The 1,000-mile Iditarod Trail Invitational is known as the world’s longest and toughest winter race. It follows the historic Iditarod Trail in Alaska and honors the 1925 “serum run,” where dog teams delivered the life-saving diphtheria antitoxin to remote Alaskan villages.
The feat is something extreme athletes work decades to achieve. Parkite Matt Garretson is on his second trek through some of nature’s toughest conditions.
Most invitational participants travel by bicycle, including Garretson, but the race can also be done on skis or on foot.
“I'm running what looks like a traditional mountain bike, except it's got 5-inch-wide tires with studs onto them, so I can travel through deep snow, as well as on frozen rivers and sea ice,” Garretson said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour.”
Starting in Anchorage and ending in Nome, the race includes only a minimal amount of assistance. Garretson will rely on survival equipment and food supplies he’s shipped to remote villages before the race.
Garretson is competing in the 1,000-mile version of the Iditarod Invitational and said he has built his “resume” over the last 10 years to participate.
Before anyone gets on the Iditarod trail, they have to finish a winter ultra race of at least 100 miles. Then they’re eligible for an invite to the 150-mile Iditarod race, followed by the 350-mile version and finally the 1,000-mile race.
Garretson competed in the 1,000-mile Iditarod last year and is back again with a new purpose: he’s raising money to support local Alaskan villages.
Last year, a typhoon hit the Alaskan coast and many villages along the Iditarod Trail. He’s racing to help rebuild infrastructure for the villages and people who support the historic races.
“I saw the images of all these villages that I had gone through and that I met the people and had so much kindness for me, just get absolutely devastated by this typhoon,” Garretson said.
During Garretson’s time on the trail, the town of Galena opened its school to racers. Garretson said it was a welcome respite from the weeks spent in snow caves in the Alaskan wilderness. A local family also offered the travelers reindeer stir fry.
“Of all the wild foods I've had in my life, I have to say I've never had reindeer stir fry, and it was just the most delightful. I'll remember it as like the best meal ever for the rest of my life,” Garretson said.
As Garretson neared the end of the race, a woman ran out of a small remote cabin near some sea ice to bring him homemade cookies.
"I just thought of all the wonderful things, you know, the right thing at the right time, kind of a divine moment where it was just that warmth, not of the food, but just of the gesture,” Garretson said.
As part of a grassroots effort, Garretson has raised over $20,000 to support the local villages.
Click here to follow Garretson’s journey.
He says it will take him about 18 days, depending on the weather.
