Man, 81, Finishes Race of Sled Dogs 6 Days Late

NOME, Alaska — An 81-year-old man drove his dog team down a wet, bare street in Nome on Wednesday to complete the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, six days behind the final official finishers.

A crowd cheered as Norman Vaughan and his traveling companion, Carolyn Muegge of Marietta, Ga., crossed the finish line.

Vaughan said he had anticipated that it would take three weeks for him to finish the 1,157-mile race, which began March 7. “Last year, I broke six ribs,” he said. “But this year, everything is fine.”

Vaughan, a retired Air Force colonel, was 69 when he entered his first Iditarod. He has begun nine races and finished four, always at the rear of the pack.