Honor Of The Red Lantern

Last But Not Least
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Jeff, his wife Jeri Ann, with Secretariat and Dani at the finish line.

The Iditarod is Alaska’s challenging dog sled race, perhaps the toughest race of any kind in the world. It is not for the faint of heart. It requires stamina, combined with an ability to withstand exposure to dangerously cold arctic temperatures mixed with high winds. Also pertinent is an acute knowledge of sled dogs, mixed with good planning skills, all performed with little or no rest. You’re literally putting your life in the hands of 16 sled dogs to pull you through 1,049 miles of the toughest terrain known to man.

From Navy SEAL to Dog Musher

Jeff Reid is a former Navy SEAL. He spent several years on the teams with two deployments overseas, for a total of nine years. SEALS are interesting characters — they aren’t like most people — they’re their own special breed. Words like “driven,” “adventurer,” “warrior” and “never quit” come to mind when thinking about them. After nine years, Jeff noticed his body reacting negatively to the rigors of SEAL training. Knowing it was time to leave the Teams, he needed to find something to fill the void the Teams had filled.

Jeff read a book about dog mushing in the great white north and something clicked. He wanted excitement and the type of relationships the Teams offered, so becoming a dog musher seemed like the perfect solution. The only problem was he had no experience whatsoever. But being a former SEAL, he was no stranger to sticking his neck out and taking risks.

With the support of a wonderful wife, the two headed to Alaska to start their adventure.

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A much-needed rest, consisting of a hot meal and sleep on straw.

Shoveling $hit

Jeff figured the best way to gain experience in mushing would be working in a kennel of a musher. He started from the ground up, literally, meaning he shoveled a lot of doggy doo-doo from the kennel yard. Along the way he learned how to care for, feed, train and run a dog kennel.

He obtained a handful of dogs, bred some, and his pack grew until he had over 30 dogs. Training runs showed him who the top performers were, what skills they possessed for position assignment on the harness and he eventually had his team of dogs.

He started by entering shorter races, progressing to longer and more challenging races. Qualifying for the Iditarod requires you to complete one 200-mile race and two 300-mile races in the same year.

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Cold? Are you kidding? We’re just getting warmed up!
At least the dogs are.

Finally …

This past year, Jeff competed in the Iditarod — and finished, quite an accomplishment! Along with his wife, a gaggle of family, friends and former SEAL teammates, he brought the team to Anchorage, the starting point for the race. On the eve of the race, a commotion was heard outside from the dogs. In the morning, Jeff noticed his lead dog, Clyde, limping. He had a puncture wound in his front paw. One of his females had come into heat, causing a ruckus amongst the males.

Although separated in pens, Clyde must have pawed at one of his fellow team members and got bit for his efforts. Jeff had to withdraw him. Luckily, he had brought an extra dog, but Clyde was the Michael Jordan of the team, the team leader.

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The trail can be a lonesome — although beautiful — ride.

The Journey

Under ideal conditions, the dogs average around 9 mph on flat terrain with perfect snow conditions. The dogs perform best at zero to -20 degrees Fahrenheit and start getting hot when it reaches 10 degrees while pulling a sled. At one point during the race, it did warm up to 10 degrees and the dogs were showing signs of being overheated. A fellow musher told Jeff to remove the dogs’ protective booties. He did, although now he was worried about their paws, but the dogs responded. Jeff changed his strategy and started traveling by night so it was cooler for the dogs and they could wear their booties.

Without Clyde leading the way, Bonnie took over but her inexperience was obvious during parts of the course with several finger trails leading off the main trail. Bonnie would get confused, leading the team in a zig-zag pattern which added over 7 miles to the course.

While climbing some of the steeper hills, Jeff transitioned to “lead dog” — pulling the sled with the pack. When a dog would get lame, they’d ride in the sled until they recovered.

There are coordinated rest stops roughly every hundred miles where the dogs get a chance to eat as well as sleep on straw for bedding. Jeff would also give the dogs “power bars” every two hours along the trail, consisting of frozen ground beef, salmon or venison, mixed with water and cut into single portions for the pups. Another highlight of the race is the rest point at the town of Unalakleet where Jeff was able to order a pepperoni pizza after days of eating trail food!

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This Bud’s For You

The Iditarod winner completed the course in 9 days. It took Jeff 12 days to finish the grueling race. Reverting to his BUD’s days, Jeff never “rang the bell,” meaning he never gave up. Near the end of the course, it is boring for the dogs as they can’t see any possible ending and get frustrated, especially after pulling for so many days.

Near the last day, there were several steep mountains to conquer and Jeff became leader again, pulling with the dogs for over 20 miles.

When reaching the final peak, Jeff and the dogs could see the lights to Nome, 12 miles away. Both the dogs and Jeff were excited now!

Jeff was the last man in and given the “red lantern award.” An old tavern in Nome keeps a lantern lit until the final competitor safely crosses the finish line. The Red Lantern recipient is assigned the task of extinguishing this flame.

Jeff and the team were enthusiastically greeted at the finish line by his wife, Jeri Ann, and sister-in-law Candis. The dogs recognized them and were excited to see them. During the race, Jeff packed a GLOCK 20 10mm pistol for protection of the team.

At the finish line, there’s a carved wooden arch of a dog team. Two months after the race, the arch collapsed from rot. Jeff Reid, former Navy SEAL, was the last man to cross under this arch during a race. In my book, that’s pretty darn cool!

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