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Unless you're the lead dog, the scenery never changes.

The popular adage might hold true in terms of politics and huskies but not for the "Last Great Race" itself.

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race has changed a lot over the past 37 years -- from a historical celebration to a professional sport.

The divisive practice of drug testing mushers this year has raised the bar for the race in which the requirements have become rigorous. The race purse has fluctuated and so has the monetary investments to compete and produce a prize-winning dog team. Warmer winters in recent years have moved the re-start and challenged mushers to seek alternate training places.

But one thing that has not changed is the special relationship between a musher and a lead dog.

Seventy-one mushers will compete this year in the more than 1,000-mile race, all of varying backgrounds and experiences. Nine of those entrants are based on the Kenai Peninsula and each one has steadfast lead dogs that will guide the way to Nome.

Kristy Berington

Rookie Kristy Berington said she hopes her lead dog Houston is her ticket to the finish line.

Houston, a dog from Paul Gebhardt's kennel, has been to Nome eight times.

"He's just going to take me there and say, 'shut up and let's go rookie,'" she said.

The bright-eyed, 25-year-old Wisconsin native has been working and training with Gebhardt in Kasilof for the past two years.

Working with the dogs is just one of the reasons she loves mushing.

"They're your best friends and your family," she said.

Her Iditarod team is made up of older dogs and some pups that are just 1 year old.

Berington said her goal is just to finish the race this year. She's stressed, she said, and "always wondering if I put the right stuff at the right place."

"It's easy to suffer through a 200- to 300-mile race," she said. "But 1,000 miles?"

Despite her anxiety, Berington said she's looking forward to actually starting the race and being on the trail.

"I can't wait to get out there and away from all the people and be out there with the dogs," she said. "Mainly for me it's the experience and the journey with the dogs. How it's come full circle and up to Nome."

Berington's identical twin sister, Anna, also a dog musher who trained with 1984 Iditarod Champ Dean Osmar, will ride with her during the ceremonial start in Anchorage, Saturday.

"Don't worry; we're micro-chipped, just like the dogs," she joked. "We won't switch out on the trail."

Sam Deltour

Veteran Sam Deltour said he sees the Iditarod as more of a vacation.

Deltour, the 25-year old musher from Sint-Kruis, Belgium, who's been training in Sterling, is taking a break from medical school to help train some of Mitch Seavey's pups.

He said his goal is to make them a team of "competitive little doggies" that will be ready to take on the race next year.

His two lead dogs Sarge ("the crazy one") and Custer ("the smarter one") will take the team to Nome.

Deltour said that he got a little restless in Belgium while completing his medical studies and wanted to mush dogs again this year. He ran his first Iditarod in 2008 and placed 60th. This year he finished 11th in the Yukon Quest.

"I wanted to give myself an overdose to get tired of it before I go back to school," he said.

Being a doctor is Deltour's dream job, but running the Iditarod was a dream-come-true.

He said that when he was 12 years old he saw a documentary on the Iditarod that piqued his interest. He began his mushing career in the Italian Alps before moving up to Alaska to work for Seavey.

"Ever since I've been hooked. I'm a little addicted to it," he said. "My favorite part is when everything just comes together. It's a very special feeling when you become one with the team. Everything just melds together and you look around and you're mushing under the Northern Lights."

During his mushing adventures, Deltour said he began thinking about multiple sclerosis. His mom has the disease and being out on the trail in unpredictable and extremely tiring conditions reminded him of it.

"You'll never know what you'll be able to do tomorrow," he said about multiple scelerosis. "I'm trying to raise some recognition and respect."

Jane Faulkner

Rookie Jane Faulkner of Soldotna said one of her lead dogs, Chinook, chose that position.

"It was where he was the most comfortable," said the 49-year-old musher. She described Chinook as an "ugly, lanky Spiderman" but what made him a leader was his "heart of gold."

Her other lead, Leroy, was pulled out of retirement to train and race this year.

