Doug Swingley's Camping Trip - An editorial by Greg Loudon

Doug Swingley is a guy that a lot of people love to hate, especially bitter Alaskans who don't like seeing the fellow from Montana walk away with the title each year. Admittedly Doug has caused some of the ill will against him with misintended comments like his gaff at the musher's banquet in 2001 about Anchorage being "a nice place to leave". He explained later that his comments were meant to convey his enthusiasm about getting started on the race that he was about to win.

Doug's apparent "camping trip" this year has caused a lot of stir. First, with the competitors anxious to see if he was pulling a new strategy out of his hat with long rests in the beginning and now with the media. Race Marshall Mark Nordman just shared a story with me. A reporter with a major network called him to ask if the lditarod Trail Committee (ITC) was going to remove Doug from the race for violation of Policy 13 -- Competitiveness. The policy states

The race marshal shall have the authority to withdraw a team that is out of the competition and is no longer making a valid effort to compete. The race marshal also has the authority to withdraw a musher whose conduct, in the race marshal's sole and exclusive judgement, constitutes an unreasonable risk of harm to either himself or other persons.

Winners attract criticism - that's a fact in life as well as sports. Michael Jordan, Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan - all have achieved great things but have attracted great criticism. Some deserved the criticism more than others, but we have that in our sport as well. Susan Butcher was despised as she was in the middle of her streak. Rick Swenson still has a reputation of being arrogant and cocky after his streak. And now...it's Doug's turn. It's okay to root for the other teams and commentators universally agreed that it would be good for the race to crown a new champion. But should the media cross the line to prompting a disqualification. I think not. Nordman says that the ITC has no reason to disqualify their current champion "he isn't even running in the back" and he certainly isn't posing a danger to himself or anyone else.

I was as ready as anyone to see an Alaskan beat Doug Swingley (especially Ramy), but you have to admire the man who in a few short years completely dominated the Iditarod. I can tell you from personal experience - just finishing the race is an immense accomplishment in itself (I have yet to do it, but hope I make it all the way this year). But to break the course record and win three years in a row is like running up a football game by 40 points in the second half. It's embarassing and discouraging to everyone else. No one knew what his secret was and everyone was waiting for him to fall.

Doug Swingley is doing what many of his competitors only dream of...enjoying the scenery and visiting every checkpoint along the way. Coupled with his romantic proposal to girlfriend Melanie (what girl wouldn't want to be proposed to atop sled runners by the regning champion of the last great race on earth), Doug is enjoying a well earned victory lap - going out with perhaps more class than he began. Ramy Brooks put it best when I asked him about Doug in Nikolai. It's great to see Doug enjoying himself, but tough for us. "We're out here to race against the best, and right now Doug is the best" Happy Trails Doug. And on behalf of all Alaskans...we wish you well and thank you for relinquishing your crown.

Greg Loudon - Takotna.