Phyllis Nelson wanted nothing more than to see Lance Mackey finish the Iditarod.

But the 75-year-old longtime North Bend woman who moved to Anchorage, Alaska, to live with her daughter in 2005 as she battled cancer succumbed to complications from the disease in October, five months before this year’s race.

That didn’t stop her from being there, though.

As Mackey crossed the finish line a winner in Nome, Alaska, March 18 he carried with him a necklace Nelson was given by her husband on their 25th anniversary — one she never removed during her life — and a rosary her father had given her in the eighth grade.

Although they’d never met, Mackey and Nelson, both of whom suffered from cancer during their lives, had formed a kind of relationship through her daughter, Sandee Alto.

“They were members of the mutual admiration society, as I call it,” said Alto. “He inspired my mom so much.”

Much like the stories of Lance Armstrong or Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester, Mackey’s victory over a 2001 throat cancer diagnosis and subsequent three-straight Iditarod victories gave hope to many, but none more so than Nelson.

After moving in with Alto in her cabin near the start of the Iditarod, Nelson began loyally following Mackey’s races every year.

“She just became totally enthralled with this guy. She’d stay up all night following the races,” said Alto.

“She was an avid sports fan,” added Nelson’s other daughter, Susan Peach. “It came naturally for her to become interested in any kind of sports story. ... And she really caught the Alaskan spirit.”

When Alto tracked down an e-mail address for Mackey and sent him a note talking about her mom and asking for autographed photos, she was surprised to have Mackey himself reply within 20 minutes, and they got the photos.

This year, Alto had promised her mother they’d go to Nome, Alaska, to see the finish of the Iditarod, and meet Mackey and his team of dogs. When Nelson died in October, Alto decided to give her mom a ticket to the whole race, instead.

Alto met Mackey for the first time at the musher’s banquet in Anchorage, Alaska, and he agreed to carry Nelson’s necklace and rosary during the race. Alto recalls Mackey was most concerned that if something happened to him on the trail, she might not get her mother’s effects back. Alto said he shouldn’t worry about it; this was what her mom wanted.

“Then he said, ‘The only way you’re not getting these back is if I die,’” said Alto.

Clearly, Mackey didn’t die.

He finished the race in spectacular form, hours ahead of any of his competitors. Nelson’s daughters are glad their mom was along for the ride.

“She had one more great, last race,” said Peach.

“I really feel like she was with him,” added Alto. “It hit me really hard when they mushed by the cabin. ... It was like, ‘There goes mom. She’s leaving the lake for the last time.’”

Alto and Peach attended a memorial service for their mom on Saturday in North Bend, the same day Mackey was celebrating at the musher’s champions banquet in Anchorage.

“Saturday, she was busy,” said Alto, for whom the whole experience was a way of giving her mother one last gift. “For me, it’s a love story. I honored my mom. ... I told her we’d get to watch (Mackey) finish the race. She got something better.”