Mary Shields (musher)

Shields opens Iditarod 43 (2015)

Mary Shields (October 12, 1944 – July 14, 2025)[1] was a pioneer in women's dogsledding as the first woman to complete the Iditarod, a 1,000-mile (1609 km) historic dog sled race between Anchorage and Nome Alaska in 1974.[2][3][4][5][6]

As a college student from Wisconsin, Shields visited Alaska while working for Campfire Girls and fell in love with it. She moved to Alaska in 1965.[2][3] Shields worked as a waitress and used the food scraps from her job to feed her dogs.[7] Shields lived mostly alone though sometimes she would stay with her racing competitor, Lolly Medley, who finished the Iditarod shortly after she did in 1974.[3] Shields didn't have children and was never married. During the 1974 race Shields said that at checkpoints men were betting when she would drop out and women were betting that she would finish. Hearing this just gave her motivation to be the first woman to finish.[2][3][4] It took Shields 29 days to finish the race.[3] She placed 23rd in the race.[8] Ever since Shields competed, more and more women became inspired to take on this exhausting race. She wanted to prove that sex didn't matter.[2][3][4]

Shields was often present at the start of the Iditarod races and gave speeches about her journey.[2][3] She operated a kennel and gave tours of her home and kennel.[3] Shields achieved the Women Who Dared Gratitude Award for daring to take on the Iditarod.[2] Shields wrote five books, including Small Wonders: Year-Round Alaska and The Alaskan Happy Dog Trilogy.[9]

Shields died on July 14, 2025 at the age of 80.[10][11]

References

  1. ^ Mary Shields, First Woman to Finish the Iditarod, Dies at 80
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Mary Shields". Women Who Dared. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Eye on the Trail: Mary Shields in Fairbanks". Iditarod. March 12, 2015. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
  4. ^ a b c "Mary Shields – The First Woman to…". The First Woman to... Retrieved 2022-03-24.
  5. ^ "Flying blind - Document - Gale Power Search". go.gale.com. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
  6. ^ "Fast-Finishing Smyth Leads Up-and-Comers". go.gale.com. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
  7. ^ "Travel: Dog gone - The annual Iditarod sled race has been run since 1925. The Humane Society wants to ban it. But for mushers, it's the last link with a pioneer past / Alaska - Document - Gale Power Search". go.gale.com. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
  8. ^ Ho, Vicky; Bragg, Beth (March 8, 2021). "Photos: Badass women who made history in the Iditarod". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
  9. ^ Hegener, Helen (November 4, 2010). "Alaskan adventurer Mary Shields". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
  10. ^ Mary Shields, the first woman to complete the Iditarod, dies at age 80
  11. ^ Mary Shields, First Woman to Finish the Iditarod, Dies at 80
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