Monday's Musher

Rachael Scdoris, from Bend, Oregon, was the first legally blind person to compete in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Rachael was born with congenital achromatopsia, an uncorrectable visual disorder. Her vision is 20/200, and she is totally color blind.
Raised by her father after her parents divorced, Rachael was never allowed to feel sorry for herself. She said, "As a young girl, I made the decision not to allow my impaired vision to stand in the way of my dreams, and have been racing sled dogs since age 11."

Rachael says she can see her dogs, but she can't see the trail or most of the markers and for that reason she races with a "visual interpreter"/ guide. In 2003, the Iditarod Trail Committee approved her request under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 for special accommodations to compete in the rigorous Iditarod.

In the 2005 Iditarod the radios that she and her guide, Iditarod veteran Paul Ellering, used to stay in touch broke, and Rachael took some spills.
"I had a nice little encounter with a tree," she said, showing a bruise. "The tree won!"

In 2002, Rachael was selected by the United States Olympic Committee to carry the torch to the Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. Rachael also enjoyed the privilege of serving as Grand Marshall of the 2005 Portland Rose Festival Starlight Parade.

Rachael Scdoris is an amazing young woman and an excellent example of what determination and a positive attitude can help one accomplish in life. Rachael says there is nothing in life she likes better than racing her dog team.
She may suffer from poor vision, but she certainly is not blind.



To see several good Rachael videos: http://people.famouswhy.com/rachael_scdoris