The Iditarod -- paws for a cause …

Frontiersman Editorial Board

"Bones, not bombs," "I did it by two" and 100 years of the National Wildlife Refuge System are just a few of the slogans gracing dog jackets along this year's Iditarod Trail. There are dogs mushing to heighten awareness of alcoholism, dogs running to find a cure for cancer, dogs trekking to protest war and dogs carrying hundreds of names of people with terminal illness.

The Iditarod is becoming more about social causes than simply crossing the finish line in the fastest time and, to a certain extent, that's a good thing. It increases people's awareness, both of the social causes mushers are favoring and, for those more interested in the cause than the race, it increases awareness of the Iditarod around the nation. People who support the National Wildlife Refuge System may tune into the race for the first time this year after learning that Two Rivers musher and former NWRS worker Aliy Zirkle's dogs are wearing jackets touting NWRS's 100th anniversary.

To Iditarod purists, however, the plethora of causes and slogans are just one more sign that the race is becoming increasingly less about mushing dogs along the trail. Thirty years ago, they'll tell you, mushers were more concerned about simply making it to Nome with all their limbs, hopefully far enough ahead of other mushers to take home a few hundred bucks, or at least enough to cover the cost of the entry fees. Competitors were simply mushing, not "mushing for …"

Now, with the advent of faster sleds, lighter-weight materials and lightweight gear, along with breeding advancements that make for high-endurance, strong, lightweight dogs, technology has taken some of the guesswork out of the Iditarod. Most mushers know they will make it to Nome alive, and most get there without losing a toe or finger to frostbite. There's a bigger body of support for mushers today, both in terms of paying supporters and of volunteers willing to help feed and care for dogs or ready them for racing and training. Having others help provide those basic needs mean mushers can shift their attention to larger issues -- cancer, vaccinations, peaceful protests and alcoholism, for example.

It's a different race today than it was three decades ago, and the increased social consciousness of the competitors -- and their jacket-wearing dogs -- is just one reflection of that. But somehow, it's hard not to smile when you see mushers out there racing on their own behalf -- for the sheer, simple determination of running with their dogs.