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Lance Mackey is hardly the only musher from the Interior with a pedigree to excel at the 36th Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

Four-time champ Jeff King, 51, of Denali Park, is back, as is Two Rivers’ Rick Swenson, the race’s only five-time winner, though he’s struggled in recent years. And don’t overlook Ken Anderson of Fox and Aaron Burmeister of Nenana, who are primed for a breakthrough.

Then there’s a handful of local women — Sigrid Ekran, Aliy Zirkle, Jessie Royer and Jessica Hendricks — who should challenge to be the fastest female; all have landed in the top 20 in past races.

And watch out for Molly Yazwinski as a possible Rookie of the Year.

In all, one-sixth of the record-sized Iditarod field — 16 of 96 — live in the Interior, and most are full of experience.

But any discussion must start with Mackey, who shocked the mushing world last year by becoming the first to win the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race and Iditarod back-to-back, doing so with most of the same dogs.

Now the 37-year-old from Fox, fresh off his record fourth straight Quest title, says he could repeat the “Iditaquest” feat.

“I think my chances are as good as anybody’s out there,” Mackey said by cell phone Friday as he made final preparations for Saturday’s ceremonial start in Anchorage. “It’s hard to repeat but I know this team’s very capable of that.”

Likely nine of the Quest 2008 dogs will be in his Iditarod team — including veterans Larry, Hobo, Rapper, Foster, Handsome and Lippy, who all completed last year’s Iditaquest. Rounding out Mackey’s Iditarod team will be seven smaller and faster dogs that his stepson, Cain Carter, ran to second place a week ago in the Junior Iditarod.

Mackey, however, said he wouldn’t be disappointed if he doesn’t win the Iditarod, calling anything in the top 10 a satisfactory result.

That mindset — if it’s true — may have something to do with his aspirations for another race in late March, the historic All-Alaska Sweepstakes from Nome to Candle and back. That 408-mile event features a $100,000 winner-take-all purse, and Mackey has held some of his top dogs — including legendary stud Zorro — out of the Iditarod to keep them fresh for it.

“If I had to pick one of three races that I wanted to win, I would have to say Sweepstakes,” Mackey said. “But I want to do well in all three, of course.”

Mackey, though, is conceding nothing to the stiff competition in the Iditarod, saying his team is now warmed up, instead of burnt out, after the hotly contested Quest. He’s also pleased with the No. 6 he drew at Thursday’s start banquet.

“That means there’s only five teams to pass,” he said jokingly.

King was passed by Mackey late in last year’s Iditarod, and seems determined to not let that happen again. His career at the Iditarod is virtually unmatched: He’s entered every race since 1991, and finished in the top seven all but three of those years.

Swenson, 55, is among a short list with an even more impressive resume. A recent Alaska Sports Hall of Fame inductee, he ran his first Iditarod in 1976 and has started every year since, with the exception of 1997. He’s only scratched once, in 2005. The fiercely competitive Swenson has earned $558,000 in prize money and been in the top 10 a record 24 times. But his best days are behind him — Swenson has placed 26th and 25th, respectively, the past two years.

As for Anderson, Mackey’s neighbor on Old Murphy Dome Road, he finished runner-up by 15 minutes in his rookie Quest run, and now looks to match — or improve — his career-best fifth-place Iditarod finish from 2003.

Burmeister, 32, grew up in Nome, and watched at age 4 in 1979 as his father, Richard, crossed under the famous Burled Arch to complete the Iditarod. Burmeister moved to Nenana six years ago and tied his career-best in the Iditarod with 13th place last year.

Then there’s what could shape up to be a fascinating race-within-a-race between local women.

Ekran, 28, pulled a rare double last year: Her 20th place was not only the top female result, it also earned her Rookie of the Year.

The Norwegian spent the winter training in Eureka (near Manley on the Elliott Highway) while living in a cabin belonging to David Monson and the late Susan Butcher. Ekran said the extra training miles she’s been able to log should help her; leading up to last year’s Iditarod, she trained on the tundra in the Kotzebue area.

“The top woman is going to be tough this year. I’m not too worried about that,” Ekran said Friday from Anchorage. “(But) I’m hoping to do a little better than last year.”

Ekran had a strong preseason and was in position to win the Copper Basin 300 — over Mackey and other veterans — before taking a wrong turn late in the race. The blunder cost her two hours and dropped her to fourth place.

Then there’s the matter of Ekran’s hometown designation. After initially visiting Alaska on a canoe trip four years ago, she decided to stay. Since then she has lived in Fairbanks (getting a master’s degree from UAF in 2007), Kotzebue and Eureka, but she grew up in Norway.

“I’m Norwegian-Alaskan,” Ekran simplified.

She’s also been a vital component of “Team Norway” because she annually helps prepare food drops for the likes of two-time champ Robert Sorlie (not entered this year) and Kjetil Bakken, a contender this year.

Ekran is pint-sized (about 110 pounds) but tough as nails: Early in last year’s Iditarod she broke her nose in a crash but continued on with a black eye and a couple of impressive cuts. She finished the race with 10 dogs, most of which are back for her sophomore run.

In addition to DeeDee Jonrowe of Willow (14 times in the top 10, but a scratch last year), Ekran will have plenty of competition among the 22 women entered.

For one, there’s Jessie Royer, 31, of Fairbanks. A Montana native, she first learned about sled dogs from Doug Swingley, the first non-Alaskan to win the Iditarod. Royer has raced six Iditarods, with eighth place in 2005, her best result.

Then there’s Jessica Hendricks, 25, of Two Rivers. She began working in a dog kennel around age 11, and among her three Iditarod finishes boasts a Rookie of the Year Award for 19th in 2003, plus 15th place in 2005.

A more recognizable name is Aliy Zirkle, 38, of Two Rivers, primarily because she remains the only woman to win the Yukon Quest (in 2000). Thereafter, Zirkle switched to the Iditarod, and in seven runnings has placed as high as 11th in 2005. Zirkle’s husband and kennel partner, Allen Moore, is also back for his second Iditarod after claiming the Copper Basin 300 in January.

Seven of the aforementioned mushers — Mackey, King, Anderson, Ekran, Burmeister, Zirkle and Royer — are voluntarily carrying nearly 2-pound GPS systems that will enable fans to track their progress online at www.iditarod.com.

Two other young women may make waves in their first Iditarod. Yazwinski, 26, hails from Massachusetts and ran competitively at Middlebury College in Vermont. Yazwinski, who handled for Butcher and Monson, has deferred enrollment to Cornell Veterinary School in order to run the Iditarod.

Meanwhile, Zoya DeNure, 29, qualified for her first Iditarod after falling short a year ago. The former international fashion model is married to Quest veteran John Schandelmeier. The couple spends their winters living and training at the Maclaren River on the unplowed Denali Highway.

Rounding out the Interior field are Jon Korta, 42, who first discovered the Iditarod when it rolled through his hometown of Galena, then placed 32nd as a rookie in 2007; Anne Capistrant, 40, of Healy, who is married to Iditarod veteran Todd Capistrant; Clint Warnke, 37, of Fairbanks, whose best result among four Iditarod finishes was 26th in 2003; and German Benedikt Beisch, 28, a handler for Burmeister in Nenana who finished the 2007 Quest.

Two Rivers’ Sonny Lindner, 58, and Swenson’s partner, Kelly Williams, 49, withdrew their Iditarod entries. Lindner still plans to race the All-Alaska Sweepstakes, and is putting a team together with Swenson. They did the same thing in 1983, the last time the Sweepstakes was run, and Swenson drove that team to victory.