Well, its official. Lance Mackey has thrown his hat in the ring to compete in the 2011 International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race (IPSSSDR). This race has been growing quickly in popularity over the years, and features a week of racing sometimes at elevations over 10,000 feet. img::lance.jpg::400Stage racing differs from typical long distance continuous format racing in that there is little or no camping with the dogs, and the dogs get to rest overnight in their warm, cozy dog boxes after each stage. It has grown into a discipline of the sport that demands specialization, although the Streepers of Fort Nelson, a open-class sprint racing team, have dominated it whenever they have entered.The IPSSSDR is a world class event, with the highest levels of competition. It will be interesting to see how Lance fairs at a race that hasn’t been kind to modern day Iditarod teams, but we all know that a good dog team is a good dog team, so it will be very interesting to follow next year’s race. It will be exciting to see Lance and his Iditarod champion dogs race against the world championship teams of the Streepers, as well as the mid-distance specialists such as Lloyd Gilbertson’s kennel, and the others that run the race year after year. This one is not to be missed.
