Marshall and his team of 11 dogs arrived at the finish line at 7:27 PM AKST on Friday evening to the cheers of enthusiastic supporters who were “Rootin’ for Newton” at various points along the trail. His trainer, 2010 Iditarod winner, his fourth Iditarod win, four-time Yukon Quest champion and two-time ESPN/ESPY “Toughest Athlete” nominee Lance Mackey, beamed with pride as he was on hand to greet Marshall with a huge Jamaican flag.
Marshall, who had his start at Jamaica’s Chukka Caribbean Adventures, in Ocho Rios said, "I've been feeling good at every checkpoint. There has been somebody saying their comments that they're 'Rootin' for Newton'. Yeah mon," he told the crowd as he arrived. "Jamaica did it again!"
Marshall's finishing time was 12 days, 4 hours, 27 minutes and 28 seconds. That's just over 12 days of grit, determination, endurance and smiles that brought him to a place he's dreamt of for a long time. The journey took him over mountains, frozen seas, through blinding storms and some seriously cold temperatures. The fact that Marshall, a rookie, finished the world’s toughest dogsled race changed the mindset of many people.
According to Marshall, "Seeing the people there for me and telling me I can do it made me see that I could finish this race."=
Marshall, one of Jamaica’s newest sports ambassadors, was elated to have worked with Mackey in preparing for the Iditarod. Marshall commented, “It was a real honor to have represented Jamaica in this non-traditional sport, whose beginnings were in helping children. It was a pleasure working with Lance and I am happy to have made my coach’s kennel and Jamaica proud.”
Comments