Hugh Neff, 50, was born in Tennessee. He grew up in Evanston, Illinois and attended Loyola Academy and the University of Illinois. Before moving to Alaska in 1995, Hugh worked as a professional golf caddy in Evanston, Illinois. Since moving to Alaska, he lived in numerous Interior Athabaskan villages and moved to Tok in 2010. He began mushing in 1995 and after reading Iditarod Classics by Lew Freedman, he became interested in running the Iditarod. Hugh has competed in thirty 1,000 mile races since 2000, 17 Yukon Quests and 13 Iditarod’s. He has twice won the Yukon Quest. He lists his occupation as dog musher. He is an Eagle Scout and a member of the Tok Dog Mushers and says he enjoys back packing, canoeing and travel. Hugh says, “Dogs are my life. We participate in the Iditarod to have fun. Our goal is to get to Nome and enjoy life as much as possible – Alaskan Huskies are #1’s!” Hugh is married to Olivia.