Aliy Zirkle

Aliy Zirkle is a well known sled racing competitor. She won the Yukon Quest in 2000 and still remains the only woman to have won that race. This is her ninth Iditarod and she is heading out with a great team. Allen Moore, Aliy's husband, is heading out with a great B team. They have trained hard and we are eager to watch their progress.

We are fortunate to have some of Aliy's retirees, Martin, Skinny and Frita. Frita's daughter, Bullet, is a main leader for Aliy in the race again this year. We like Moonpie on Allen's team too, a young 'un. We like all of their dogs!

This photo (for which we owe a photo credit but not sure to whom) is of Aliy's champ team in Yukon Quest 2000. Martin is the hearty white dog in a team position. He is a bit less agile these days but going down hills you can still see his mountain experience, he digs in and keeps you safe.

This sport is, of course, so much more than about racing... the life with the dogs is so incredibly rewarding. We are not racing much here anymore, but we have the wonderful opportunity to live out the retirement days with these mighty dogs. I'm sure nothing is like their climbs over the Alaskan trails, but we try to make each day a good one for each of these grand dogs where they can run about free and sleep safely dreaming of their great running days.