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My favorite ideas from the September 2006 issue of Team & Trail

August 17, 2026
Editor and/or Contributors

On Belonging & Finding Your Place

Susan Butcher (1991 Academy of Achievement interview): “From the first moment that I landed in Alaska, I felt at home for the first time in my life… there was this person born in me that absolutely should have been born in Alaska.”

On Perseverance & Coming Back Stronger

After a moose killed two of her dogs and forced her to scratch as the favorite in 1985 (watching Libby Riddles become the first woman winner), Susan Butcher returned to win the Iditarod the next three years in a row (1986–1988) and again in 1990 — four wins in five years.
Nancy Cowan: “It wasn’t the fact that a woman won the Iditarod… it was one determined person who watched the ‘first woman winner title’ slip through her hands without complaint and came back stronger than ever to win and to win and to win… Susan Butcher was authentically the stuff of which champions are made… She set the bar.”

On Ambassadorship & Changing Perception

Dave Steele (ISDRA Executive Director): “Susan was a tremendous ambassador for the sport. During her Iditarod reign, her name became synonymous with mushing in the public’s mind. You couldn’t go anywhere without someone asking you about her.”
Mary Beth Logue: “To mushers, Susan was a champion or ambassador of the sport. But to the public Susan was the sport… The impression she made on them was phenomenal… She had already converted them.”
Magali Philip: “Mushing is what it is today because of Susan… She and Joe Redington are responsible for what long distance mushing is today… Without Susan and Joe, there would be no race and no media.”

On Motherhood & Transferring Excellence

Cathy Brooks (on living near Susan while raising young children): “My favorite memories of Susan are not that of mushing, but of mothering. I know that the attention to detail that she used to win championships transferred to all roles in her life, including her children… I know she missed racing at times, but I know she loved being a mom more.”

On Toughness & Inspiration

Lance Mackey: “She was the most famous musher ever. Everyone always said she was tougher than most men – this cancer had to be the baddest of the bad to kick her butt. I mean, I always thought she would beat it.”
Karen Ramstead: “She has over the years inspired so many young girls and women to conquer the bounds of what’s possible.”

On Organizational Leadership & Cautious Change (Dave Steele on ISDRA)

“For many years, ISDRA was wracked by precipitous changes that occurred as a result of poor planning and little forethought… You need a process for change that’s got to be a good process, a cautious process of change. One that makes sure there is plenty of time for members and directors to offer input.”
On past board meetings: “It used to be the directors would show up at the meeting and shoot from the hip with a proposal. No advance warning, nothing. That’s an absolutely horrendous way to run any sort of large organization.”
On the search for big sponsors: “That was the final message that we really weren’t of the stature that we could attract or service sponsors at the national level… There is no sugar daddy out there that’s just going to come in and dump basket loads of money on us, so that brings us to the alternative of looking to within our own community and our own resources.”
On deliberately not forcing a decision on the National Championship: “In my mind, that’s a major accomplishment because we didn’t make the mistake, we didn’t take the big step and really, you know, step in the cow pie.”
On the exploding dryland scene: “Clearly, we’ve got to do something on dryland… It’s human nature to compete, so we want to be there with a plan but my fear is that if we don’t have the right presence in their mind, they’ll just go off and reinvent the wheel.”
Closing principle: “Times have changed and our first responsibility is to the welfare of the organization. If the organization doesn’t survive, it can’t serve its members. And if it can’t survive and serve its members, it can’t help the sport.”

On Declaring Your Year

Lance Mackey (first to sign up for the 2007 Iditarod, aiming for bib #13 like his father and brother): “I believe I have the team and the ability. This year I am going to put it all together… This is my year!” And on the double: “I am going to take a two year old team, and my expectation is to win the Yukon Quest, and yes, also win the Iditarod.”