Bill Cotter, 63, was born in New Hampshire. He moved to Alaska in 1970 and settled in Nenana in 1980. A retired electrician, Bill has been running dogs since 1971. He said at that time, Joe Redington, Sr. was his neighbor and Joe got him interested in dogs. He says, " I'm addicted to sled dogs and dog racing. I have raced dogs since 1971 and I still enjoy training and racing my dogs. I had a stroke in 2005 and was not able to race for two years. During that time, I raised and trained a new team and they are ready for the Iditarod and so am I." He won the Yukon Quest in 1987 and has completed 19 Iditarods, his best finish being third in 1995. He also won the Alaska Airlines Humanitarian award. He lists his hobbies as biking and fishing.