IDITAROD : Butcher Wins 4th Title in Record Time

Greeted by sirens, banners and shouts, Susan Butcher stormed into this historic Gold Rush town Wednesday in subzero weather and record time to get her fourth victory in the past five years in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

Butcher came in 2 1/2 hours ahead of defending champion Joe Runyan in a reversal of roles from the 1989 finish. Runyan won by 65 minutes over Butcher.

Butcher won despite having to drop three veteran dogs--including two leaders.

“This team has been absolutely incredible,” she said. “I’ve never had a team go as strong as this.

“I don’t know what’s in that team that could do it, but it must be the combination working together. There’s been no strong dog emerge from this group.”

Butcher joins Rick Swenson as the only four-time winner of the Iditarod, a 1,158-mile marathon from Anchorage to Nome.

Her time was 11 days 1 hour 53 minutes 23 seconds, better than her 1987 mark of 11 days 2 hours 5 minutes, set on another route. The previous record for the northern route, set by Butcher in 1986, was 11 days 15 hours 6 minutes.

She won $50,000 in first-place money plus $20,000 from one of her sponsors. The rest of the $200,000 purse will be split among the next 19 finishers.

Mushers had to contend with the deepest snow in 25 years, ash from Redoubt Volcano, unseasonably warm days, buffalo on the trail and marauding moose.

Swenson, who was leading out of McGrath near the halfway point, had to turn back and have his team checked by a veterinarian after a moose attacked his team. That cost him the race. Swenson was running in sixth place Wednesday.