MANSFIELD — Veteran Iditarod musher Matthew Failor is really coming home this time.
The Mansfield native will return to his St. Peter’s High School alma mater on Wednesday, May 7, for “Beyond the Trail: A conversation with Matthew Failor,” an event hosted by Richland Source.
We invite the public to join that in-person, live chat. (Ticket details below!)
Thousands of area residents have followed Failor with Richland Source coverage of the 1,000-mile Iditarod race across Alaska.
Now is your chance to meet the man himself — and ask your own questions of the 14-time Iditarod sled dog racer, a member of the St. Peter’s High School Class of 2000.
Failor is making the journey back to his hometown to share his incredible journey and experiences racing in the Iditarod, an event that’s been dubbed, “The Last Great Race on Earth.”
The event will begin with a conversation between Richland Source Deputy Managing Editor Carl Hunnell, the author of all our extensive Iditarod coverage the last two years, and Failor, who lives in Willow, Alaska, with his wife, Liz, and son, Theo.
Part of that chat will give Failor, who earned a degree in fine arts photography from The Ohio State University, the opportunity to show videos and photos of his efforts in the Iditarod and also from his Alaskan Husky Adventures business.
Those attending can:
— Learn what really happened on the frozen Tanana River when Failor and his team battled through a blinding sandstorm blizzard.
— Go inside the decision-making that led the Mansfield native to take a 24-hour mandatory break far earlier than planned.
— Understand why Failor kept a promise to his late friend’s wife by spreading his ashes along the trail.
— Hear the story behind a wild, 55-mile final sprint from White Mountain to the famous burled arch in Nome.
— And take a peek inside the Failor family when Liz and Theo made a surprise baby gender reveal at Matthew at the finish.
All of that and more — and then a question-and-answer session that will allow those in attendance to pose their own queries.
We did a similar event in 2024 at the Richland Source offices, a wildly popular event that sold out in less than 10 hours with our limited seating capacity.
This year’s event will be hosted inside the spacious St. Peter’s High School Auditorium/Robert Frye Gymnasium, 104 W. First St.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with the show starting promptly at 7.
General admission tickets are $20 and can be purchased below.
Half of all ticket proceeds from this year’s event will be donated to our local Boy Scouts of America, where Failor earned his Eagle Scout designation while growing up in Mansfield.
Special thanks again to Failor’s alma mater, St. Peter’s School, who also sponsored all of this year’s Iditarod coverage.
