[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 4] [Senate] [Page 4477] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]CONGRATULATING LANCE MACKEY Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, today I congratulate Lance Mackey, of Fairbanks, AK, on achieving the incredible feat of twice winning the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and the Yukon Quest Sled Dog Race--two 1,000-mile races--in the same year. Last year, Lance became the first musher ever to win both races in the same calendar year. An achievement, which was previously labeled impossible, has for the second consecutive year been accomplished by Lance Mackey and his team. For those who are unfamiliar with either the Iditarod or the Yukon Quest, these races are the world's two longest dogsled races. Both races, which span over 1,000 miles of rigid mountains, frozen tundra, and dense forests, are true tests of determination and dedication. Not only does the rugged terrain pose a huge challenge, but so does the weather, which frequently drops to 30 or 40 degrees below zero, and the wind, which can gust up to 100 miles per hour. The annual Yukon Quest Sled Dog Race is a 1,000-mile international trek from Fairbanks, AK, to Whitehorse, Canada. Lance Mackey and his team of canine athletes crossed this great distance in 10 days, 12 hours, and 14 minutes, claiming victory for the fourth year in a row. Only 11 days after his Yukon Quest victory, Lance and six of his dogs that competed in the Yukon Quest joined seven of his other dogs and began the 1,100-mile Iditarod Sled Dog Race. This race, which starts in Willow, AK, and ends in Nome, AK, commemorates the 1925 diphtheria serum relay run where dogsled teams had to pass along a vaccine from Anchorage to Nome in order to save countless lives. The Iditarod race is no longer run as a relay but is a race completed by individual dogsled teams. The 1,100-mile journey travels primarily through the great Alaskan wilderness. Throughout this year's Iditarod, Lance Mackey was challenged by not only the weather and terrain but also by other extraordinary mushers such as the 2006 Iditarod winner, Jeff King, and other previous winners of this great race. On the morning of March 12, 2008, thousands gathered at the famous burled wood arch on Front Street in Nome, AK, to cheer on Lance Mackey, as he sledded to back-to-back wins at the Iditarod, beating the odds as well as the extremely competitive international field. Lance Mackey and his team of canines completed the race in 9 days, 11 hours, and 46 minutes, beating four- time Iditarod champion Jeff King by 1 hour and 19 minutes. For the past few years, Lance has shown a mastery of working with and training canine athletes for the sport of dog mushing. As the Anchorage Daily News aptly stated: A musher doesn't win four straight, 1,000 mile Yukon Quests and two straight Iditarods by making dogs run. He wins by making dogs want to run. Lance Mackey continues to impress all of us with his remarkable achievements and record-setting performances. It is my honor to stand before this body today to congratulate Lance Mackey and his team of amazing dogs. Lance is a world-class dog musher and a true Alaskan hero, and I wish him and his team all the success in the future. ____________________