This year’s Iron Dog covers nearly 2,400 miles of rugged and remote terrain, and the racers are a blur as they come through checkpoints along the way. They’re going so fast, it’s hard to see them! But that’s what fans love – seeing their favorite racers in action and cheering them on, whether it’s from a checkpoint, the finish line or their couches at home. Thanks to this Iron Dog supporter, fans can do just that – bring the racers to you via live video feeds from key points along the race.

We spoke with Lee Butterfield, a teacher at South Anchorage High School, who has led his classroom’s media team during Iron Dog, teaching them the technical, reporting and organizational skills needed to report on the World’s Longest, Toughest Snowmobile Race. Without his dedication, and the teenagers’ enthusiasm for this project, thousands of viewers wouldn’t get to take a sneak peek behind the lines of Iron Dog. Thanks, South High Media team! We will see you on the trail.

The Iron Dog race passes through more than 28 communities as it travels from Fairbanks, across western Alaska and back toward Southcentral Alaska, ending in Big Lake. The racers will be on the ground, but they depend on such sponsors as Everts Air Cargo to get to the checkpoints ahead of them. Everts is one of many Iron Dog sponsors that helps support that race, making sure that parts and other supplies get where they needed in a timely manner.

Q. Tell us how the South High Media team got involved with Iron Dog in the first place.

A. About six or seven years ago, (former Iron Dog executive director) Kevin Kastner approached us and asked for some support with some technical stuff and we were able to do it. I told him about a piece of equipment they could set up livestreams of the Iron Dog. We set up the camera in the garage in Nome and we as a classroom were able to control it from here.”

With only that one camera, duct-taped to a rafter, Butterfield there were 4,000 people watching.

“When Iron Dog realized the potential of the reach with the systems we have it took off,” he added. “Because of the access these kids give to giant crowds, we run sponsor commercials, logos and graphics, and we love the idea that racers’ families get to see these moments.”

Q. How long have you been an Iron Dog supporter?

A. I think six or maybe seven years. I’d have to go back and look.

Q. Why did you decide to incorporate Iron Dog into your media teaching?

A. To be completely honest, too many people don't know what this race is. I have former students who race this race, and I had no idea when they were in the eighth grade that they were these sledneck kids doing this big thing. To see that and see there’s this community of amazing people doing something that is really unheard of is a great thing for these kids to see. And there’s this group of volunteers who make this possible. From a logistics point of view, this thing is insane.

Q. Why do you think supporting the Iron Dog is a valuable use of your students’ time?

A. On the face, people assume South High is made out of money, that's not the only part of our school, though. These kids might have traveled but they haven’t seen this part of Alaska. Nome’s a city, but it’s so drastically different than what they are used to. Every kid I’ve taken comes back and they are changed. There’s no walking away from this without learning so much and to get that small piece of life outside the city is amazing.

Q. What do you think of the revamped race this year, with the additional miles near Kotzebue and the Fairbanks start?

A. I’m super excited that Kotzebue is involved. I think we’re going to see an interesting difference in results this year because we’re going to have all that speed early on and then we’re going to ask the racers to to go fast over that range. In the past, you trample the sled, get to Nome, wire them up to ride down ice and finish fast. It will be the other way around this year. I think this year is going to be less about the sled and more about the riders and we’re really going to see some skillsets that haven’t been tested like this before.

Also, Big Lake is a heck of a lot closer than Fairbanks, and I hope it translates to a significant crowd at the finish. We need to really celebrate this event.

Q. How can spectators follow the South High media team and its coverage of Iron Dog this year?

A. The best place to start is the Iron Dog website, www.irondog.org/watch. Iron dog puts all the streams on the website. Also we have our YouTube channel; look up “South Anchorage News (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQyWqa3IHaljxxkNctJXg5w). People can subscribe and hit the alert button.