Arlington, TX man set for Iditarod - AR viewpoint not given in article

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Letters to the editor: letters

 

Posted on Sun, Feb. 16, 2003

 

Dogged pursuit of a dream

Arlington man set for the Iditarod

By David Casstevens

dcasstevens

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

 

Last year, Randy Chappel gave his parents a book titled Winterdance: The Fine

Madness of Running the Iditarod.

 

The couple knew of their son's interest in the event.

 

He attended last year's race, and loved it.

 

But the Chappels didn't realize how loudly the call of the wild beckoned him

until they opened the book, which pictured a dog in silhouette on the cover,

and read Randy's handwritten inscription.

 

To Mom & Dad, Well, here I go -- we'll see how far I get. Try not to worry

too much as you read this ...

 

" I told our children when they were growing up that they could do anything

they set their minds to, " Susan Chappel said.

 

" Randy believed it. "

 

Instead of attempting to climb Mount Everest as he has talked about, the

35-year-old investment analyst from Arlington quit his job last spring and,

three months ago, moved to Two Rivers, Alaska, a small community near

Fairbanks, to begin training in earnest for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race,

which starts March 1.

 

" Things are going fine, " Chappel said from his home, a cabin near the kennel

where his 24 dogs are housed. " The dogs are increasing their distance

gradually and getting in better shape. "

 

In an e-mail to friends, he wrote, " For a rookie like me -- especially one

from Texas! -- my goal at this point is just to complete the race. "

 

Chappel is believed to be the first Texan to compete in the grueling journey

of more than 1,100 miles across the wilderness of Alaska since the Iditarod

began in 1973.

 

He might be better prepared for the challenge than the weather. Because

unseasonably warm temperatures have melted much of the snow, race officials

approved a change in the normal route. After the ceremonial start from

Anchorage -- Jim Chappel will ride alongside his son for the first few miles

-- the race will be restarted March 3 near Fairbanks.

 

Chappel was introduced to sledding four years ago during a vacation. He and

wife D'Ann took a three-hour tour of Alberta, Canada, from the back of a

dogsled.

 

His interest grew after he met a professional dog sledder through a co-worker

in his office. For two years, Chappel sponsored Aliy Zirkle in the 1,000-mile

Yukon Quest International Sled Dog race. He also flew to Alaska to watch her

compete in the Iditarod.

 

Now, Zirkle is Chappel's mentor as he prepares for the big adventure.

 

To qualify, Chappel had to log 500 miles and complete two races. In this

year's Copper Basin, a 300-mile race out of Glenallen, Alaska, the Texan

finished 18th out of 44 mushers.

 

" I admire Randy, " said John Goff of Goff Moore, an investment partnership and

Chappel's former boss. " He walked in one day and said, 'This is what I want

to do.' We shook hands, and I told him to go for it. "

 

Chappel estimates his total expenses will exceed $50,000.

 

BMC Mortgage of Fort Worth offered to sponsor Chappel in the race. The firm's

president, Marshall Boyd, attended high school with Chappel at Fort Worth

Country Day. BMC commissioned a logo for hats, T-shirts and jackets.

 

In Winterdance, author Gary Paulsen writes his first-person account of

running dogs across powdered snow and frozen tundra of Alaska. Along the

trail, he encountered howling winds and blinding snowstorms and moose

attacks, and battled sleeplessness and hallucinations.

 

" Randy's pretty good about going against all odds, " Susan Chappel said.

 

Worried?

 

" I don't know if worried is the right word, " his father said. " As a parent,

you have to have a slight concern. I'm just very proud of him. And my pride

in my son goes a lot deeper than this race. "

 

David Casstevens, (817) 390-7436 dcasstevens