Ari spent much of the winter preparing to be the youngest Iditarod racer ever. His unconventional strategy centered around the use of his very lightweight LL Bean Sled, a brilliant speed tactic none of the other competitors had considered.
On race day, Ari showed up on Fourth Avenue ready to go. Officials discovered he wasn’t even a year old. There was a big stink about what to do.
It was not a pretty scene. Ari’s lawyers argued that his participation would boost media rankings. The Iditarod Committee felt he wasn’t adequately prepared with enough spare diapers and formula. Ultimately the decision came down—and it wasn’t in Ari’s favor. Ari was deeply disappointed and briefly considered filing a protest. However, when race officials awarded him a media pass as his consolation prize, he quickly got over it.
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