Guardsman wants to become first Tennessean to finish the Iditarod
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) _ Tennessee National Guardsman Master Sgt. Rodney Whaley lives in a suburban Tennessee neighborhood with manicured green lawns and brick homes.
What makes him stand out is the wheeled sled he keeps to train with his team of dogs.
Whaley wants to be the first Tennessean to complete the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in March from Anchorage, Alaska, to Nome.
Whaley, who is in his 50s, says his experience as a soldier and his childhood in Alaska will help him through the eleven-hundred-mile race.
Whaley is currently training in northern Michigan with Iditarod veteran Al Hardman.
The race starts in downtown Anchorage on March first.
Whaleys says his goal is to make it to Nome with happy, healthy dogs.