Page 3 - Donlin Spring 2020 Newsletter Digital

FROM RURAL TO RACING ALASKA
By Samantha Angaiak
Oliver Unruh from team 3, getting race ready.
When we think of traditional methods of transportation in Alaska, we think of original
staples like kayaks and dogsleds. ATVs and snowmachines have also become a mainstay
method of getting around during the cold months. Driving a snowmachine is not as simple as turning
on the vehicle and just sitting down the rest of the ride. Snowmachiners have to work their grip and
leg muscles for hours at a time when they go long distances. For the first time ever, Iron Dog stretched its racecourse by 400 miles to include Kotzebue along the route, making the race even more challenging than in previous years.
Donlin Gold is a proud sponsor of Iron Dog as well as a sponsor of the following four Iron Dog racing teams: team 22 - Tyler Samuelson (McGrath) and Jonathan Egrass (McGrath), team 3 - Steven Boney (Bethel) and Oliver Unruh (Anchorage), team 4 - Rob Strick (McGrath) and Forest Strick (McGrath) and
team 45 - Barney Anselment (Takotna) and Amos Cruise (McGrath).
– Tyler Samuelson
3
“As I sit here and reflect on this past week during the race, I first want to
say that I couldn’t have done it without my lifelong friend and race partner, Jonathan Egrass. We had months of sleepless nights in the shop pouring blood, sweat and tears into the race machines to prepare them for the Iron Dog, the world’s longest, toughest snowmobile race across Alaska and back! We couldn’t have done it without the help from Donlin Gold believing in and supporting us despite us being rookies from McGrath with zero racing history. With the support they gave us, we were able to get the shocks dialed
in which is key to making it to the finish line without breaking things. Once a shock goes out, you start breaking other things, which causes a chain reaction
of parts failing. Donlin Gold, thank you from team 22, the ‘McGrath Boys,’ as we were called up and down the trail. Now that it’s all done and over with, and with the name “rookies” wiped off our backs in this 2,400-mile race where top veterans drop like flies, we can say we did it! Finishing in Big Lake, Alaska in 10th position out of the 29 teams that had left the starting line on February 16th, 2020 from Fairbanks, Alaska is one of the greatest moments of my life. Once a”gain thank you Donlin Gold from Tyler Samuelson and Jonathan Egrass, team #22.