Long distance calling

Young Buser adds to cross country accomplishments

BY DARRELL L. BREESE

Frontiersman

WASILLA - The buser name racing on narrow trails carved out of heavily wooded tracts of land across the Mat-Su Valley is sure to stir thoughts of the Iditarod.

But the Buser racing on the trails right now is not the four-time Iditarod champion. Instead it his son, Rohn Buser.

A junior at Wasilla High School, the young Buser recalls riding on a dog sled with his father before he could walk. That experience and his family connection played into him developing into one of the top Jr. Iditarod racers.

Racing a team of dogs came naturally for him, but this fall Buser is blazing his way across the trails on his feet instead of behind the dogs, as part of the Warrior's cross country running team.

&#8220I was born into mushing, and have been doing it as long as I can remember,” Buser said. &#8220So when I got to high school, I wanted to try something different. Cross country seemed to be a natural fit, given my background.”

As a musher, he has had a measure of success, racing the Jr. Iditarod three times, finishing fourth in 2004 and second place the last two years. But cross country success eluded him until this fall.

&#8220He's was determined to get better,” Wasilla cross country coach Gary Howell said of Buser. &#8220He was always a dedicated member of the team, but he came out this season after working hard at running all summer.”

The extra work paid off as Buser dropped his personal best time by more than four minutes and earned a spot on the varsity team, earning respect from both the coaches and his teammates.

&#8220Everyone was surprised by how strong his running was at the start of the season,” Howell said. &#8220He has emerged as a leader on the team.”

After running on a slippery rain-soaked trail at the Palmer Invitational cross country meet Saturday, Buser said the lessons learned while racing the Jr. Iditarod helped him press on in less than satisfactory conditions.

&#8220I kept telling myself to keep going every time I slipped,” Buser said. &#8220It's kind of like racing with the dogs. You have to tell yourself to keep going out there behind the sled with the dogs by yourself, too.”

&#8220Racing sled dogs has given him the mental toughness you need to be a good cross country runner,” Howell said. &#8220I wish I could teach the rest of the team that, but it has to come from within each runner. And he has that.”

Not surprising, being a part of a team was not Buser's only motivation for taking on cross country running.

&#8220It will help me when I'm racing the dogs,” he said. &#8220I should have a little more endurance to run up the hills so the dogs won't have to work as hard. You have to do that when driving a sled. You're part of a team with the dogs you can't just sit back and enjoy the ride.”

That teamwork learned on the trail with the dogs, has a strange relationship to the teamwork necessary for a successful running team.

&#8220It's all about pacing,” Howell said. &#8220It's nice to have one or two runners who charge to the front, but then you need the rest of the team to set a good pace for each other. I guess that would be how you put a dog team together, with dogs that run well with each other.”

&#8220That is one of the things about cross country that I like and people have a hard time understanding,” Buser said of running in the pack. &#8220It's not always about being the fastest guy out there for the team to succeed. It takes teamwork and pushing each other to be better to have success.

&#8220It's not just about the fastest runner in the pack,” Buser concluded.

Contact Darrell L. Breese at 352-2267 or at darrell.breese

@frontiersman.com.