The sun had set only about an hour before we landed at midnight on our Alaska Airlines flight into Anchorage, Alaska. It does not get dark there until about 11:30 p.m. at this time of year. But by the summer it does not get fully dark at all, day or night.

This is our present team's first time in Alaska, although the World Harmony Run has done events here in years past due to the hard work of Palyati and her husband John who have lived here for over 30 years. They have also arranged for our visit here which will last five days and include many adventures.

Today’s adventures involved a long car ride up to Big Lake where we met four time Iditarod Champion and world record holder for that amazing endurance event, Martin Buser. Born in Winterthur, Switzerland in 1958, Martin Buser became fascinated with sled dogs while still a teen. He came to Alaska in 1979 to enhance his knowledge of care and training of sled dogs. He began working and training with long-time Alaskan mushers Earl and Natalie Norris and ran his first Iditarod in 1980. Martin, wife Kathy Chapoton, a teacher, and sons Nikolai and Rohn (both named after Iditarod checkpoints), reside in Big Lake, Alaska, where the family owns and manages Happy Trails Kennel.

Martin spends a large percentage of his personal time speaking with youth on the humanitarian care of animals and the spirit of the Iditarod. A favorite celebrity of the children of Alaska, Martin treats them with surprise visits from his dogs during many of these appearances.

Martin runs the race each year with his dogs to test the success of their breeding, training and physical endurance. He regards his racers as true competitive athletes and prides his team on their longevity and spirit of competition. Says Martin, "I run the Iditarod to prove that my dogs, bred, trained and raced by Happy Trails Kennels, are the best amongst the world's long distance athletes."

The first Iditarod race in 1973 was won in 20 days. Martin's 2002 team currently holds the record for the Fastest Iditarod by completing the race in 8 days, 22 hours, 46 minutes and 2 seconds!!

As tribute to his treatment of his racers, Martin was awarded the coveted Leonhard Seppala Award in 1988, 1993, and 1995 and again in 1997 for the most humanitarian care of his dogs. The award was named for the most famous Alaskan musher who ran the longest and most dangerous stretch of the 1925, 674-mile diphtheria serum run from Nenana to Nome, which saved hundreds of lives.

Our visit with Martin at his beautiful home and kennel grounds at Big Lake, north of Anchorage, was a thrill for our team, especially our hostess and host, Palyati and John. They have followed the news of this annual event for many years and even have volunteered at some of the checkpoint stations in this 1,150 mile event. Today they finally got to meet their real hero of this most unique event .We spent about two hours with Martin and his beautiful dogs which he breeds as top athletes for the Iditarod and similar races. Martin is extremely busy yet he so humbly gave us all of his attention, offering us a private tour of the grounds and even giving a demonstration of some of his dogs pulling the sled around the property.

We are grateful to Martin and all the time he spent with us, demonstrating the harmonious relationship that a person can have with his dogs and with nature. His love for his dogs, his sport and his family, who unfortunately could not be there today, gave us a deep appreciation for the joy of disciplines involved in training for and running such a grueling sport. Harmony became an even greater word to us since we have learned how much energy and endurance can be achieved through the harmonious relationship between man and animal.

On our way home we were able to stop by a state park to view incredible vistas of the Talkeetna Mountain ranges nearby. With still plenty of snow covering the mountains and even on the sides of the roads where we drove up to the park, we felt a time warp from the heat of Texas and Florida recently, where temperatures were 30 to 40 degrees warmer just a few days ago. Our introduction to Alaska and its incredible beauty and unique climate was truly unforgettable as we prepare for more harmony related events in the next few days.

Arpan and the Team

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