Rogue #10: Lance Mackey, 4-time Iditarod Champion
Rogue #10: Lance Mackey
4x Iditarod champion
Episode dedicated to Jenne Smith, Lance’s partner, who died in a tragic ATV Accident on October 4th, 2020.
This conversation was one of the first ones I ever dreamed of having so you could hear this guest’s story. His life is that of the ultimate rogue - making both good and bad decisions - but learning every step of the way.
In April I sat down with nerves blazing to talk to a long-time hero of mine, Lance Mackey, a 4-time Iditarod champion. He’s the only person to win the Iditarod and Yukon Quest in the same year - and he did it twice.
“Iditarod” and “Yukon Quest” may well be gibberish to you…you see, Lance is a dog sled musher and leads a team of dogs through Alaskan Wilderness for miles and miles and days and days. He also has an award-winning documentary that’s been made about his life. In addition to that, and maybe even more importantly - Lance is a throat cancer survivor, and ex drug addict who spent most of his life running from what, it seems, he was born to do.
Today’s story for you, the rogue one dreaming of having a life of extraordinary, is one about a prodigal. Maybe you think you could never return to a thing you once did. Maybe you’ve run away searching for answers and have found yourself lost. Maybe you’re afraid of what’s possible. Or scared that your dreams will never come true. Take heart...there’s a life past the confusion. And Lance’s story proves it.
Listen now:
NEW - MAY 21, 2020:
A Personal Rogue Story: Lance Mackey and the Alaskan Spirit
Your Rogue Leader gets inspired by a phone interview in take a trip to the Last Frontier for the 2020 Iditarod race. An audio journal and personal discovery vignette, inspired by 4-time Iditarod Champion, Lance Mackey, and my trip to be a part of his 2020 Iditarod race. There are a few lessons to take away from this, my friends.
Listen now:
Find the episode:
Find the audio journal, released on May 21, 2020:
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ABOUT the ROGUE ONES PODCAST
Humans are hard-wired to survive - to live as easily as possible. To get from point A to point B with as little stress as possible. Or at least - that’s how we think life should be. But some of us decide we don’t want to live that way.
My name is Leslie Eiler Thompson and I am the host and creator of The Rogue Ones podcast, in which I curate conversations with extraordinary folks doing fascinating things - fearlessly living remarkable lives and deciding a straight path from point A to point B is boring. They’re going rogue.
In his book Outliers, Malcom Gladwell suggests that “Success is not a random act. It arises out of a predictable and powerful set of circumstances and opportunities.”
These rogues, all successful in their varied fields, openly share stories of failure, success, insecurity, lucky-breaks…and they are hand-picked for those who listen to the podcast series, desperately wishing to live with a bend toward the remarkable.
It’s my supposition that the most remarkable among us have found ways to bring their circumstances, character traits, and values together to build extraordinary realities. These people fascinate me - and I bet they fascinate you, too. By hearing these stories, we can adopt a rogue lifestyle with a bend toward the remarkable.