WASILLA — Mark Torkelson, a master mechanic who ran the grueling Iron Dog Race 18 times and won once, died suddenly last week. He was 62.

Torkelson won the event dubbed the "world's longest, toughest snowmobile race" on Yamaha snowmachines with partner Scott Davis in 1989. It was on the 2,000-mile metal-busting Iron Dog trail that Torkelson forged his legendary reputation as the kind of guy who could fix anything.

Davis was one of hundreds sending condolences this week.

"Mark was a great friend and partner," he wrote in a message to family members. "Best field mechanic I ever had the pleasure of competing with."

Davis also said Torkelson was "a tough competitor but never stepped on anyone to rise above."

Torkelson, who had multiple top 10 Iron Dog finishes with different partners, including the late Gene LaMay, once told a reporter "we aren't doing it for the money so we might as well do it for the fun," daughter Lyndsay Hubbard said.

"That man would have given someone the parts off his sled, the clothes off his back if he thought it would help the other guy out," Hubbard said.

His family said Torkelson suffered from health problems for the past few years. But his death was still very unexpected, son Travis Torkelson said Friday. "We just believe it was his time."

Torkelson for the last five years was co-owner of Skwenta Roadhouse, a red two-story refuge that marks the first Iron Dog checkpoint and also serves as a stopping point for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and Iditasport and Iditarod Trail Invitational ultra races.

Former Iron Dog director and volunteer Harriett Fenerty wrote in a post on the race website last February that Torkelson "can fix almost anything" — a valuable skill for Iron Doggers making unplanned layovers after the 89-mile run from Big Lake at an average speed of 84 mph.

Torkelson worked on Fenerty's boats and vehicles for years through his longtime Big Lake repair shop, his children said.

Hubbard read aloud a message Fenerty sent the family after her father's death: "I must have said, 'If he couldn't fix it, then it wasn't fixable' at least a thousand times."

Torkelson grew up in Anchorage and moved to the Valley in the mid-1980s. He was an avid hunter and outdoorsman who thrived on applying his technical skills, his son said.

His father was just telling him a story, Travis Torkelson said Friday. He was at the Roadhouse when a call came in — somebody with boat problems on the river.

"My dad just lit up because he could go on a rescue mission," Torkelson said.

The family is holding a celebration of life open to anybody who knew Mark Torkelson on Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m. at Screamin' Eagle Archery in Wasilla.