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Sarah Stokey went from Northeastern husky to Alaskan huskies after getting into dog sledding and starting her own tour company with her partner in Seward, Alaska.
The sand dunes of Cape Cod seem like an unlikely place to fall in love with dog sledding. But that’s exactly what happened to two-time Iditarod finisher and Northeastern graduate Sarah Stokey.
After a childhood screening of “Iron Will,” a movie about a man running a dog sledding race, the Falmouth native and dog lover became obsessed with the idea of becoming a racer herself.
Stokey maintained this dream up throughout her childhood. When she got to Northeastern in fall 2007 to study sociology, Stokey joined Northeastern University Huskiers and Outing Club and rekindled her love of the outdoors. She was able to arrange her schedule so she could leave early on Fridays and drive over three hours to Newry, Maine, where she spent weekends working at a dog kennel. Even though she was chopping firewood and caring for dogs instead of racing, she fell in love.
“I wasn’t that surprised,” said Stokey. “I’ve always loved dogs. It was really fulfilling work. Working with dogs, we always say they’re the best co-workers. They are always happy to see you. They never have anything bad to say. They’re always so chipper and upbeat that they always lift your spirits. … I knew if I enjoyed those things, I’d enjoy all of it.”
Stokey ended up graduating from Northeastern a semester early and spent a few months working at a kennel in Western Massachusetts before taking the plunge and moving to Alaska to work as a dog self tour guide for a summer.
From there “everything just fell into place,” Stokey said. She met her partner, Travis (who is racing in this year’s Iditarod) and the two started a dog sled tour company, Turning Heads Kennel. The pair offer dog sled rides year-round; in the summer, they also take people up in a helicopter to Godwin Glacier for special summer sled rides and overnight campouts.
Even while running a successful business, Stokey didn’t lose sight of her goal of racing. She ran the Iditarod in 2016 and again in 2019, finishing in 12 days her first time around and in 13 days the following race. She came in 34th in 2019, up from her previous rank of 66.
The Iditarod route takes racers about 1,000 miles across Alaska, usually taking eight to 15 days. Participants face difficult conditions: blizzards, freezing temperatures and powerful winds. They have to send supplies out to trail checkpoints before the race and get their rest in remote Alaskan villages. (Stokey said there’s 40 hours of mandatory rest built into the race.)
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Even under these trying conditions, Stokey said the race is like “a vacation.” The route takes racers through three mountain ranges, across 300 miles of the Yukon River, and over a frozen ocean.
“The trail is just beautiful,” Stokey said. “It’s just a really incredible experience.You’re not infringing on the environment. It’s not like a snow machine, or car that’s making a lot like a ton of noise. Dog teams move silently through the wilderness when they’re moving. The only time they really make noises is when they’re stopped because they want to keep going. So it’s a really beautiful experience. I’d say the best part honestly, is when you get into this unique rhythm where all it matters is you and your dogs. The world just melts away.”
Stokey said racers usually train 16 dogs for the endurance event; about five to six will get sent home over the course of the race due to injury or illness. But the breed is built for racing. Stokey said she works with Alaskan huskies, a mixed breed built for endurance runs.
Training usually begins in the late summer, Stokey said. They choose dogs for their team based on their performance in other races and then build up their endurance using ATVs. Once there’s snow, they begin practicing on sleds.
“When you’re truly a novice, there is a physical component to learning how to drive a sled, how we manage a team, how to steer, etc.,” Stokey said. “But the bulk of what we do is working with the dogs to form a cohesive unit and help them be their best athletes. There’s a lot of education, and knowledge that you as a trainer need to acquire.
“It’s one of those things that at the end of the day, you really learn by doing. With the dogs, it’s the same. Until you start training them to do it, you don’t really know exactly what it takes. I’ve always said my job combines being, a coach, and a teacher, someone who’s capable of dealing with a lot of logistics. And I find it all really, really fun.”