Ken Anderson, 44, was born in Minnesota. He says he began mushing at birth as his parents had a recreational team. When he was in third grade, his father bought him a book on the Iditarod, and he decided to someday compete in the Race. Before moving to Alaska, he attended the University of Minnesota and was a dog handler. He came to Alaska in 1993 to learn more about mushing and study biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He’s been running the Iditarod since 1999. Ken is married to Gwen Holdman, also an Iditarod veteran. Ken says, “This will most likely be my last Iditarod for now so I aim to give it my all.” He lists his occupation as dog musher and says his hobbies are sailing, carpentry, boating and writing. Ken and Gwen are the parents of twins, Marais and Leif, age 8 and Lael “Lilly”, age 6.