Let the race begin

It’s now only a matter of hours until the first team heads off into the wilderness en route to Nome during the official restart of the 2008 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race.

In the months that have preceded the 36th running of the Last Great Race, much of the pre-race talk has centered around the Iditarod Trail Committee’s choice to move the race restart to Willow for the “foreseeable future.” The ensuing response to the decision was passionate and spurred heated pleas to keep the much-heralded annual event in its traditional home of Wasilla.

Regardless of on what side of the fence you stand — keep the restart in Wasilla or approve of the move to Willow — it’s time to accept the change and embrace the evolution of the Last Great Race. It’s time for the separate sides to come together and embrace the race as a community. It’s a Mat-Su Valley event for all, not exclusive to Willow or Wasilla.

It’s far too often that we let the proverbial line in the sand become an actual dividing line within our Mat-Su community. This doesn’t have to be one of those issues. Wasilla City Councilman Steve Menard proposed a resolution that Wasilla not contribute financially to the Iditarod or other events that aren’t held in Wasilla. Wasilla pledges $10,000 annually to the Iditarod.

That resolution failed this week by a unanimous vote of the city council, including Menard. In the end, he said the city needed more discussion on the issue. As the Mat-Su Valley has grown, events like the Iditarod, Iron Dog and Junior Iditarod have followed suit. Whether the events happen within a municipal boundary is a moot point, as all area communities benefit from their presence.

The name Mat-Su perfectly illustrates the point.

Technically, there is no such place as the “Mat-Su Valley.” There is the Matanuska Valley and the Susitna Valley. While the term Mat-Su Valley is geographically incorrect, it symbolizes the union of small separate entities — Palmer, Wasilla, Sutton, Big Lake, Houston, Talkeetna and others — into one community — the Mat-Su Valley.

Regardless of whether the restart is staged at the Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Complex, Willow Lake or the Alaska State Fairgrounds in Palmer, the Mat-Su Valley embraces the event as a community and takes pride in the fact that the Last Great Race — one of the most unique sporting events in the world — starts right here in the Mat-Su Valley.

And remember, if you want to get to Nome, you’ve got to start in the Mat-Su.