Susan Butcher

Susan Howlet Butcher (December 26, 1954 – August 5, 2006) was an American dog musher, noteworthy as the second woman to win the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 1986, the second four-time winner in 1990, and the first to win four out of five sequential years. She is commemorated in Alaska by the Susan Butcher Day.

Life and career

Butcher was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a lover of dogs and the outdoors. When she was young her parents divorced. Her brother died of leukemia at a young age. She studied at Colorado State University and ultimately became a veterinary technician.

To pursue her love of dogsled racing and breeding huskies, she moved to the Wrangell Mountains area of Alaska.

There Butcher began training to compete in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, a gruelling 1,112 to 1,131-mile race through arctic blizzard conditions across the Alaska wilderness, which tests the endurance of both mushers and dogs over the course of one to two weeks. After placing in several Iditarods, Butcher was forced to withdraw early in the 1985 when two of her dogs were killed by a moose, and six others were severely injured. Libby Riddles, a relative newcomer, braved a blizzard and became the first woman to win the Iditarod that year.

The more experienced Butcher won the next race in 1986, and then proceeded to win again in 1987, 1988, and 1990. Butcher placed second in 1989 to Joe Runyan. She placed in the top five finishers 12 times. While fellow four-time winners Martin Buser and Doug Swingley won as many races as Butcher, and Rick Swenson won five, no other competitor so thoroughly dominated the sport over a half a decade.

Butcher married fellow dog racer David Monson on September 2, 1985; they successfully competed in almost every major sled-dog race in numerous countries around the world.

Her accomplishments gained her substantial media attention in the late 1980s and earned her many awards, including the "National Women's Sports Foundation Amateur Athlete of The Year Award" and the "Tanqueray Athlete of the Year." She also won the "U.S. Victor Award" for "Female Athlete of the Year" two years in a row. [

Illness and legacy

On December 2, 2005 Butcher was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia, which manifested as a blood disorder three years earlier. She underwent chemotherapy at the University of Washington, and received a bone marrow transplant on May 17, 2006 after the cancer went into remission. According to her husband David Monson, "someone said this might be a tough disease, but this leukemia hasn't met Susan Butcher yet."Talbott, 2005, para. 2–4, 6. ]

Butcher died on August 5, 2006 after fighting graft-versus-host disease and learning that the cancer had returned. She is survived by her two daughters, Tekla and Chisana, and her husband, attorney and musher David Monson.

On March 1, 2008, Susan Butcher was honored by the State of Alaska when, just prior to the start of the 2008 Iditarod, Gov. Sarah Palin signed a bill establishing the first Saturday of every March as Susan Butcher Day. The day coincides with the traditional start of the Iditarod each year. Observing the special day, the bill noted, provides opportunity for people to “remember the life of Susan Butcher, an inspiration to Alaskans and to millions around the world.”

Quotations

* "I have been known to walk in front of my team for 55 miles, with snow shoes, to lead them through snow storms, in non-racing situations, where I could have just as easily radioed a plane to come and get me."
* "I do not know the word 'quit.' Either I never did, or I have abolished it."

References

* Talbott, Chris. (December 9, 2005). "Musher diagnosed with cancer". "Fairbanks Daily News-Miner". [http://www.news-miner.com/Stories/0,1413,113~7244~3160939,00.html Retrieved March 8, 2006 from "Fairbanks Daily News-Miner" site] .

External links

* [http://www.susanbutcher.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.iditarod.com/learn/susanbutcher.html Iditarod Susan Butcher Memorial Page]
* [http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/ap_alaska/story/8045345p-7938332c.html Iditarod musher Susan Butcher has died at 51] "Anchorage Daily News", August 5, 2006
* [http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/08/05/4_time_iditarod_champion_susan_butcher_dies/?p1=MEWell_Pos2 4-time Iditarod champion Susan Butcher dies] "The Boston Globe", August 5, 2006
* [http://www.newsminer.com/news/2008/mar/01/iditarod-festivities-begin-tribute-susan-butcher/ Iditarod festivities begin with tribute to Susan Butcher]
* [http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill_text.asp?hsid=HB0037B&session=25 Susan Butcher Day]