BIG LAKE, Alaska — When Morgan Martens, 14, stepped off his sled at the Junior Iditarod finish line after 16 hours, 40 minutes and 20 seconds of mushing, his grin was barely visible beneath his warm layers.
His winning time aside, he had completed a feat that few 14-year-olds attempt: leading a team of 10 sled dogs on a two-day race of nearly 150 miles through the Alaskan wilderness.
The Junior Iditarod, the longest race in Alaska for competitors under 18, is a chance for young mushers to demonstrate an unusual set of skills. They need to know how to steer a sled, use survival equipment, brave the icy winds and avoid hypothermia.