Matt Calore, 34, was born in and raised in Massachusetts. He also lived in Maine and Minnesota where he was a sailor, boat builder and carpenter. He says he grew up racing sailboats, both dinghies and offshore. He began mushing in 2000 and says he became interested in the Iditarod when he first started dreaming of moving to Alaska and running dogs. He came to Alaska in 2004 to be able to "see what was over the next hill." He recently moved to a new home in Talkeetna where "I live the life of an Alaskan bachelor."