Local girl fulfills dream to experience Iditarod

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SAN ANTONIO --  Mush. 

To an average kid, the concept of the word is probably “icky” porridge. But to one 10-year-old named Katie Powell, it takes on a whole different definition when she uses “Mush!” to command a team of sled dogs to go faster. 

“The dogs are the big draw,” said Senior Master Sgt. Chris Powell, 60th Operations Group on what draws his daughter to dog sledding. 

Katie has Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare bone cancer. She had a longtime dream -- to meet a dog musher and watch the start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Anchorage. Once people at Travis heard about Katie’s wish, the wheels went into motion to fulfill it. The pediatric oncology clinic, along with several base units, raised money to make sure Katie and her family could travel to Alaska. 

“That whole trip was paid for by our extended family – people in the community,” said Sergeant Powell. “It’s been overwhelming -- the generosity.” 

Burger burns sponsored by the 60th Air Mobility Wing, 615th Contingency Response Wing, and David Grant USAF Medical Center raised money for the trip.
Now all they needed was the musher -- enter Maj. (Dr.) Thomas Knolmayer. 

“Doctor Knolmayer and his wife, Tina -- they went above and beyond,” Sergeant Powell said. 

Doctor Knolmayer is the chief of surgery at the 3rd Medical Group at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. Last year he became the first military member to ever finish the race. Scheduled to be in this year’s Iditarod, he became the perfect person to make the rest of Katie’s wish come true. 

The Powell family flew to Alaska and spent time with Doctor Knolmayer while he was preparing for the race. Katie was also able to ride along with the doctor on one of his practice runs before the race. 

“She loved it,” Sergeant Powell said. “She was giddy, she was so excited. It was awesome. When she came back, they were gone for about an hour and 15 minutes, she thought she was gone for 15 minutes.” 

Then on March 4, she was his guest at the ceremonial start of the 34th annual race in downtown Anchorage. The nearly 1,150-mile course runs from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska -- roughly the distance between New York City and Orlando, Fla. The race is currently underway. 

Like last year, the doctor is the only active-duty member running in the race. As a rookie musher in 2005, Doctor Knolmayer finished the race in 13 days, 22 hours, 13 minutes and 25 seconds.

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