While all of the talk of the trail this first part of the race has been about Martin Buser, I have been watching Mike Williams Sr. and really am impressed. He is having a great race and his times are very respectable. On his 14th run in the Iditarod, Mushing for Sobriety, he is almost leaving me speechless. As I ran the 5 blocks from Pete’s parking area to the Ceremonial Start on Saturday, at 50, it almost killed me 🙂 To see Mike Sr. having a real fine race and knowing that he has had health issues in the past, gives me much respect for this musher from Akiak. He is the elder statesman of the Delta Force group and always one to keep an eye on.
The Williams family has been using dogs for mushing from before there was mechanized transport, but today the large family from Akiak and Akiachak are what keeps this team on the trail.
I spoke with him briefly in Willow at the Restart. Here he is in English and his native language, Yup’ik-
