Iditarod -- Cancer Patient Makes A Wish, Helps King To Second Victory

NOME, Alaska - Jeff King coasted into this historic Gold Rush community as sirens and cheering spectators marked his second victory in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

The racer's luckiest charm didn't hear yesterday's celebration. Though he was 4,000 miles away. C.J. Kolbe, 9, of Broadalbin, N.Y., was with King in spirit.

The cancer patient got to ride along when King began the 1,151-mile race March 2 in Anchorage. King's sponsor, Cabela's, arranged for the ride through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Kolbe gave King a lucky penny.

"I wish I could win this race for C.J. and have him come back and say it was an inspiration to him," King said before leaving.

The 1,151-mile trail from Anchorage to Nome had all the conditions of a rough ride, with parts buried under thick drifts of new snow, ice or under water because of a thaw.

King finished the marathon with a second-best time of 9 days, 5 hours and 43 minutes.

Only defending champion Doug Swingley, of Simms, Mont., has done better in the Iditarod's 24-year history, winning in nine days, two hours and 42 minutes. Swingley took second place this year, reaching Nome in 9 days, 8 hours, 3 minutes.

King, 39, will take home the $50,000 winner's share of the $300,000 purse and a $30,000 pickup truck.

"The team was really a joy," King said at the finish line. "I had to keep my feet off the gas pedal early in the race."

King finished with just six of his original 16 dogs.

King said he was able to let as many as five dogs trot along without having to pull the sled at times, conserving energy. He led by enough late in the race to sleep four straight hours before the final sprint.

King attributed his race in part to "patience" that conserved his dogs' strength.

The dozens of other competitors, he said, drove too hard too early.

"It's my opinion that they got a little excited racing each other," he said at the finish line while hugging lead dogs Booster and Jake. "I don't really think my dogs sped up. I think the others slowed down."

Early in the race, King's sled broke but he managed to gain ground again after fixing it temporarily with a hockey stick. The other leaders also suffered mishaps.

Swingley, about two hours behind King, fed his dogs spoiled meat, causing his dogs to contract diarrhea and weaken.

Two-time champion Martin Buser and DeeDee Jonrowe, who had also vied with King for the lead, took a wrong turn yesterday on the way to White Mountain, 77 miles from the Nome finish line. They lost about three hours.

Officials said it's not uncommon for exhausted mushers to get lost along the northern coast of Norton Sound.

Several mushers had run-ins with stubborn moose, and at least one other musher was charged by a bear, said Iditarod Manager Jack Niggemeyer.

Compiled from Associated Press, Reuters and Marin Independent Journal.