When she's not mushing, Faulkner works as a nurse in Central Peninsula Hospital's emergency department -- a job that gives her skills out on the trails.

She said she has saved money in veterinarian bills because of her medical experience, and it's also given her the ability to stay composed in stressful situations.

"You have to always be confident, calm," she said, adding that there's no time to be scared in the ER or on a trail. "And afterwards it's like 'Whoa, I did it.'"

Her dog team, made up of dogs she's inherited and borrowed, will be wearing pink booties throughout some of the trail in support of breast cancer research.

Faulkner said that for her first run she hopes to make it to Nome in a decent time with all of her dogs. Originally her goal was to finish in the middle-third but because of the lack of snow, that goal became "unrealistic."

"Because of the weather I've had to drive more and train less," she said. "We've had a few obstacles. I think everybody has this winter."

Obstacles or not, the Iditarod was something that Faulkner said she wanted to do before she turns 50 this year, and before her older dogs wear out.

"We're all getting old. If we're going to do it it's this year," she said, "or next year."

Paul Gebhardt

Veteran Paul Gebhardt of Kasilof has his eye on the prize for this year's Iditarod.

"Obviously my goal has been to win it for several years," he said. "I'm a very competitive person obviously or else I wouldn't want to continue to win."

Gebhardt, 53, has run the Iditarod 14 times, placing second and third in the past. But that's still not first.

"I've been close to winning it. I just haven't been as close," he said.

He was thrown a curveball this year when one of his main leaders was lost due to shoulder injury.

But that should not set him back too far, he said.

"I'm hoping to have things in line to have a good, clean run," he said.

Gebhardt will be using Lieutenant as his lead dog, instead. The 3-year-old husky is still young enough not to be phased by the taxing physical requirements, something he's expecting will be a secret weapon.

"I'm hoping the younger dogs will help me," he said, adding that they can run faster and heal faster.

Because it is an even racing year, the trail will follow its northern route, only different for some 300 miles and passing through Yukon River towns like Ruby and Galena.

"It's slightly easier. Not much. The dogs tend to not balk as much at a tail wind than a head wind," Gebhardt said. "I don't think I have an advantage on either one."

Gebhardt's lifetsyle, that of a resourceful outdoorsman, translates to his passion for mushing. As a general contractor he builds homes as well as his own dog sleds. On his property, he also keeps horses and pheasants for hunting. That's why he's champing at the bit to get out in the wilderness.

"The nine or 10 days on the trail you lose all responsibilities to the rest of the world," he said. "One hundred percent of the focus on the race itself so you don't have any more worries."

Bruce Linton

Bruce Linton, 47-year-old veteran from Kasilof, runs the Iditarod for more than just the thrill of the race. He runs it to give inspiration to other people suffering from chronic diseases.

As a Type 1 diabetic, Linton knows how the illness can affect lives. He doesn't go a day without thinking about checking his blood sugar.

He said that getting diagnosed with diabetes 17 years ago actually impacted him positively.

"I started doing things people said I couldn't do," he said. "It really inspired me to be more athletic and be more healthy."

He's the only diabetic dog musher in the race. By running the Iditarod he wants to give hope to others.

"You shouldn't be limited by your medical condition, only by your dreams," he said about his message. "With proper medical attention you can live any dream you want."

And his dream isn't to win the Iditarod, he said.

"I have no expectations of winning," he said, adding that he hopes to have a personal best this year. "I just want to have a clean, safe run."

Linton finished in 11 days and about 22 hours last year for 28th place.

"I don't ever see myself winning the Iditarod," he said. "I'm not a professional musher."

In fact, this race might be his last. He has two other jobs on top of mushing, working for the Homer Electric Association and being a dad to two little ones. Those keep him busy and he uses expert handlers to aid in training and caretaking.

Being a father has changed his priorities, he said.

"There's not a better life than to show kids how taking care of animals is a good life."

But for the time being Linton is going to depend on his two strong leads, Maya and Kiwi.

