Alaska loses a hero

There is a pink pin of the state of Alaska sitting on my desk, across it is written:

WHERE

MEN ARE MEN

AND

WOMEN WIN THE

IDITAROD

This was never more true than with four time champion Susan Butcher. She had a three year winning streak - winning the Iditarod sled dog race in 1986, 87, and 88, then for a fourth time in 1990. Through 1993 she finished in the top four runners.

She died yestersday, August 5th, at age 51 from a resurgence of leukimia after a stem-cell transplant in May. She was well loved in Alaska and will be greatly missed. For more on this Alaskan hero see her website: Trail Breaker Kennels - http://www.susanbutcher.com/

From her site:

"Iditarod legacySusan Butcher was a four-time Iditarod champion who finished in the top 10 in all but two of her 17 races. Her fastest time was 10 days, 22 hours, 3 minutes in 1993.

1978 19th

1979 9th

1980 5th

1981 5th

1982 2nd

1983 9th

1984 2nd

1985 Scratch

1986 1st

1987 1st

1988 1st

1989 2nd

1990 1st

1991 3rd

1992 2nd

1993 4th

1994 10th "