A book about Finnmarksløpet

The norwegian sled-dog driver Stig Martin Arctander has had a meeting with the publishing company Norsk Bokforlag regarding the possibility to publish a book about Finnmarksløpet. The leader of the Dog-slade club in Alta (Alta Trekkhundklubb), Ole Christian Johansen, hopes the writing of the book can be complete next year when Finnmarksløpet celebrates its 25th anniversary. At the same time, he hopes the book can contribute to raise the level of Finnmarksløpets´ status even higher.

Stig Martin moved with his family to Alta in the year 1999. He has since then been an active dog sled driver and a volunteer worker in Finnmarksløpet.

His dream of writing the book has been on his mind for a long time. He wants the book to reveal the history of Finnmarksløpet, its present status and its future possibilites. With his book, he wants to focus on how dogs and people interact together, the role of the ”handler” and the large unit of volunteer workers, who play an important role in making the race complete. The main problem in writing the book, Arctander says, is to find focus in the material and delimit it. The author is at the starting point finding material. He is interested in making contact with former participants in Finnmarksløpet, who would like to share their stories, pictures, etc., for the book. Stig Martin will be working this year as a volunteer in the press bus, which will be following this years competition from start to end. Those who are interested in contacting Stig Martin can do so by sending him an e-mail: smarctander@c2i.net.no or by calling him at his mobile phone: +47 41 33 28 50.