"Maya has lead every step of the last three Iditarods. Well, almost every step," he said. "And Kiwi has lead a lot of the way. Those two have been my rocks and the key to some of my success."

Wattie McDonald

Wattie McDonald, a 44-year-old rookie from Stonehaven, Scotland, is ready to take the Iditarod by storm.

"Watch out Fourth Avenue," he said. McDonald is planning on having bagpipers, special dog coats and his kilt at the ceremonial start of the race this Saturday.

These days McDonald does not usually get the chance to wear his kilt out on the trails (only pre-and post-mushing, he says) but he'll definitely be sporting one at the start.

"I'm going to be wearing mine at the start line of the Iditarod because it's a very special occasion for me and my wife," he said.

In 2008, McDonald and his wife Wendy traveled to Alaska to see the start of Iditarod as a celebration of their 25th wedding anniversary.

"I got the bug then to run the Iditarod," he said.

This dream is something that McDonald has built on over the past ten years after he got his first Siberian husky. McDonald has been training with Dean Osmar for the past two years and leasing his dogs.

"I actually thought the first few weeks I got here the guy was trying to kill me," he said of Osmar's training tactics. "There's never a dull moment."

McDonald will be using Frosty as a lead dog, who's probably as eager as himself to start the trail.

"Frosty always seems upset being left behind," he said.

When he's out with his dogs McDonald said he feels like just "one of the team."

"It's an overwhelming sense of pride being with the dogs and out there in Mother Nature," he said.

Even though dog mushing has little history in Scotland it has grown to be a very popular sport, and McDonald said, he's received lots of interest from the United Kingdom.

"The Iditarod for me is the ultimate challenge. The race itself is so far out of my comfort zone it's going to be a challenge," he said. "It's definitely not just about hitching up dogs and jumping on a sled."

A challenge that he thinks he can meet, partly due to his heritage.

"We don't do stuff easy in Scotland," he said. "When I collect my belt buckle in Nome I will have won my race."

McDonald is not the only Scottish competitor in this year's race. John Stewart is a 24-year-old rookie from Aberdeen who's trained with Hans Gatt and Doug Swingly.

"I just hope he gives me a wave when I pass him by," said McDonald cheekily.

Colleen Robertia

It's not everyday a phone call comes to let you know your dream has come true.

For Iditarod Rookie Colleen Robertia, that day came for her when Kassik's Kenai Brew Stop asked if it could sponsor her in the "Last Great Race."

"We'd like to sponsor a local musher, we'd like it to be you. Are you ready to run the Iditarod?" said Robertia of Kasilof, recounting the fateful call.

And then everthing just fell into place for the 33-year-old's first run to Nome.

Kassik's created a maple-flavored beer in honor of Robertia and her lead dog, Penny, called Penny Porter.

At about 29 pounds, Penny was the smallest dog in the Yukon Quest last year and will probably be the smallest dog in the Iditarod this year.

But size does not matter for Penny, who Robertia says, has a great heart.

"My No. 1 goal is to really enjoy the race and come out with a happy, healthy team," she said.

As a former zookeeper, Robertia has an unusual, empathetic understanding of animals. She also knows what it's like to hike for thousands of miles, as she has completed the more than 2,000-mile Appalachian Trail through the Eastern United States.

"I'm glad I'm able to relate so much to the dogs," she said, adding that she packs bigger booties for the dogs swollen feet, something that happened to her when she was hiking, too.

Robertia prides herself on her humane ethic in taking in and caring for the dogs at her kennel. Most of the dogs she races have been adopted from other mushers or animal shelters.

"The dogs get to be a part of the family and stay part of the family," Robertia said. She views her team more as pets and friends than as workhorses.

In the days leading up to the race she has been mentally and physically prepping herself and the team. When she has a spare moment, Robertia has been handwriting replies to the letters from students and adults asking about what it's like to be an Iditarod musher. Her day job as a youth counselor at Kalifornsky Beach Elementary School means it's important to her to correspond with the children. Robertia's students are having their own "good behavior" Iditarod to see who makes it to Nome on a map first by behaving.

