Valley teen quick to find success after introduction to mushing

WASILLA — In many ways, Colby Spears is much like the typical Valley kid. Spears is into hunting, fishing and riding dirt bikes. But late last month, Spears accomplished something that most his age can only dream of.

Spears, 14, finished the 150-mile Junior Iditarod Sled Dog Race. Spears was one of a dozen teenagers, ages 14 to 17, to do it. But Spears managed to not just finish, but place second overall in the first race of his career. Spears, who has been mushing for less than six months, had never even been to an event before placing second in the Junior Iditarod.

Regardless of how much Spears loves spending time outdoors, his parents never expected Spears to show interest in the sport.

“We were super surprised,” Tracy Spears, Colby’s mom, said. “It kind of came out of nowhere.”

Tracy said her family had no connection to the sport. She said Colby has always been very active.

“Usually anything that’s got a motor, he’s into,” Tracy said.

Now, Colby can add a team of dogs and a sled to the list of things he loves.

Colby said, Ray Redington, a member of the Valley’s first family of mushing, introduced him to the sport.

“Ray offered me the opportunity,” Colby said.

Colby said he would see Redington — grandson of the late Joe Redington Sr, the known as the father of the Iditarod — working with his team, while he was riding his dirt bike. Redington helped get Colby involved, and introduced him to Jessica Klejka, who won the Junior Iditarod in 2008. Since meeting Klejka in October, Colby has been working with a team of her dogs.

“They pretty much told me how to do everything,” Colby said of Klejka and Redington.

Since his introduction to the sport, Colby is a regular at the kennel. An eighth grader at Redington Jr./Sr. High, Colby said he’s there every day after school to run and help take care of the dogs.

Colby made his mushing debut Feb. 25, part of the 12-team field of the 2017 Junior Iditarod. After a strong run, Colby followed his team of 10 dogs to the finish line Feb. 26 at 12:06 p.m. at the Willow Community Center. He was only three minutes behind the winner, Andrew Nolan.

“I definitely didn’t think I’d place that high,” Colby said.

Finishing his first race was the primary goal.

“I just focused on the dogs more than anything,” Colby said. “I was pretty happy just to finish.”

Tracy said she’s elated by what her son was able to accomplish.

“Super, super proud. I didn’t care if he was first, second or third, I just wanted him to finish,” Tracy said.

Colby said he wasn’t really nervous during the race. For Tracy, it was a much different story.

“I was definitely concerned. I kept refreshing the race tracker,” Tracy said of the GPS tracking on the Junior Iditarod website. “He’s my 14-year-old.”

After his runner-up finish, and just about six months working with the dogs, Colby is hooked. He said he’s definitely competing in the Junior Iditarod next year, and also hopes to participate in other races. He’s even thinking about racing in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race some day.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.