Musher Details

2016 Iditarod » Mushers » Jim Lanier

Jim Lanier

Bib Number: 51
Hometown: Chugiak, Alaska
Website:


Biography

Jim Lanier, 79 years young, was born in Washington D.C. and raised in Fargo, North Dakota. After receiving his medical degree from Washington University in St. Louis, he moved to Alaska in 1967 to serve at the Native Hospital in Anchorage with the US Public Health Service. A Pathologist at Providence Hospital for thirty-some years, Jim is now retired from medicine but not from mushing. He “went to the dogs” in the 70’s as a result of hanging around with Iditarod mushers Ron Gould, Dinah Knight and Gerry Riley. Then in 1979 he ran his first Iditarod, as chronicled in his book Beyond Ophir. A sequel, Way Beyond Ophir, is in 1st draft. In 2014 Jim entered his seventeenth race to Nome and, for the first time, had to scratch due to a ruptured Achilles tendon. 2015 and 2016 saw scratches two and three with pneumonia in Unalakleet and a fractured collar bone in Kaltag. In 2017 a bum knee forced a handing of the reins to good friend Gunnar Johnson. In 2018, he got into serious trouble on the coast and had to scratch. In 2019, he completed the Yukon Quest. Apparently Jim’s determination, or stubbornness, knows no bounds as he now returns to the starting line for yet another go. After that “Who knows?” he says. “Health aside, it’s a matter of continued enjoyment of the dreaming, scheming, training, support of family and friends, and of going head to head with people half my age and younger.” Lanier’s specialty is his white dogs and, therefore, his “Northern Whites Kennel.” Jim is married to Anna Bondarenko, the first and only Russian Woman to enter and complete the Last Great Race, in 2000. Jim is a member of the AMA and the Democratic Party. He is the father of four adult children (Margaret, Kimberly, Willy and Jimmy) and grandfather of five (Annie, Ethan, Ollie, Logan and Jessie). His activities include singing, commercial fishing and writing.

Sponsors

Alaska Equine and Small Animal Hospital
Alpine Creek Lodge
Julie St. Louis
Mark Jacobson


2016 Standings

Checkpoint Time In Dogs In Time Out Dogs Out Rest Time Previous Layover Status Distance
Enroute Time Speed (mph) 8hr 24hr
Anchorage 3/05 11:47:00 16 3/05 11:47:00 16 0h 0m
Willow 3/06 15:38:00 16
Yentna 3/06 19:13:00 16 3/06 19:15:00 16 0h 2m 3h 35m 11.72 42
Skwentna 3/07 02:21:00 16 3/07 03:14:00 16 0h 53m 7h 6m 4.23 30
Finger Lake 3/07 08:01:00 16 3/07 12:41:00 15 4h 40m 4h 47m 8.36 40
Rainy Pass 3/07 17:09:00 15 3/07 22:06:00 15 4h 57m 4h 28m 6.72 30
Rohn 3/08 05:41:00 15 3/08 11:37:00 15 5h 56m 7h 35m 4.62 35
Nikolai 3/09 03:15:00 15 3/09 10:15:00 15 7h 0m 15h 38m 4.80 75
McGrath 3/09 16:00:00 15 3/10 17:10:00 14 25h 10m 5h 45m 8.35 ✔ 48
Takotna 3/10 19:15:00 14 3/10 19:39:00 14 0h 24m 2h 5m 8.64 ✔ 18
Ophir 3/10 22:16:00 14 3/11 03:13:00 14 4h 57m 2h 37m 8.79 ✔ 23
Cripple 3/11 19:23:00 14 3/12 04:18:00 13 8h 55m 16h 10m 4.52 ✔ 73
Ruby 3/12 14:37:00 13 3/13 00:41:00 13 10h 4m 10h 19m 6.79 ✔ ✔ 70
Galena 3/13 07:04:00 13 3/13 13:50:00 13 6h 46m 5h 23m 9.29 ✔ ✔ 50
Nulato 3/13 20:36:00 13 3/14 04:20:00 12 7h 44m 6h 46m 5.47 ✔ ✔ 37
Kaltag 3/14 08:41:00 12 4h 21m 10.80 ✔ ✔ Scratched 47