Terry Adkins, 62, was born in Kentucky. He received his DVM from Auburn University and his MPH from the University of Minnesota. While he was serving in the USAF and stationed at Elmendorf, Terry was the only veterinarian on the first Iditarod back in 1973. He started running the Iditarod in 1974 and had run the Iditarod 21 times by 1998. During that period, he retired from the Air Force. He was one of two honorary mushers in 2004 and Cindy Molberg wrote in Terry’s copy of “Team & Trail” that she didn’t know he had died. Terry says, “I took that to mean maybe I should run again just to let people know that I am still alive.” He helped Karen Land through four races and then last year entered a couple of races, and now he’s back in the Iditarod after an absence of eight years. Terry has three children, Chris, Jesse, and Casey. A member of the AVMA and the NRA, Terry says he enjoys hunting, gardening, horses and dogs.