She said because a dog musher's schedule is non-stop until after the race, a joke amongst mushers is that they will finally get to sleep in April.

"That's my plan. I'll sleep in April," she said.

Dallas Seavey

Kenai Peninsula musher darling Dallas Seavey is now a seasoned Iditarod veteran, and technically a Peninsula musher no more. Seavey moved up to Willow to have access to more snow for training his huskies.

Training is important to him because dog mushing is his fulltime job.

This year 22-year-old Seavey said he's hoping to improve on last year's sixth place finish, which could be "kind of a tall order."

"I want to have a good, solid finish I can look back on and be proud of," he said. "If things come together well I think I have a top five dog team."

Because dog mushing is Seavey's livelihood he relies on and appreciates his lead dogs to get him a top time.

There's Guinness, Shelby, Elam and Suds, all lead runners that Seavey calls upon to race.

His lead dog from last year, Fridge, unexpectedly died last fall, which was a disappointing setback, he said. Fridge's attitude was what made him a great leader, he said. Fridge was a tough dog with good instincts and it's obvious Seavey misses him.

He sees using multiple lead dogs as an advantage because he's constantly moving them around which makes sure to "keep them fresh, keep them happy."

"I really enjoy training lead dogs so subsequently I have lots of lead dogs," he said.

He has so many leads because it's in their genes. These dogs are bred to be guides.

"Our dogs are very driven. They like to get down the trail fast. They don't care where they are," he said.

For Seavey, both breeding and mushing are family affairs.

As a third generation musher, and son of 2004 Iditarod Champion Mitch Seavey, one could say he was bred to be a musher as well. His wife, Jen, even ran the Iditarod last year.

"There's very few sports you can have a father and son team competing against each other and both be in their primes," he said. "It's fun seeing him out there. It's another person to root for but not root for him too much."

When not mushing professionally, he runs a sled dog rodeo dinner show in Anchorage for the summer tourist season.

Mitch Seavey

Veteran Mitch Seavey of Sterling has tasted an Iditarod victory and he sure likes the sweet sensation.

Seavey won the 2004 Iditarod and has a long list of other impressive finishes, including seven others in the top ten. His total prize money from Iditarod equals $430,754.33 since 1982.

"My hope is to win it. That's my goal every year," he said.

And he could have a good chance this year.

"I think I've trained harder. I think I've put more miles on more dogs," he said. "More isn't always better but you can maximize your team."

But, Seavey knows that training during one season isn't everything.

"You have to have the best dog team. You can plan strategy but it does not mean anything if you don't have the best dog team. It takes years and years of genetics and training," he said. "When it comes down to racing you always have to get it done."

This year Seavey will mainly be running 5-year-old Ditka as his leader.

"He was there when I won the All Alaska Sweepstakes. He's sound and fat and happy and ready to go."

He said that he usually likes to run younger leaders to give them experience. But if the team gets in a bind, Ditka will be the go-to husky.

Even though Seavey would like another triumph he does not solely run it to win, he said.

It's an interesting challenge for him, one that dictates his way of life.

"It's a commitment, a lifestyle that started when I was 4 years old. That's not to say I'll race competitively until I'm 80 but I don't give up and I sure would like another win."

Follow these mushers online:

* Kristy Berington and Paul Gebhardt at www.aspenhollowlodging.com

* Sam Deltour at www.samdeltour.com

* Jane Faulkner at www.facebook.com by searching Jane's Iditarod Adventure

* Bruce Linton at www.nolimitssleddogkennel.com

* Wattie McDonald at www.wattiesgreatrace.com

* Colleen Robertia at www.rogueskennel.com

* Dallas and Mitch Seavey at www.ididaride.com

Brielle Schaeffer can be reached at brielle.schaeffer@peninsulaclarion.com