Jr. Iditarod – A Dream Come True

The Jr. Iditarod in it’s 47th year looks forward to hosting 21mushers.  You’d have to go all the way back to 2007 to find a race larger in size with 26 mushers.  Great news that the number of participants in the Jr. Iditarod is increasing! 

There are 9 rookies and 12 veterans from inside and outside of Alaska.  Ylva-li Næss is from Norway, Morgan Martens – Wisconsin and Eva Robinson – South Dakota.  The field includes champions Emily Robinson – 2022 & 2023 and Morgan Martens  2021. 

Meet the Jr. Iditarod Mushers, a five part series, will feature a few mushers each day during the week prior to the Jr. Iditarod.  These kids are amazing.  They have exceptional skills in dog care, sled driving, team management and winter camping with dogs.  Getting to know the juniors ahead of the race will make for a great spectator experience as you follow the Jr. Iditarod on the final weekend of February. 

Mckena Hanson carries on a family tradition of mushing – a tradition spanning five generations!  This is her first year of racing, but she follows the runners of family members who have accumulated 14 Jr. Iditarod finishes between 1989 and 2022 with a Championship captured by her father Brian in 1991.  The Knik 100 in December of 2023 was Mckena’s first race where she captured third place out of the junior age racers.  Hanson , age 14, lives in Anchorage and is a freshman at West Anchorage High School.  She’s an avid hockey player.  While she hasn’t decided on a career path, she looks forward to attending college.  McKenna ran the Knik100 and recently finished the Willow Jr. !00 in fifth place.

Arien Sanderson was introduced to mushing at the age of 3 when she joined Iditarod veteran, Alan Eischens on the runners.  From that experience she grew to love the sport.  In 2016 she acquired her first sled dog and established Midnight Howlers Racing Kennel which is now home to 28 sled dogs.  Arien, age 14, is a rookie to the Jr. Iditarod but has plenty of racing experience – Willow Jr. 100, Yukon Quest 80, Hal Bartko 10 and the Jr. World Championships.  The freshman from Palmer attends Career Tech High School.  She enjoys outdoor activities – running, skiing, hunting, fishing, hiking, 4-wheeling, skijoring and biking.  Her post high-school goals include becoming a veterinarian and a professional dog musher.  Swiss musher, Severin Cathry who is a rookie participating in the 2024 Iditarod will be running dogs from Midnight Howlers Racing.  Arien ran the Knik 100 and most recently placed fourth in the Goose Bay 150.

Addy Pederson from Homer, Alaska has been around sled dogs since birth.  The family maintained a recreational mushing kennel.  At the age of twelve, Addy took over as chief of kennel operations.  With the goal of racing, she began to acquire some dogs suited for racing.  She’s been building and training for a couple of years and is excited to participate in junior races.   Addy, age 14, is a freshman thru Connections Homeschool.  She enjoys hiking, biking, hunting and training her black Labrador.  To offset kennel expenses, she participates in 4H, raising and selling turkeys.  She hasn’t decided on a post high-school career path but she intends to continue mushing.  Addy ran the Knik 100 and more recently claimed eighth place in the Jr. Willow 100.

Marais Anderson comes from a mushing family.  Her father, Ken Anderson is a veteran of 17 Iditarod and four Yukon Quest runs.  Her mother, Gwen Holdman has completed the Iditarod once and the Quest twice.   Around the age of 6, Marais began doing training runs with her father.  Next came family mushing/camping trips in the Brooks Range, White Mountains and Denali Park area.  Marais began racing in 2022, finishing 2nd in the ACE Race junior division.  The Marais and her brother operate a small kennel with their mother.  This year it’s Marais’ turn to run Jr. Iditarod.  Brother Lief ran in 2023.  Marais, age 15, attends Lathrop High School in Fairbanks.  After high-school she plans to attend college to pursue a career in environmental engineering, astrophysics  or energy systems.

Come back tomorrow to meet the five mushers that round out the Jr. Iditarod rookie class of 2024.