod and took interest in the sport enough to take a team across Alaska.

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race pits mushers and their teams of 16 dogs against the interior of Alaska. Teams leave Anchorage on the first Saturday in March in the ceremonial start to the delight of thousands who line the streets of largest city in Alaska. The real race begins on Sunday when the teams leave Wasilla or Willow, depending on snow conditions, and head for the wilds of rugged Alaska. Along the way the teams will race through two mountain ranges, Alaskan and Brooks, and make their way through villages with as few as 38 people. Other checkpoints, for example Rainy Pass, are fishing lodges in the summer. During the race, the caretakers open the facilities to make room for mushers, volunteers and members of the media.

Hardman’s best Iditarod finish came in 2002 when he finished in 10 days, 4 hours. His rookie year was the slowest time to the finish under the burled arch in Nome took 13 days, 58 minutes.

Distance - 1,100 miles

Start - Saturday, March 1, 2008, Anchorage

Finish - 8-15 days, Nome

Total purse - $795,000, 2006

Winner’s share - $69,000 and a new Dodge truck

Most wins - musher Rick Swenson, 5

Booties used - About 1,500/dog team

Cost per bootie - $1