speaking of mush…
Nothing to pull me out of my funk like a news story about someone incredible. 21 year old Rachael Scdoris finished 7th out of the 20 rookies who took on the Iditarod this year, reaching the finish line yesterday at 1:42 am. What an accomplishment! She’s even from my neck of the woods, the great Pacific Northwest.
The Iditarod is a grueling 1150 mile journey across Alaska’s frozen wilderness. The athletes race their teams of 12 to 16 sled dogs from the starting line in Anchorage, reaching the finish line in the tiny town of Nome in about 10 to 17 days. The race commemorates the history of dog sledding as a means of transportation in Alaska, particularly during the diphtheria epidemic of 1925 in which 20 mushers and 150 sled dogs rushed medicine to Nome in record breaking time, saving the city and surrounding communities from disaster. 
Participants face incredible obstacles, such as scaling rocky mountainsides and crossing miles of frozen river. Temperatures frequently plummet below zero. Both men and women compete in the Iditarod, each of them with their own reasons for “going the distance”.
Rachael is certainly one of the youngest athletes to attempt the race, but the most amazing thing about this woman? She’s legally blind. Rachael was born with a rare disease that makes her nearsighted, farsighted, and colorblind. In other words, all she can see is blurry shapes from a few feet away. She is the first legally blind participant to ever complete the Iditarod. Her website chronicles the accomplishments she has achieved in her short lifetime, and you can even track her progress across the Iditarod in Alaska.
How incredible is this woman? The determination she has just blows me away. Her bio on the Iditarod website says that she has been mushing since she was three, and has planned to race the Iditarod since she was eight years old. How I wish I could have been there at the finish line to share the triumph of the moment her dream came true.
Stories like this always have a way of putting things in perspective for me. They remind me that my trials are so small, and my blessings are so great. They remind me to look back on my life and remember the amazing moments I have already achieved, and look ahead to the victories yet to come. Most importantly, they remind me that if you are passionate about pursuing your dreams, anything is possible. I think that’s something we all need to remember. We should write it on our bathroom mirrors in lipstick, or tape a sign to the ceiling over our beds. If we wake up every morning with that thought in our minds, think how much farther the day will take us! Rachel is someone whose journey has just begun, and whose incredible personal achievements stretch out before her as far as the eye can see. That’s the kind of person I want to be.
“Some call my blindness a disability. To me, ‘disabled’ means ‘unable’. I am by no means unable.”
— Rachael Scdoris
Absolutely beautiful. I remember, during the throes my infertility, watching a TV show about a man born without any arms. He talked about not being allowed to go to school because during the time he grew up in, physical disability equaled mental disability in the minds of others. But he amazed me - he did landscaping for a living - without arms! At the end of the show, he was talking to a room of kids and said that being born without arms was a blessing. It was a gift from God and he was grateful for it. That perspective blew me away! It made me look at my own pessimistic outlook on my infertility. And it made me work on changing that outlook. I will never forget how he could take what most would consider a trial and say it was a blessing. I only hope I can do that with the trials in my life.
Comment by Rachelle — March 20, 2006 @ March 20, 2006 at 9:20 am
This post and Rachelle’s comment reminded me of a married couple my mom taught in community college in Eugene in the 70’s. The had a baby, and struggled making it all work, with both of them in school. Also neither one of them had arms. I can’t even fathom.
(I didn’t know you were from the PNW… I’ve lived all over it and miss it dreadfully. I knew there was something about you that I was attracted to in a not-creepy way.)
Comment by Mignon — March 20, 2006 @ March 20, 2006 at 11:22 am
Dude, that’s sweet!
It reminds me of this Ellen Degeneres story from her first book about winning the Iditarod in a Winnebago and chanting the mantra “Icanarod, Iwillarod, Iwinarod, Iditarod.”
Which is, you know, supposed to be funny…while this is just AWESOME.
Comment by Jenna — March 20, 2006 @ March 20, 2006 at 12:32 pm
This really spoke to me I am struggling with my own “disabilities” and man I hope I can find that same spirit about them as she has.
Comment by J.D. — March 20, 2006 @ March 20, 2006 at 5:03 pm
I was completely inspired by Rachael’s story too. There was a nice write-up about her in our newspaper.
What a lovely post capturing her courage.
Comment by Stephanie — March 20, 2006 @ March 20, 2006 at 10:01 pm
Oh yeah? Well I, um…I uh…I unclogged the bathtub drain this week. I set out to do it and I did it. I even used the plunger.
Comment by Mom101 — March 21, 2006 @ March 21, 2006 at 2:26 pm
That’s absolutely amazing. Stories like this are inspiring. I can never see myself doing something like the iditarod, but it does make me want to accomplish goals I have that I have been putting off. Thanks for sharing the story!
Comment by Kristen — March 21, 2006 @ March 21, 2006 at 2:28 pm
Rachael is entered again! March 1st. 2008 Rachael will be running in her third Iditarod. She is now a lovely young woman, she received the Glamour Magazine “Woman of the Year” title at the Glamour awards.
www.iditarod.com
Comment by James Thompson Seattle, Wash — November 27, 2007 @ November 27, 2007 at 8:08 pm