Recognized as the longest snowmobile race in the world, the Iron Dog traverses 2,000-miles of some of the most rugged and unforgiving terrain Alaska can dish out.
Readying for his second attempt at the race, Christian Brothers Racing rider Brian Dick will be on the start line this coming Friday as one half of Team 23.
Last year he paired with his father, Paul Dick, but they weren’t able to finish the race. This year Brian will be paired with 2008 race winner Eric Quam who has a ton of Iron Dog experience.
He has competed in every Iron Dog since 1999 either as a rider or crew and won the race in 2008 when he was paired with Marc McKenna.
He has also paired with multi-time race winner Todd Palin in past events. Team 23 will ride a pair of specially-prepared Arctic Cat Sno Pro 600 race sleds.
The Iron Dog is scheduled to start February 17 at Big Lake near Wasilla. From there, riders will head West to Nome, then turn back East and race to the finish in Fairbanks.
The racers will arrive on February 23 and when they are done they will have raced for a full seven days and traveled some 2000 miles.
The Iron Dog first ran in 1984 and the course roughly follows the famed Iditarod Trail. Competitors race in pairs and riding and mechanical as well as survival skills are essential.
“The Iron Dog is a big race, it requires a lot of resources and effort,” said Brian Dick. “This isn’t a race you enter and win the first time out, you need to run it a few times to learn all the secrets. Last year I was paired with my dad Paul and we learned a lot. This year I will be paired with Eric Quam – he’s won this race and I am looking forward to competing with him.”
“Brian is a smart racer and as one of the engineers behind the Arctic Cat race sled no one knows the machine better than he does,” said Christian Brothers Racing co-owner Dwight Christian. “He and Eric have all the skills and know-how to do well in this race, so the team is really excited for them.”
