Cool couple

BIG LAKE — When Sigurjón Pétursson and Thóra Hrönn Njálsdóttir line up in the Iron Dog Trail Class starting chute this morning, thoughts of cancer and bankruptcies will be erased by the focus required for the world’s toughest snowmachine race.

The husband and wife from Iceland were first lured to Alaska by the romance of Jack London and Iditarod documentaries.

Their Iron Dog adventure began in 2006 when they came to Alaska for the Tok-to-Dawson run. They met Wil and Wally Smith, long-time Alaskans, after both couples had a flat tire on the drive to Tok, and the four ended up riding to Dawson together.

At Dawson, Sig and Thóra first heard about the Iron Dog when Wil mentioned, half in jest, that the four should run the Trail Class.

The couple all but forgot about the race until running into Wil on a trip to Homer. This time, when Thóra mentioned the race again, the idea stuck.

The experienced snowmachiners and marathoners likened to the idea the more they thought about it. Training was never a problem for the 58-year-old Sig and 57-year-old Thóra, who both pridefully say they are in excellent condition.

“We’re not racers,” says Sig, “but I see us more as long-distance travelers.”

But Sig and Thóra are the first to mention they have had plenty of help along the way. Sponsorships from 66’ North and Garmin and other outfitters in Iceland provided the team with all their gear.

Big Lake Arctic Cat has been essential to this trip, says Sig. Arctic Cat has provided the team with new sleds, and the dealership has offered use of their facilities.

At 9 a.m. this morning, the foursome will head to Nome with the Trail Class then continue onto Fairbanks with the Pro riders.

While their physical preparations will be complete by Friday morning, the less tangible obstacles will continue throughout the race and after. Their story begins well before 2006. Years earlier, Thóra was diagnosed with lymphoma, cancer of the lymph nodes. During the worst stages of the disease and treatment, she was barely able to walk to the corner let alone take out the trash.

Now her sprit is what she claims will carry her 1,971 miles through -40 degree weather. The Iron Dog has become just another item on what she terms her “bucket list”.

Surviving cancer, she says, “reminds you and tells you if you have a dream, don’t wait. On this trip, I’m not trying to raise money for lymphoma awareness or anything like that. I think it’s just good to remind others and remind myself that I can do this.”

Through Thóra’s story, the couple hopes to remind their fellow Icelanders what the human sprit can accomplish.

“We’re really a very normal family back in Iceland,” says Sig. But after the country filed for bankruptcy in 2008, life in Iceland is anything but normal now.

“Just over 100 days ago, our economy literally collapsed. Right now, we are going through a re-evaluation of our national values and ethics. Maybe that’s one of the parts of this trip: To look at it from nine time zones away and to see the forest through the trees.”

“People back at home are so grateful we are doing this and keeping up our website [www.icelandalaska.com],” says Thóra. “They are so happy to see people are doing something extraordinary instead of sitting at home and complaining. We couldn’t do this with out all the support back at home.”

And what is the message the couple hopes to relate? Perhaps it is a return to the old values of self-reliance and responsibility to the team, says Thóra.

“Westerners need to realize that we carry too much baggage,” adds Sig.

As they get used to their newfound bunny boots and open-faced helmets, the Iron Dog will no doubt show the couple what is necessary for survival.