Emily Ford, the 34-year-old native of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, who now calls Duluth home, spent 13 days mushing her dogs along the Yukon River in Alaska in this year’s Iditarod race.
Ford says it was a rigorous, yet peaceful course.
“You [and the dogs] are an entire team moving together across the landscape,” said Ford. “It’s not like you’re running a machine, or you have a motor. These dogs are near silent going across the land. It’s kind of mesmerizing. It’s such a cool way to move around the world.”
This year’s Iditarod route was 120 miles longer than normal as the route had to be changed due to a lack of snow. But Ford still finished 18th out of 33 mushers in her first go at it. She was excited to simply cross the finish line.
“A third of the field dropped out or scratched because something happened to them, or they had to leave, so even just to get under the arch felt amazing,” said Ford.
Of those who finished ahead of her, Ford said she noticed they took more time to rest along the route. She saw this as a lesson that can be applied to anything in life.
“Just take it easy, take your time, run your own race, don’t worry about what other folks are going,” she said.
Ford was inspired to do this race by her partner Anna, who completed the Iditarod the year before. But she hopes her own experience can encourage other women to pursue it, too.
“If you have a passion for something that feels niche, something that feels like you don’t belong in it, if you have a passion for it, dive in and go for it, find resources you know,” she said.
Ford shares her adventures on an online blog called Emily on the Trail. Her purpose in sharing her adventures is to get more people of color outside exploring Minnesota’s beauty.
“What I’ve always said is the outdoors is for everybody, and literally everybody,” she said.
Ford said it cost about $50,000 to run the Iditarod with her dogs. She held a fundraiser in Duluth to raise that money, and it happened to land on a day with a big storm — but people still showed up and donated.
She was able to reach her fundraising goal to pay for travel fees, gear, dog food and vet bills.
