Racing
In 1978, DeeDee Jonrowe competed in her first dog sled race, the Women's Fur Rendezvous World Championship in Anchorage. She has competed in many dog sled races, including the Copper Basin 300 (which she won in 2001), the Klondike 300, and the John Beargrease.
Jonrowe competed in her first Iditarod in 1980, and again in 1981, 1983, 1984, and then in every race since 1987 for a total of 23 races and 22 finishes. In 1988, she placed in the top 10 for the first time (9th), and has placed in the top 10 a total of 13 times. While she has never won the race, she was the 2nd place finisher in three races (1996, 1993, and 1998). Her 1998 finish in second place with a time of 9 days, 8 hours, 26 minutes, and 10 seconds is the fastest time recorded for a woman. She is the only musher who competed in both the Iditarod and the Alpirod for three straight years (1992, 1993, and 1994). She has won a total of USD $335,804.
She is most widely known because of the publicity surrounding three setbacks. In 1996, an automobile accident outside Fairbanks, Alaska killed her grandmother, and both Jonrowe and her husband were hospitalized. She trained while recovering from her injuries, and placed 4th in the 1997 Iditarod. A more minor incident was a dog mutiny on the Yukon River in 1999. While racing the Iditarod, her dogs refused to go into a strong headwind and she was forced to scratch for the first time. She was forced to scratch in the 2007 Iditarod after suffering from hand and other injuries after sustaining a fall near the Rainy Pass checkpoint.
In July 2002, Jonrowe was diagnosed with breast cancer. Three weeks after completing chemotherapy, she competed in the Iditarod, placing 18th. The story was widely publicized, and in 2003 she won the Most Inspirational Musher Award, and was named the honorary chair of the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life.
Dog mushing in Alaska can be hazardous. According to Women Warriors (2004) Jonrowe said, "I've had back surgery, frozen my shoulder, broken my hand…I think I've had every single cold related injury. I haven't had any amputations, but I have had severe frostbite on my fingers, cheeks and nose. I even frostbit my corneas some years ago".
| Year | Race | Achievement |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Iditarod | Sportsmanship Award (chosen by other mushers) |
| 1991 | Iditarod | Dorothy G. Page Halfway Award (1st to Iditarod) |
| 1991 | Iditarod | Leonhard Seppala Humanitarian Award (best dog care in top 10) |
| 1993 | Iditarod | Most Inspirational Musher Award (chosen by other mushers) |
| 1997 | Iditarod | Joe Redington, Sr. Award (drawing) |
| 2001 | Copper Basin | 1st place |
| 2003 | Iditarod | Most Inspirational Musher Award (chosen by other mushers) |
Read more about this topic: Dee Dee Jonrowe
Famous quotes containing the word racing:
“Upscale people are fixated with food simply because they are now able to eat so much of it without getting fat, and the reason they don’t get fat is that they maintain a profligate level of calorie expenditure. The very same people whose evenings begin with melted goat’s cheese ... get up at dawn to run, break for a mid-morning aerobics class, and watch the evening news while racing on a stationary bicycle.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)