Rick Casillo, grew up in a small country town of Alden, outside of Buffalo, NY. He worked in Alden as a sub-contractor before moving to Alaska in 1999 to become a fly fishing guide. He began mushing in 2002. He says, as he watched the Race go by, he began to get interested in actually running it. He first ran in 2004. He came back in 2014, after establishing their kennel, Battle Dawgs Racing. “The primary goal of our kennel is racing the Iditarod and raising awareness for combat veterans. My wife, Jennifer, a combat veteran, and I have a non-profit organization called Battle Dawgs. This is separate from the race kennel. Battle Dawgs’ focus is providing year round camps for warriors all across the country and Alaska. Activities include Iditarod, dog mushing, rafting, hiking and hunting. Our motto is ‘Helping Our Warriors one step at a time.’” Rick lists his hobbies as working with combat veterans and fly fishing.