Todd Palin sheds dress slacks for Iron Dog race

Todd Palin shed the dress slacks on Sunday for some of the most remote and rugged terrain in Alaska during the world’s longest snowmobile race, the Iron Dog. Call him the First Dude, or whatever you’d like, but make sure you include tough.

Now I’m not from Alaska, so it’s hard for me to even fathom what this race entails. Today’s Iron Dog course distance is over 2,000 miles, starting in Big Lake with a halfway stop in Nome and finishing in Fairbanks. Participants cover some of Alaska’s most remote and rugged terrain while confronting some the harshest winter conditions.  Races are typically run in temperatures well below freezing, and -20°F (-30°C) to -50°F (-45°C) air temperatures are common without taking wind chill into effect. To avoid frostbite, some drivers even apply duct tape to their faces! Survival skills are essential, making it the World’s toughest snowmobile race, which is why all teams in race classes are a team of two persons and two snowmobiles for safety.

As Sports Illustrated wrote in 2009, “Todd Palin grew up in rural Alaska, fishing in slime-­spattered rain pants, and for most of the past two decades he’s worked in a British Petroleum plant on the frigid North Slope, monitoring turbines and pumps with a tool belt slung from his hip. Nothing else could have prepared him better for the rigors of the Dog — the -60 degree cold snaps, the darkness, the mechanical breakdowns, the wipeouts at 95 mph.”

I guess nothing else could have prepared him better as he’s a four-time champion of the Iron Dog. Palin has competed in the race every year since 1993. In 2008, 400 miles (640 km) from defending his championship, he was injured and broke his arm when he was thrown 70 feet from his machine. He was sent to the hospital, but managed to finish in fourth place.

This year, Todd is partnered with Eric Quam as team #11. On Sunday, Sarah sent Todd off with a kiss and as he heads into day 3, Palin and Quam lead the pro-class as others have been forced to leave the race. For instance, shortly after leaving Big Lake onto the Iron Dog trail, competitor,Todd Minnick hit a large chunk of ice and was thrown from his snowmobile at high speed. The landing was hard enough to cause severe pain and hematoma (leg or hip) that made it near impossible for him to even get up or walk. His partner Nick Olstad was immediately off of his sled rendering aid by lifting Todd from overflow then carrying him back to the lake to find a ride to the hospital.

I find it quite comical that ever since the debut of Sarah Palin’s Alaska, critics have taken shots at Palin’s hunting skills, and tried to dispute the Palin image as independent, tough, and self-sufficient. Well, as Todd continues his odyssey over the course of the Dog that’s so destructive to snow machines that, of the 600 or so teams that have started the race since 1984, only about 40 percent have finished, I’d like to see somebody dispute that.

It’s a shame that Sarah Palin’s Alaska has ended because coverage of the Iron Dog Race would have been a ratings machine. However, for the first time in its 28 year history, the Iron Dog Race will be broadcasting live and streaming live online. You can watch the live coverage here. You can also follow the Iron Dog Race on twitter.

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