A woman who has finished the Iditarod three times is not competing in this year’s Last Great Race to prepare for the 2011 event.

Heather Siirtola from North Dakota told the Bismarck Tribune that she simply could not afford to appear in four Iditarods in a row, adding moving house also put a spanner in the works.

She now plans to spend the next 13 months boosting her bank balance and training her dogs in an attempt to finish higher in the rankings.

Last year she finished 37th out of 67, something Ms Siirtola believes she is capable of bettering.

Communicating to the news provider via social networking site Facebook, she stated: "I … wanted to take time to reflect on some things for the next Iditarod race. I’m happy with finishing all three races we have been in, but I would like to finish in few days."

This year’s Iditarod kicks off in Anchorage on March 6th 2010, with the likes of Yukon Quest winner Hans Gatt, previous Last Great Race champion Lance Mackey and Jeff King all expected to be in contention for the title.