all pictures courtesy of Marty Cooke (Seated) Sgt. 1st Class Josh Ferguson of Fort Richardson, Alaska began the ceremonial start of the 2008 Iditarod Race in Anchorage, Alaska with rookie musher Rich Corcoran.

They run cross steep mountain ranges, intense forests, unmoving rivers and isolated tundra. Man and his team of 16 dogs take on perilous climbs and side hills in long hours of darkness and winds that threaten loss of visibility.

Not unlike the challenges and obstacles our Wounded Warriors face on the road to recovery.

This is the Iditarod.

The 1,049-mile sled-dog race from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska commemorates the historic trail that mushers (dog team drivers) used to carry serum to inoculate Nome residents against a deadly outbreak of diphtheria in 1925.

Walter Reed Chaplain (Capt.) Darrick Gutting, an Alaskan native with a rich family history of Iditarod racing, saw the annual race as an opportunity to prepare Wounded Warriors to face the multiple challenges they face.

The Chaplain led a small group of six servicemembers from the Army, Marine Corps and Navy, and their loved ones on a trek to Alaska for a spiritual fitness retreat centered on the Iditarod, Feb. 28.

The retreat focused on spiritual formation, social reintegration, physical courage and team building through close family relationships for servicemembers recovering from traumatic injury.

ìThe easy thing would be to quit. I could drive into any of the 18 to 20 checkpoints [along the race trail] and quit,î said Guttingís uncle Dan Seavey, a four-time veteran of the race who took third place in the very first Iditarod Challenge in 1973.

ìThink of the checkpoints as intermediate goals and progress to the finish line. You can quit anywhere you want ó itís very easy to quit,î said Seavey. ìNiney-six teams started this yearís race. Seventeen teams scratched this year. Generally, about 20 to 25 percent normally quit.î

Each of the six Wounded Warriors rode with a sled team for the raceís 11-mile ceremonial start.

ìThe start of the race is completely chaotic: puppies are barking, the crowd cheering,î said Marine Corp 2nd Lt. Andrew Kinnard.

ìThere are all these dog handlers. [These] dogs are built to run. They donít know that they have to wait [so another team can start]. All they know is that they have to run. It takes three or four people to keep them from running ahead [before theyíre supposed to]. Itís like running on a treadmill on the ice,î said Kinnard who rode with rookie musher Martin Koening.

The musher took a turn too sharply and Kinnard took a spill from the sled twice, halfway through the race. Kinnard says he wasnít afraid at anytime.

The double-leg at the hip amputee didnít need any assistance to get back into the sled. Kinnard is a 25-year-old Marine platoon commander who has spent nearly two years at Walter Reed recovering from an improvised explosive device blast in the Al Anbar province in Iraq.

Walter Reed occupational therapist Maj. Matthew St. Laurent said Kinnard was not injured from the spill in the race.

ìThey were aggressive in pursuing. No one held back because of their injuries,î said Seavey.

ìIt was an incredible experience. Seeing those mountains and that part of the country makes you feel closer to God,î said Navy Petty Officer Third Class Paul Hurley, from Washington, D.C.

ìPeople were cheering the whole way,î he said. ìIt was a big moral booster.î

ìBeing in Alaska, youíre out of your element. Walter Reed is like a self-contained bubble. [In Alaska] We would catch some people staring ó theyíre not used to seeing us [amputees].î

The elder Seavey, whose son Mitch was the 2004 Iditarod winner, said the Soldiers participation was a reminder of the war amidst the excitement of the race.

ìIt let the rest of us know the war is still going on. The civilian population hasnít really sacrificed and these fellas have. They personify the fact that thereís a price to be paid,î said Seavey.

Iditarod champion Mitch Seavey helped relate the Iditarod race to the Warriorsí struggles. The champion musher explained training, discipline and teamwork was an interesting parallel.

ìOur dogs are very pack-oriented and loyal to each other and me, as their leader. The tougher things get, the more they rely on the pack. As things get more difficult later on in the race, they become more loyal to the musher ó the guys seemed to relate to that,î said Mitch.

Gutting explained there is a critical point in training a dog team when, ìYou realize itís not you. You canít say ëI built this teamí. Thereís trust there. They let you in ó to be a part of the team.

ìPatients are allowing us in. Thatís the greatest compliment anyone can give me: when someone trusts me enough to let me in, to run the race [to recovery] along with them. Running along with folks, encouraging and empowering one another, thatís what you find in a dog team. Everyone is pulling together.î

ìNot one of us is as good and strong as all of us,î said Gutting.