When asked what they want to do or be when they grow up, many children will say they want to be a fireman or a nurse. Not too many say they want to grow up to participate in the Iditarod. But that is the dream that Brockport native Katrina Pawlaczyk is living right now. Pawlaczyk's mother, Pat, said her daughter grew up reading Gary Paulsen books and that inspired her love of the Alaskan terrain and adventure. "She read the book, Dogteam, that is about a musher and his team of dogs," Pat said. "She grew up reading Paulsen's books and wrote him quite a few letters. I think he inspired her." Pawlaczyk said her parents, mom Pat and dad Tom, were a little apprehensive when she told them that she wanted to go to Alaska, live there for a few years and then run the Iditarod. Katrina, 25, said she didn't really grow up thinking that one day she would be looking at running the Iditarod. "It was a couple of years ago and I was at loose ends and wanted to do something that involved animals and the outdoors," she said. "I researched kennels in Alaska and got hired on as a handler. I've been there about two years now." Pawlaczyk works with kennel owner Lynda Plettner in Alaska. "In exchange for working at the kennel I was offered a team of puppies to work with," she said, explaining that puppies are any dogs up to three years old. "I didn't have any experience when I started out but Lynda agreed to take me on anyway." Keeping the puppies spirits up while they are in harness and in training is one of the tasks that comes along with training as a musher, she said. She said she has worked with some of the dogs since they were six months old. "It's neat seeing the progress they've made from being puppies to being a lead dog," she said. Training for a race like the Iditarod is like training for the Olympics, Pawlaczyk said. "Training starts in August and we are up at dawn, work at cleaning up and feeding the dogs then start running the sleds with them." She said they run the dogs close to two miles every other day, regardless of the weather. "You learn to dress for it," she said. Pawlaczyk has competed in the Knik 200-Joe Reddington Sr. Memorial Dog Sled race, which is a qualifier for the Iditarod. It was during that race, her first ever, that Pawlaczyk met her long-time idol, Paulsen, when he presented her with the Humanitarian Dog Care Award. "I was so surprised to receive that award and meet Gary," she said. "These past two years have been a fantastic experience - one I'm glad I did even though I was nervous." She was home with her family recently to attend a wedding but has headed back to Alaska. When asked what she'll do after the Iditarod in March, she said, "There are still a lot of parts of Alaska that I haven't seen yet so maybe I'll explore for a while." September 25, 2005 |
Two of the "puppies" that Pawlaczyk uses in her sled dog team wait for the go-ahead command of "mush." Submitted photo.