Cheers & Jeers: Dogged effort; political gap
The Columbian
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Cheers: To Josh McNeal. The 2013 graduate of La Center High School will compete starting Sunday in the Iditarod sled dog race, as detailed in a Columbian story by Tim Martinez. The legendary competition this year will follow an 852-mile out-and-back route between Wasilla, Alaska, and Iditarod, with 47 mushers taking part.
McNeal’s connection to Alaska began when he worked as a fishing guide while in high school. He then attended the University of Alaska Anchorage and gradually developed an interest in sled dog racing. “The original draw of Alaska was the adventure,” he said. That sense of adventure has made the Iditarod a fixture of extreme sports, with mushers and their dogs battling the elements and untamed wilderness for hundreds of miles. There is a reason, after all, that promoters bill it as The Last Great Race.