FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — Four-time Iditarod champion Lance Mackey is getting ready for the 2016 race.

Mackey said he decided to race after consulting with his doctor,.

He said a surgery set for next month will remove a painful nail and nail bed.

Mackey won four straight Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Races after surviving throat cancer. He has also won the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race.

The Associated Press reported in March that along with losing many teeth as a result of cancer treatment, Mackey’s circulation is limited in his hands and feet by Raynaud’s syndrome.

During the 2015 competition, he experienced circulation problems in his hands. Two of his dogs died in that race.

The Iditarod website says the long-distance dog musher on Friday became the 77th competitor to register for the race.

“I have a really strong team that’s going to be hard to beat,” Mackey said.

Mackey recently returned from a film tour that took him from Los Angeles to Duluth, Minnesota and then to New York to promote a documentary on his showing in the 2013 Iditarod, “The Great Alone.”

His brother Jason Mackey signed up for the race on Thursday.

Mushers have until Dec. 1 to register for the 2015 Iditarod.

Information from: Fairbanks (Alaska) Daily News-Miner, http://www.newsminer.com