Organisers of the Iditarod have praised runner-up Hans Gatt for running a "great race" this year.

The Canadian musher finished the Last Great Race with a sled dog team that "anyone would be proud of", Bruce Lee remarked on the official Eye on the Trail blog.

Gatt’s achievement was made even more remarkable by the fact he competed in and won another 1,000-mile race, the Yukon Quest, a month before the March 6th 2010 start of the Iditarod.

The decorated musher admitted he made a few key errors during the Last Great Race, explaining that at time his sled dogs lacked "zip".

However, by the end portion of the race, it was notable that Gatt was posting faster times than eventual winner Mackey and third-placed Jeff King.

Mr Lee remarked: "Hans said in Nome that dealing with the constant cold of minus 40 degrees C on the last part of the race was hard to cope with."

Gatt was among the attendees of the Finishers’ Banquet at the weekend (March 21st 2010), which saw mushers give numerous standing ovations.

Lance Mackey is likely to have been the recipient of many of these – he has now won the Iditarod four times in a row.