Featured activities

The long, hard race -- Iditasport Impossible

By foot or by bike, athletes follow Iditarod trail to Nome

Trailmate Heading had to browbeat his newfound friend into finishing.

''We hung together,'' Estes said, ''and we made it.''

For that, they will split about $10,000 in prize money, though neither set out for Nome with any hopes of placing in the Impossible -- let alone winning.

A seasonal construction worker, Estes only has time to ride his bike in the winter, and Heading crossed the ocean for this race, purely in the name of adventure.

''I don't think you come and do an event like this for the money,'' he said. ''I didn't expect to get into the prizes. This is way beyond my expectations.

''We didn't set any blistering pace, but we earned it,'' Estes said. ''It was tough. It was practically impossible.''

What kept the survivors going was stubbornness.

''I think stupidity comes in there somewhere, too,'' Heading said.

''I just didn't want to come back,'' said Hewitt. ''You start thinking, 'Well, if I don't finish this damn thing, I know I'm going to have to come back. You tell your kids to finish the things they start.''

His trailmate, Jarding, meanwhile, said he worried about letting down the 110 Pennsylvanians who helped sponsor his race.

''There was just too much invested in this,'' he said. ''I felt indebted to so many people, and it's such a big experience. I couldn't live with myself if I went home and said, 'Well, I got 600 miles and I quit.' ''