[imagesource: Facebook / Snowdrift Siberians Natalie Andre / David Payzer]

Gerhardt Thiart is making history in the world’s premier sled dog race.

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race has been a dream for Thiart and his wife AJ for over 20 years, since they first saw a DVD of the challenging race that takes place in Cantwell, Alaska.

Finally, they have been able to qualify and compete this year, becoming the first South Africans to ever do so.

The culturally and historically rooted sporting event takes place in the first week of March with almost 50 mushers (sled dog racers) and their more than 650 dogs traversing the harsh landscape to eventually reach Nome from Anchorage:

Image: Facebook / Snowdrift Siberians Natalie Andre

SA People reported that Thiart’s participation is thanks to the couple’s best friends, Natalie and Andre van der Merwe.

Natalie told SAPeople: “We were their mentors and got them started in this sport in South Africa – on dirt farm roads running on wheeled scooters and carts. We all had the same dream and emigrated to USA within 6 months of each other (about 12 years ago). We settled in different states doing the identical job (working at a sled dog kennel) and became USA Permanent Residents within 3 months of each other.

“So our journey has been the same from the start. There can only be ONE musher, ONE team on the Iditarod trail but the musher and his team can only undertake this awesome adventure with the support of his wife, many sponsors, friends and family.

“We are proud to support our best friend in achieving his dream – both through our small company – CTC Dog Gear USA as a corporate sponsor, as well as via individual sponsorships.”

This year’s event began on Saturday, March 5, and ended today, with Thiart checking into Nulato (the last checkpoint) already.

The image above is the team crossing the Rugby checkpoint.

Watch Thiart and his dogs cross the McGrath checkpoint, which appears to be the eighth checkpoint out of 13:

Each team gets to determine the rest versus race ratio as they make their way from checkpoint to checkpoint.

Since Thiart is running a yearling team (only a year old), his approach is balanced enough to make sure that the dogs’ first long-distance race is a positive experience:

You can read more about the incredible race here.

Thiart, 39, was in the SA military before joining the South African Infantry Corps and achieving the rank of First Lieutenant Platoon Commander, serving several tours in Angola, per his profile on Iditarod:

Image: Iditarod

Despite his SA roots he dedicated his rookie run to “honour, support, and raise awareness to the needs of US veterans”.

Although, he did fly a South African flag proudly from his yellow and gold sled.

Likewise, before setting off on this bucket-list adventure, Thiart was caught chowing down on some biltong, which definitely helped fuel him for the long journey.

[sources:sapeople&iditarod&dailyyonder]