Karen Ramstead, 45, was born in Toronto, Ontario, and raised in Alberta. She began running dogs in the early 90's after obtaining her first Siberian husky.... She says, "This is just a part of who I am. I love this race." "Our love for the breed has continued to grow and we now share our lives with over 50 purebred Siberian Huskies. Our team has set many ‘firsts' for Canada - we are the first CKC registered team of Siberian Huskies to compete in and complete the Iditarod and many of our dogs are Canadian Kennel Club champions and group placers. I am continually inspired by the history, spirit, and presence of the purebred Siberian Husky."... She says she has many interests but no time.That last statement seems to fit almost all of the contestants! If you've ever set eyes upon a pure bred Siberian, you can understand her love of the breed. They are just gorgeous animals who can be not only intelligent but faithful to a fault. I once came t-h-i-s close to owning one only to have the poor pup run out of the house by some very dominant cats I had at the time. But that, as they say, is another story.
Bib #39 is being worn by Cindy Gallea She, too is at Nikolai as of 2:50 EST
Cindy Gallea, 58, grew up on a farm in Minnesota where she experienced the pleasure of the outdoors and the good feeling of interacting with animals. She began mushing in 1987 and moved to Montana in 1990 to mush dogs, enjoy the beauty of the State and for work. A graduate of St. Olaf College with a BS in Nursing in 1973 and from the University of Washington with a Master's in nursing in 1990; she now has been a nurse practitioner for 19 years. After seeing the 1996 finish of the Iditarod, she knew she wanted to run the Race. "I am a long-time dog musher, a mother of two adult sons, and a nurse practitioner. I cherish each of these aspects of my life and try to find a good balance for all of these."
Leaving Nikolai at 8:20 AM EST was Judy Currier wearing Bib #72
Judy Currier, 46, was born in New Hampshire and graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 1984 with a degree in Business Administration. In 1992 she and her husband, Devan, began mushing and quickly realized that their destiny was to live in Alaska. They moved to Alaska in 1995 and settled in Two Rivers in 2002 where they enjoy living "near the end of the road" and right on the trail. When she is not on the runners or at work, Judy enjoys running, fishing, camping and knitting. She is employed as Senior Accountant by Brice Inc. in Fairbanks.The call of the wild is forefront in many of these personal histories.
Bib # 61 belongs to rookie musher http://www.iditarod.com/race/race/musher/racemusher_356.html another gal born in Pennsylvania.
Colleen Robertia, 33, was born and in Pennsylvania and raised in Massachusetts. She received her B.S. degree in 1998 in New York, with a major in Environmental Biology and a minor in African Studies. She then worked as a zookeeper caring for threatened and endangered species of large hoof stock (elephants, rhinos, giraffe, antelope) and big cats (lions, leopards, jaguars and cheetahs) in Georgia for the Wildlife Conservation Society and then for the Jacksonville Zoo in Florida. ... Since coming to Alaska, she has worked as a youth counselor. She began mushing in the fall of 2003 and says, "Having worked several years for a former Iditarod champion, Iditarod has always been the ‘BIG FINISH' of the season. As a handler I would train dogs all season only to see them get leased to others for the Race. Now with my own kennel, running thousands of miles with my own dogs, Iditarod is OUR end goal." A Yukon Quest finisher, she has won some mid-distance races in Alaska and has received the Humanitarian Award several times for her devotion to her dogs. Colleen says, "My dogs are my family and best friends. For me the appeal of the Iditarod is to travel with them as one unit, working together, to travel across Alaska as competitively and humanely as possible. As with all races I compete in, my team will be made up of several rogues, to include many runt, rescues and rejects from animal shelters and other mushers. I have worked hard to overcome many of the physiological/behavioral issues of the dogs in my kennel, and I take pride in all the work my husband and I have put into them - without the aid of handlers or helpers and while both are maintaining full time jobs. I don't define my success by how well I do against other mushers. Rather I define it by how well I do with my own dogs and how well my message reaches race supporters and spectators. My message is simply yet comes from the fiber of my being which is: you can have a competitive team and live by a humane philosophy. Perhaps I'm not considered to have the best of the best in terms of canine athletes, but I try to do my best with the dogs I have, and they do their best with me."Whatever she's doing, she's doing it pretty well. She and her team left Nikolai at 10:02 EST heading for McGrath.
Finally, wearing Bib #36 is another rookie, Michelle Phillips of Canada.
Michelle Phillips, 41, was born and raised in Whitehorse, YT. Growing up she was a competitive figure skater. As a young adult, she traveled the world until she decided to stay in the Yukon. "Once I started mushing I became addicted. We have become a dog mushing family. We work with our dogs year round. I am looking forward to a new challenge with the Iditarod." Michelle has run the Yukon Quest five times, finishing in the top eight every time and winning the Vet's Choice Award in 2009.Michelle and her team pulled into McGrath at 6:49 EST. They are currently in 32nd place.
Doctors, nurses, lawyer, biologists, model, competitive figure skater, mothers--all with one thing in common a desire and drive to run dogs and race in the Iditarod. They come from all over North America and some have quit their original home just to be where the action is. And here they are at the pinnacle of sled dog racing. Some have already had to drop out and others are in the hunt. But most will continue their quest for Nome and the personal satisfaction of saying, "I did this!" and, perhaps, "but I can do better nest time."
