Pat Reilly
Pat Reilly
From its very inception, Pat Reilly has been part of the Iron Dog race. He signed up for the first-ever Iron Dog but wasn’t one of the 30 selected from a drawing among the 42 racers who were vying for a spot. Undeterred, he returned in 1985 with Mark Torkelson (Iron Dog Hall of Fame 2018), and the two finished eighth, riding Ski-Doos.
After that, he was hooked, not only entering the race six more times, but also breaking trail for years and promoting the race to the public – once even appearing on the popular “Herb Shaindlin Public Opinion Hotline” radio show with fellow race supporter Tom Berkley (Iron Dog Hall of Fame 2008) to promote the race.
“Shaindlin said a light would go on when we were to start talking, and we thought they’d give us a heads-up, but we sat down and the light goes on, and he says, “OK, what do you two snowflakes want?” Reilly said. “So, Berkley and I stumbled around, and we got through the interview.”
Reilly has continued to support Iron Dog, both as a racer and a volunteer. His highest Pro Class finishes were second place in both 1989 and 1990, racing with Bob Kowalke (Iron Dog Hall of Fame 2008). In 2000, he and partner Steve Deptula won the short-lived masters’ class of the Iron Dog, a class that has not been repeated since. In 2002, he began flying support for Iron Dog, helping different racers throughout the years until retiring from that just before the pandemic hit in 2020.
This year, Reilly will be part of Iron Dog’s eight-person Ambassador Team, which will travel the course from Big Lake to Nome. Their mission is to visit with community members, spread a safety message, and make sure the people living in the communities along the Iron Dog Trail know how much their help is appreciated. Reilly, who hasn’t raced since 2000, said he is looking forward to it – not to be back on a snowmachine so much as being back in the communities along the race trail. It is why his work with Iron Dog perseveres.
“The people in the villages, the racers, the sponsors, the people working the trails – everybody – they are a great group of people,” Reilly said. “In all the years we did all the races and all the trail breaks, we never got turned away for anything, and everybody wanted to help. They all wanted to have us in for a cup of coffee, feed us, stop and talk. They are just special.”
Iron Dog Board of Directors Vice President Keith Manternach said it’s about time Reilly has joined the ranks of fellow Hall of Famers with whom he once raced and rode.
“In all the years of Iron Dog, there are very few people who have been involved at such a level as Pat,” Manternach said. “In my opinion, he’s a Bob Kowalke-level of contributor. He was there in the beginning and is still contributing today. And here he is now, 40 years, later, in our Ambassador Team.”