There?s a sled dog race tougher than the Iditarod, and a 78-year-old crazy enough to try it

Lanier said that camping in temperatures of 45 below zero the first night — after he and his team of nine dogs began their 90-mile run from the start line to Braeburn, the first checkpoint on the Canada side — accelerated his understanding of the situation he put himself in.“That handicapped me right off the bat,” he said, “but then it started to warm up.”Temperatures began to climb as Lanier and the 29 other teams that started the race in Whitehorse traveled northwest up the Yukon River, but that didn’t simplify the trail for him. That accident caused the aches and pains that hung around after Lanier finished with a total run time of 12 days, 5 hours and 44 minutes.“I hurt a rib — I thought I broke it, but I didn’t — and I got some cuts on my face,” Lanier said, adding that the timing of his fall gave him the perfect excuse for his missing tooth when he reached a group of concerned onlookers waiting for him at the next checkpoint, Pelly Crossing.As much as the Canada side of the trail confirmed his concerns about the Quest, the second half of the race — the Alaska side of the trail — made the rookie wonder whether finishing his dream run was an obtainable goal.The toughest test was a climb over Eagle Summit, a 3,624-foot peak about 115 miles from the finish line. “I might not have been able to get back up again if that happened.”The final 93 miles were a breeze for Lanier, who was 17 years older than the next-oldest competitors and 57 years older than the musher who won the title of Quest Rookie of the Year.Lanier, who will turn 79 in October, vowed he will race again, though he wasn’t sure which races he would enter.“I’m always looking at the future, appreciating the present but looking ahead,” he said.One of the few standing ovations at the finish and awards banquet, held Feb. 16 in Fairbanks, came when Lanier took the stage.“Some people say I’m an inspiration,” he told the crowd.