Alaska mushing legend Lance Mackey dies after long battle with cancer

Iditarod legend Lance Mackey died at the age of 52 Wednesday, Sept. 7 after a long battle with cancer.

“It’s a very sad day for mushing in the state of Alaska,” Iditarod musher Ryan Redington said.

Redington ran many of the same races as Mackey over the years, including Mackey’s first Iditarod victory in 2007. He said that he was always a great person to be around and led an inspirational life.

“I have a lot of respect for Lance. We had a lot of great times,” Redington said. “I always looked up to him. He was just an incredible guy. He’s going to be greatly, greatly missed.”

Mackey is known for overcoming all obstacles in his way with resilience and tenacity for life, not letting his battle with throat cancer get in the way of pulling off Iditarod and Yukon Quest titles.

Mackey was a four-time Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race champion, winning the race in consecutive years from 2007 to 2010. He has six top-10 finishes. Mackey, who lived in the Fairbanks area, was also a Yukon Quest champion. He was the first musher to win both the Iditarod and the Yukon Quest.

“I don’t think he had any fear. He was a fighter. He just was Lance Mackey. He just was who he was. I think that’s a pretty neat trait too,” Wasilla Knik Historical Society board member Robbin Robbert said.

According to Robbert, Mackey was inducted into the Knik Museum’s Mushers Hall of Fame in 2015. He said that his father, Dick Mackey was inducted two years later.

“The things he accomplished, you would have thought he was older. He lived a lot of life in those 52 years,” Robbert said.

Redington said that he’s been watching videos of Mackey’s races and wafting through all the great memories. He said that Mackey was an incredible racer with a heart of gold that belongs to have a shining place in mushing history.

“Not only was he an ultra competitor but he always had fun. He loved every bit of it , no matter how tough it got,” Mackey said. “He’s the people’s champion. He’s the best champion that’s ever been in the Iditarod. There will never be a champion like Lance.”

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com