Chuck King
Chuck King Fights Back from AIDS to Place First in Qualifier for the Iditarod Sled Dog Race
PRNewswire - February 8, 2000
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ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Feb. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Chuck King, 39, a former pulmonary trauma surgeon now living with AIDS, has just placed first in the Willow/Su Valley 300-mile Sled Dog Race, the first of two qualifying races for the prestigious Iditarod Sled Dog Race, which begins on March 4. "For an amateur to just finish the race is a great achievement. For a rookie with a life-threatening illness to place first is truly amazing," says Ray Redington, King's sled dog trainer and a veteran Iditarod racer.
The Willow/Su Valley race had both a 200- and 300-mile finish. King was first to cross the finish line in the 300-mile race, which began with 17 competitors (known as mushers), one-fifth the number of teams that will be competing in the Iditarod. The race started in Willow, Alaska on Friday, January 28th and ended four days later in Sheep's Creek, Alaska on Tuesday, February 1st. Heavy snowstorms and poor trial conditions made the race particularly challenging, and added an additional 40 miles to the course. Fifteen mushers completed the 200-mile race and three, including King, went on to finish the last 140 miles. The strength and endurance of his sled dogs, and King's determination to beat the odds, carried his team to the finish line. "I'm living proof," says King, "that people with AIDS can realize their dreams."
On February 11th, King will compete in his second and final qualifier for the Iditarod, the Mushagak 200-mile sled dog race in Dillingham on the coast of Alaska. Despite his aches and pains, normal post-race ailments for an experienced and healthy musher, King feels ready to take on the next challenge. Intense physical training, an effective new drug regimen and an indomitable spirit have prepared him for the qualifiers and will take him to the greatest challenge of his life, the Iditarod.
In the Iditarod, King will be competing in one of the most grueling races on earth. The Iditarod runs 1,152 miles through snow bound mountain ranges, dense forest, and desolate tundra where the temperatures can drop to 60 degrees below zero. This year, 86 competitors will take the trail. Each team of up to 16 dogs and their musher will take 10 to 18 days to race from Anchorage, in South Central Alaska, to Nome, on the coast of the Bering Sea. The event commemorates the heroic relay of 20 mushers to get 300,000 units of anti-toxin serum to Nome during an outbreak of diphtheria in 1925.
"By successfully running the Iditarod, King will send a message of inspiration to everyone with AIDS," says Andrea Nenzel, executive director of the Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association (Four A's), an AIDS service organization in Anchorage. "King will show that there is more to living with AIDS than just concentrating on survival. People need to know they can live a full life in spite of this disease."
King's Inspiration
Two years ago, King, who was raised in Tempe, Arizona, was declining rapidly from complications of AIDS. His doctor felt King had perhaps 90 days to live. When asked if there was anything he wanted to do before he died, King said, "I want to see Alaska." He took a cruise with family and loved ones up the Inside Passage into the dreamland of his childhood; and he read a book about the Iditarod, Back of the Pack, by Don Bowers. Despite his doctor's grim prognosis, King vowed to get healthy and "run the Iditarod race myself."
The First Challenge -- King's Fight Against AIDS and AIDS Wasting King's ability to fight back against AIDS was compromised by the AIDS virus, which had taken hold of his body, and a complication of AIDS that impaired his physical function. His T-cell count, a measure of the impact of the AIDS virus on the body, had bottomed out at 40, down from the average healthy count of 1,000. King, 6-feet tall and only 118 pounds, was also suffering from AIDS wasting, a metabolic disorder that causes the body to inappropriately burn vital muscle and organ tissue (lean body mass) for energy instead of using the body's stored fat. With AIDS wasting, King could barely walk and had no hope of keeping up with a team of sled dogs.
King's health began to improve when he started taking a combination of drugs to the fight the virus and combat AIDS wasting. His T-cell count rose to 560, just within normal range. He gained 30 pounds, most of it lean muscle. His energy level rose, and by September of last year he began training to become an Iditarod racer. With the successful completion of his first qualifying race, King now has over 2,000 miles of experience with the sled dog team.
Mushing for AIDS
In addition to the physical demands of racing, King also faces the challenge of raising the up to $70 thousand dollars for dogs and gear necessary to participate in the Iditarod. Required equipment includes one or more 70-pound sacks of frozen dog food at each checkpoint. The dogs, a breed of husky, dine like kings during the race, wolfing down frozen fish, beef, horsemeat, beaver, moose, caribou and even seal meat.
With the help of the Four A's, "Mushing for AIDS" has already attracted individual and corporate support. King's supporters will continue to search for financial aid until the close of the race.
Updates on King's Progress During the Iditarod
To follow Chuck King and his sled dog team as they race from checkpoint to checkpoint during the almost two weeks of the Iditarod, check out Chuck King's web site at http://www.mushingforaids.com or the Iditarod website at http://www.iditarod.com. Look up Chuck King under Mushers. You can also E- mail a request for an update to [email protected], or call 907-263-2046 for a verbal update.
SOURCE Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association
CONTACT: Kathryn Morris, 516-797-8483, for the Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association/
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