Dave DeCaro, 27, of Denali Park, finished the Iditarod at 12:19 p.m. Saturday in 51st place. DeCaro, who was running a team of young dogs from Jeff King’s kennel, reached Nome after 12 days, 21 hours and 19 minutes on the trail from the race start in Willow.
King was at the finish line to greet DeCaro, as were DeCaro’s parents and his girlfriend. They and a crowd of at least 50 spectators sent cheers into the crystal-clear 40-degree day on Front Street.
DeCaro said King offered one major piece of advice before the race began: “Take lots of rest, which I did. It was worth it.”
DeCaro finished first in the Denali Doubles tandem race two weeks before the Iditarod, giving him a push into the longer race. “I had Jeff’s team in that race, and these guys are all puppies,” he said. “It’s a long way, a thousand miles.”
On Tuesday, he celebrated his 27th birthday on the trail. “I actually kind of forgot until I got to Kaltag,” he said. “Then I fed dogs and went to sleep, so it was pretty exciting. I probably had the best night of sleep that night on the trail.”
Despite the extended trail, DeCaro finished with 11 of the 16 dogs he started with. His main problems came in Rainy Pass, where temperatures plunged to -50, and once he reached Norton Sound. “I had issues in Shaktoolik leaving,” he said. “I actually had to turn back around and ended up staying the night. I stayed 22 hours in Shaktoolik, probably. But then we blasted out and did the run (to Koyuk) in under 6 hours the next day, so maybe they needed the extra rest.”
He dropped two dogs in Shaktoolik, but his biggest obstacle came in White Mountain, where he cut his hand and needed four stitches. That injury came just as his mother and father arrived for an unexpected visit. “I was absolutely worried every step of the way, every single day,” said his mother, Wendy. “People were trying to keep (news of the injury) from me so I wouldn’t worry. ... There were several doctors along the way who took a look at it, and he’s doing really well. ... He’s going to be fine.”
As his mother recalled, when asked whether he’d do it again, he said, “No way. ... Well, maybe.”
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