Cindy and her special lead dog, “Baby Drool”

UPDATE: 3/23/15: Cindy Abbot Makes It To Nome and finished Iditarod…Congrats, Cindy!!!

UPDATE: 3/6/15:  Cindy’s Back Again Competing in the Iditarod!

By Stacey Gualandi/March 20,2013

On March 3rd, 54-year-old Cindy Abbott set out to be the first woman to complete the over 1,000-mile Iditarod after having already reached the summit of Mt. Everest, all while living with vasculitis, a rare incurable disease. I interviewed Cindy recently about her determination to take on this difficult challenge. Checking back with Cindy to find out how she did, I just learned that twenty miles after the start, she fractured her groin but managed to stay in the race for ten days.

“If it weren’t for me losing my ability to function at a level that I was thought was safe, I would have kept going…”  Cindy Abbott

While this wife and mom didn’t make it to the finish, she did finish what she set out to do:  raise awareness about her disorder, and show what you can accomplish when you set your mind to something…   [Read more…]