Retired NZ colonel in 'Last Great Race on Earth'

Retired NZ Army Colonel Bob Storey with his dogs. Photo / Supplied

A 65-year-old retired army colonel is hoping to become the first Kiwi to complete an epic Alaskan dogsled race dubbed "The Last Great Race on Earth".

Bob Storey has put in two years of preparation for the Iditarod race and he and his 16 huskies are due to start the race tomorrow (NZ time).

The sled race takes in 1840km of Alaska's extreme terrain in mid-winter. Temperatures typically drop below minus 20C and though faster teams will finish in around nine days, Storey is expecting to need around three weeks to negotiate the tundra, mountains and rivers.

He is only the second New Zealander to have entered Iditarod in its 38-year history, and aims to be the first to finish. Willie French withdrew during the 1981 event.

Storey and his wife Marilyn moved from Auckland to Willow, Alaska, in September 2009 to begin training for Iditarod.

Storey is under no illusions what lies ahead.

"This is a pretty daunting challenge and my thought is it's best to have a low profile," he said this week.

Competitors must carry a heavy sleeping bag, an axe, an arctic parka, snowshoes, musher and dog food as well as snow boots for the dogs.

But tactically the drivers are free to choose whether they run their dogs through the day or the night, the type of diet to feed them and when to stop.

Storey retired in 1990 after 25 years in the army. He was a former chief executive for the Ranfurly Trust and general manager of the Auckland Cathedral completion project.