Iditarod Finish

One of our jobs as volunteers is to welcome in mushers when they approach the finish line. When the siren sounds we head to Front Street to welcome them along with several hundred other people. I arrived just in time to welcome Lachlan Clark and his dogs. He pulled off Norton Sound onto the street and the crowd cheered for about eight blocks before he pulled up onto the mound of snow holding the official finish line markers.

After an 1,150 mile race, Clark was received by camera people and interview questions to which he responded with kind tolerance. I imagine he might have wished for a hot tub, a good meal, and a soft bed. The dogs were received by infinitely more people who hugged, petted, and otherwise cooed over them. They responded with licks and wags, and then lay down on the ice until the reverie subsided.

This year all the mushers finished the Iditarod in record time and all are in before the big musher’s banquet we’ll host for them today. Today, I’ll be preparing the recreation center, preparing more food, serving the more than 1,000 people present, and cleaning up when we’re done. Through this practical ministry, I hope to be an example and to let God’s power flow through me as I come in contact with the mushers and the natives – like Jesus when the woman touched the edge of his garment.