This documentary chronicles the story of Lance Mackey, to date the only winner of the Iditarod dog sled race four consecutive years (2007 thru 2010). The Iditarod race is held every March and is over 1.000 grueling miles through the Artic wilderness, beginning in Anchorage and ending in Nome, Alaska, and can take some 8 to 15 days to complete.
Mackey was smitten with the dog sled racing bug ever since he was very young, and especially after seeing his father Dick Mackey win the Iditarod in dramatic fashion, in 1978. However, he would have to overcome a lot of obstacles along the way including his rebellious youth and drug use, the divorce of his parents, and being given little chance to survive a throat cancer operation. Eventually, he would overcome them all and become a champion musher, while achieving lots of notoriety whether he welcomed it or not.
As far as the film itself, it can be disjointed, at times, but does contain some superb cinematography, and, of course, I'm always enamored by those wonderful and loyal sled dogs, to whom Mackey clearly gives much love and attention to.
All in all, I thought this documentary has some drawbacks, but it illustrates the remarkable determination of a man to overcome many challenges, and to be successful at what he loves to do.
