Susan Butcher's guest appearances

Susan Butcher

What It Takes®

Lessons of Leadership (Audio)

Lessons of Leadership (SD)

Champion Athletes

Coretta Scott King

Alice Waters

Wynton Marsalis

Reid Hoffman

Bill Clinton

David Petraeus

Harold Prince

Scott Berg

Barbra Streisand

Lloyd Richards

Erma Bombeck

David Herbert

Oprah Winfrey

Tony Fadell

Andrew Young

OwlTail

This is the story of a true original... a woman who dominated the extreme sport of dog sled racing for years, was a four-time winner of the Iditarod (the grueling, thousand-mile race across Alaska). Susan Butcher, a legend of the Alaskan frontier, died at the age of 51 from Leukemia, but at the peak of her career as a racer, she gave this revealing interview. In it, she explains why she chose to live in a cabin without running water or electricity, 40 miles from the nearest neighbor, in weather conditions that most could not survive. She also describes the resistance she faced from male mushers during her early years as an Iditarod competitor. And she talks about the profound, almost mystical relationship she had with her beloved dogs.(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2019

This is the story of a true original... a woman who dominated the extreme sport of dog sled racing for years, was a four-time winner of the Iditarod (the grueling, thousand-mile race across Alaska). Susan Butcher, a legend of the Alaskan frontier, died at the age of 51 from Leukemia, but at the peak of her career as a racer, she gave this revealing interview. In it, she explains why she chose to live in a cabin without running water or electricity, 40 miles from the nearest neighbor, in weather conditions that most could not survive. She also describes the resistance she faced from male mushers during her early years as an Iditarod competitor. And she talks about the profound, almost mystical relationship she had with her beloved dogs.(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2019

Susan Butcher: Call of the Wild

Susan Howlet Butcher was an animal lover, a business woman, a wife and a mother. She was also called "the best competitive dog sled racer in the universe." Before her, there were many women who competed in sports, but not many who entered the race called the Iditarod, one that took her 1,152 miles across the Alaskan wilderness, enduring 100 m.p.h. winds, arctic blizzards, snow blindness, wild animals, thin ice, sleep deprivation, avalanches, and every other hardship nature can inflict in the land of the midnight sun. Butcher won this race four times in five years, so often that "Iditarod," as well as the sport of mushing, became synonymous with her name.        Born in Boston, Massachusetts, her love of the wilderness and animals drew her to Alaska when she was 20 years old. Starting out with only two dogs, doing odd jobs during the summer months in order to live through the long winters, she eventually rose to become the most famous dog musher in the world. She also became an outspoken advocate for wildlife and the environment, and educated the public about the proper care of animals.        Butcher  lived with her husband, fellow dogsled racer David Monson, in the remote area of Eureka, where they raised two daughters and a pack of wonderful sled dogs. For many years after her retirement from competition, Susan Butcher owned and operated Trailbreaker Kennels in Eureka. In 2006, she died of leukemia at the age of 51. In the years following her death, the State of Alaska honored her in a number of ways. In 2008, the state legislature established Susan Butcher Day, to be observed on the first Saturday of March each year. Later that year, the University of Alaska at Fairbanks announced the creation of the Susan Butcher Institute, to develop public service and leadership skills among young Alaskans.

Susan Howlet Butcher was an animal lover, a business woman, a wife and a mother. She was also called "the best competitive dog sled racer in the universe." Before her, there were many women who competed in sports, but not many who entered the race called the Iditarod, one that took her 1,152 miles across the Alaskan wilderness, enduring 100 m.p.h. winds, arctic blizzards, snow blindness, wild animals, thin ice, sleep deprivation, avalanches, and every other hardship nature can inflict in the land of the midnight sun. Butcher won this race four times in five years, so often that "Iditarod," as well as the sport of mushing, became synonymous with her name. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, her love of the wilderness and animals drew her to Alaska when she was 20 years old. Starting out with only two dogs, doing odd jobs during the summer months in order to live through the long winters, she eventually rose to become the most famous dog musher in the world. She also became an outspoken advocate for wildlife and the environment, and educated the public about the proper care of animals. Butcher lived with her husband, fellow dogsled racer David Monson, in the remote area of Eureka, where they raised two daughters and a pack of wonderful sled dogs. For many years after her retirement from competition, Susan Butcher owned and operated Trailbreaker Kennels in Eureka. In 2006, she died of leukemia at the age of 51. In the years following her death, the State of Alaska honored her in a number of ways. In 2008, the state legislature established Susan Butcher Day, to be observed on the first Saturday of March each year. Later that year, the University of Alaska at Fairbanks announced the creation of the Susan Butcher Institute, to develop public service and leadership skills among young Alaskans.

Susan Butcher 