Currently planning to enter her 13^th Iditarod Race, Lynda has been racing in and training others to participate in the Iditarod for 19 years. Lynda and her students have now finished a combined total of 25 Iditarod Sled Dog Races. As a result of her devotion to her dogs and her profession, she has been featured in several documentaries, including a PBS Special. She has a passion for teaching mushing and her expertise has been proven, because eleven of her students have crossed the finish line in Nome.

Lynda is one of only a handful of women to repetitively complete the Iditarod, and she strives toward being a role model for young girls and women. In doing so, she hopes to exemplify that anything in life is possible, if one sets his/her mind to it and truly loves that he/she is doing despite the odds.

Lynda owns and operates Plettner Sled Dog Kennels. She is 59 years old, was born in New York City and raised in Palm Springs, California. She has trained race horses, worked as a carpenter, and done many interesting things besides mushing. She is the mother of two adult children, Jody and Slade. Her current business, other than dogs, is the assisted living home she manages, a home for mentally challenged and mentally ill adults.