Blake Matray, 41, was born and raised in Illinois. A 1990 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado he has a degree in English. "I started mushing dogs in North Dakota in 1995. I bought two Siberian husky puppies from Iditarod musher Brad Pozarnsky and it snowballed from there. In 2000, I moved to Two Rivers to accept a pilot position with the Alaska Air National Guard. Away from the Guard, I'm the Executive Director of the Sled Dog Fund, Inc, a non-profit organization I founded in 2007 with the help of my wife, Erin, and my neighbors, Walter and Deb Lanigan. The Sled Dog Fund, Inc. uses racing sled dogs to raise funding for the support of children with disabilities and their families." Blake is a member of the Two Rivers Dog Mushers and Ducks Unlimited. He and his wife maintain a kennel of 29 AKC Siberian Huskies and 5 Alaskan Huskies and he entered the 2009 Iditarod with the hope of finally making it to Nome. When he isn't training of working, Blake enjoys hunting, fishing and kayaking.