'My body shut down': Iditarod favorite Brent Sass explains sudden exit

Former Minnesotan Brent Sass, who had to quit during this year's Iditarod Trail Dog Sled Race while in the lead owing to his poor health, said on social media Sunday that his dogs were willing but his struggles became too much.

Sass, 43, who grew up in Excelsior, was the defending champion.

Resting in Unalakleet, Alaska, Sass wrote on his Facebook page, Wild and Free Mushing, that he'd been sick throughout the race with a bad cold and other ills. The race began March 5 in Willow.

Posted Sass: "I was giving everything I had to keep it positive and focus on my dogs so we could continue the race. Then 2 days ago some cracked teeth started giving me issues and over a 12-hour period turned into nearly unbearable pain. My body basically shut down and for two runs I just hung on. Ultimately I couldn't care for the dogs. Temps dropped to -30F and the combination of all that led to some tough decisions."

Sass went on that the dogs were running well, but colder temperatures were taking their toll on him. "After spending my 8-hour mandatory In the Eagle Island checkpoint and only feeling worse I had to make the decision to scratch in the best interest of my dogs and myself. I was flown to Unalakleet where I got the care I needed."

Sass, now living in Eureka, Alaska, and his team were more than halfway through the 1,000-mile race through remote Alaska. The race runs from Anchorage to Nome. Sass was the third musher to scratch in the race of 33 teams.

"The pic is of me and the team at sunrise as we hit the Yukon River outside of Anvik. I was in some terrible pain but still right where I wanted to be," Sass wrote, while also thanking race organizers and his support crew. "… It's time to get well and focus forward!"