Aliy Zirkle of Two Rivers, Alaska, runs SP Kennel with husband Allen Moore, winner of the last two runnings of the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race. They believe humans are the weakest link in mushing. Alaska huskies do what they do best: run.
"Blue heeler heels cattle, black lab retriever retrieves things, Alaska huskies pull and run. It's just kind of a no-brainer," says Zirkle, who in 2000 became the first woman to win the 1,000-mile Quest between Alaska and the Canadian Yukon.
"The dogs are the reason I got into this, and they're the reason I'm still in it. I figure when it's not about the dogs for me anymore, it's time to hang up the harnesses. It's pretty eye-opening to see (the dogs') dedication and their enthusiasm. So I feel like the responsibility of being a dog owner is foremost, and then a racer is secondary," Zirkle says. "Not that I'm not trying to win those races, because I am."
Zirkle has been Iditarod runner-up the past two years. And while she strives to win, she says she's not going to do anything differently in the 2014 race than she has in the past.
"I've been trying to win the Iditarod for 13 years. So I'm not going to try any harder than I have the last 13 years, and I'm not going to try any less."
Being a full-time competitive dog musher isn't an easy path, but Zirkle wouldn't have it any other way.
"It's a good job, it's a hard job," she says. "You have to be incredibly self-motivated. You have to not mind being slightly uncomfortable at times, you have to be adventurous, and probably more then anything, you have to have a positive attitude."
Watch all of the videos from our musher profile series Voices from The Last Great Race, see slideshows from the trail and more on our Iditarod page. See this video on Vimeo or YouTube, and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more great voices from the Last Frontier. Contact Alaska Dispatch videographer Tara Young at tara(at)alaskadispatch.com.