Feel the Rhythm, Feel the Rhyme, Get on Up! It's...Iditarod Time?

You know they can't believe, Jamaica, we have a dogsled team!

Newton Marshall is a former Jamaican tour guide turned dogsled racer. He is the first Jamaican musher to compete in Alaska's Iditarod - a dogsled race of over 1,100 miles across the frozen plains of Alaska that starts in Anchorage. He's no slouch either; he is the first Jamaican to ever finish the 1,000 mile Yukon Quest dogsled race, coming in 13th out of 29. Finishing in the top half is spectacular for Newton when most rookies don't even complete the race at all.

Marshall trained in Jamaica using a sled with wheels on the bottom and mutts borrowed from the Jamaica Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Now, with sponsorship backing from (of all people) Jimmy Buffett and his Margaritaville restaurant chain, he's got a team of the best bred dogs in the business and has been training in Alaska with some of the best coaches in the world.

"I thought from the beginning it was just very cool what he was doing," Buffett said. "I thought it was so far out there, but it made people smile when they heard about it." Jimmy met Marshall when Marshall worked for a tour company owned by Buffet's friend. Jimmy immidiately toked some reefer and decided to become Newton's number one sponsor. Jimmy Buffet inexplicably leads probably the most relaxed, filthy-stinking-rich life of all time. Newton Marshall as a result gets to dogsled and have all the tequilla he can drink.

The Iditarod is a whole different game from a wheeled sled being pulled by stray dogs. It's dogsledding's world cup, a race over 1,100 miles and has over 70 mushers, all of whom are experienced professionals. And if you screw up there is no slow clap from onlooking fans out in the wilderness by yourself. Newton says he's worried about the cold because he got a bit of frostbite on his nose during the last race.

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