Dreams unite Iron Dog champ and Expedition Class rookie

Iron Dog Pro Class Team 10 racer Chris Olds and Expedition Class Team 51 rider Russell Nelson completed the Iron Dog to Nome on Monday, after Nelson needed a partner to finish the ride from Galena. Russell Nelson photo

If you really want to understand what the Iron Dog spirit is all about, talk to four-time Iron Dog champion Chris Olds. When he and Team 10 teammate Mike Morgan were forced to scratch on Day 3 after mechanical failure between Ruby and Galena, their Iron Dog podium dreams were dashed for the 2023 race. Despondent and disappointed, Olds was ready to catch the first ride back home.

But then an unlikely opportunity arose. As Olds and Morgan arrived, broken down, in Galena, they met Team 51 Expedition Class rider Russell Nelson of Dillingham, who was dead set on making it to Nome. Earlier in the ride, Nelson had become severely dehydrated to the point that he lost his vision. His teammates got him safely to a cabin in Poorman where he was able to recuperate. He eventually made his way to Galena on his own but couldn’t complete the rest of the trek to Nome without a partner.

“I tried following Todd Palin and Klinton VanWingerden for a while but quickly realized I was not as fast as an Iron Dog racer,” he said. “But I wanted to get there one way or the other.”

Olds meanwhile, was in Galena, making plans to go home.

“I was pretty bummed,” Olds acknowledged. “I was ready to get home and see my family. But in Galena Russell was trying to set it up to ride with (Galena resident and former Iron Dog champion) Tyler Huntington.”

As they talked through the plans, Huntington wasn’t sure his snowmachine was ready for the rigors of such a ride, so he started tossing out the idea – why don’t you ride with Nelson, Chris?

Still stinging from their scratch, Olds wasn’t feeling up to it, he said.

“I didn’t have any interest, I wanted to try and save miles on my sled; I had this ‘no’ attitude,” Olds said.

Team 51 Expedition Class rider Russell Nelson along the trail between Unalakleet and Nome. Olds said they had great weather on Sunday, riding between Galena and Unalakleet. Chris Olds photo

It wasn’t until Olds heard Morgan ask Huntington, “Why does Nelson want to go to Nome so bad?” and Huntington answered, “Because it’s always been his dream to go,” that Olds’ mindset shifted.

“As soon as I heard that, something clicked,” he said. “It changed my mind. I said, ‘Tell him I’ll do it,’ and just started getting ready before I’d change my mind.”

“It was more than I could have ever imagined to ride with him,” said Nelson from the comfort of his room in Nome. “What a gentleman. He went fast when the ice was really good. He taught me to read his signals, and when he gave me a signal to go slow through a rough section I would. It was wonderful.”

Nelson and Olds rode Sunday afternoon under bluebird skies and stayed overnight in Unalakleet. They were up early and made the ride into Nome Monday, where they were greeted with the same enthusiasm as the Pro Class front runners. Looking back on that split-second decision, Olds said he realized riding to Nome with Nelson may have helped him more than it did his newfound partner.

Team 10’s Chris Olds said riding with Team 51 Russell Nelson to Nome allowed him to slow down and enjoy the sights. Here he is at Old Woman Cabin. Russell Nelson photo

“When we started riding, he was a good rider and we ended up cruising, and I got to go slow enough to see things, enjoy things,” Olds said. “It changed my whole attitude. This is awesome, this guy is super stoked to be out on the trail, and it got my mind off the negative, and it made a positive.” 

Olds’ wife, Christine, said when her husband called to tell her of the hatchling plan, she encouraged him to go.

“I told him, ‘I think it would be really good for you,’” she said. “I think it helped him, and it helped Russell. This is what this race is about, this is what these people are about. He is the peoples’ favorite, but of course I’m his wife, so I can say that.”

Nelson said he and his wife attended an Iron Dog banquet in 2007 and he still has a hat that he got there. His dream to complete the Iron Dog trail – or at least half of it – has been brewing since that moment, and he couldn’t have done it without Olds’ help.

“She saw that hat, and said, ‘It’s taken you 15 years to finally do this!’” Nelson laughed.

On Monday evening, Olds was resting after a full day of riding and a meal of fresh crab. For someone whose Iron Dog got cut short much too soon, he sounded positively content. And he is.

“When he said it was his dream to go to Nome, it tugged at me,” Olds said. “I’d hate to see the same thing happen to him that basically happened to me.”   

Christine Olds said this year’s race will be one to remember – not because her husband stood on a podium, but because he demonstrated that true champions come in many forms.

“I think it happened for a reason,” she said. “It’s obviously not what we wanted, but it ended on a better note than he expected. Chris’ passion for this race is so strong, this race means so much to him. … by making someone else’s dream come true, it helped him realize it’s not always about winning.”

For Nelson, it is a memory he will cherish, a dream fulfilled.

After Day 1 as new partners, Team 10 Chris Olds and Team 51 Russell Nelson added Team 3’s Cruz Kleewein to the ride to Nome. Russell Nelson photo

“It was just a wonderful treat,” he said. “When we went through Unalakleet, we picked up Kruz (Kleewein of Team 3, who scratched after brother Kenneth was injured). And then we went into Koyuk and met up with the Ambassador team. Pretty soon we were a team of eight.

“And when I came into Nome, I was so emotional I didn’t even want to talk to anyone, I didn’t want them to see me cry,” he said. “This is a dream. I know now why they call it the longest, toughest snowmachine race now.”