Parked just around the corner from McGrath Checkpoint’s front door is Rudy Demoski. It’s been 28 years since Rudy last stood on the runners for an Iditarod. He’s experienced three very different eras of Iditarod. In the late 70’s Iditarod was a camping trip compared to the race we know today. He ran in 1985 when Libby Riddels won the race initiating dominance by women for the last half of the 1980’s. Now he’s running in a very high speed, high tech Iditarod complete with GPS tracker.

Rudy prepared a gourmet meal for his athletes – soaked kibble, lamb and beef. Twelve pairs of eyes watched every move their musher made in preparing dinner. When he placed the bowls by each dog, it didn’t take any coaxing to get them to dive in.

He’s commented on how the trail has improved since his last run. He wasn’t looking forward to the Happy River Steps or the Dalzell Gorge on his return to the trail. Actually he put it this way, “I didn’t want to see the steps or the gorge so I ran them at night. I couldn’t see too far ahead so I just reacted to what was right in front of me. The steps were in great condition and the gorge was no problem at all.”

Looking back in the archives, Rudy’s best finish was 4th place in his 1974 rookie Iditarod. Demoski’s best time of 16 days, 9 hours and 35 minutes came in 1985. Seems to be a good bet that he’ll set a new personal best time in the 41st Iditarod.

Born to Run,

Sanka