Alison Lifka, 27, was born in Ohio and raised in North Carolina. She grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains where she spent her childhood exploring the outdoors and dreaming of adventures and exploration. She left North Carolina to go to college at Sweet Briar College where she received her BS in Environmental Science. Three days after she received her degree and realized all the responsibilities of being an adult, she took off for Alaska with sled dogs on her mind. She had become interested in Iditarod when she was younger and her father followed the Race, and that interest became solidified once she started working as a handler for mushers. While working as a kayak guide in Prince William Sound, she met a friend of Iditarod veteran, Lev Shvarts. Since then she has spent her winters handling for Iditarod mushers and summers giving sled dog rides on the Juneau Icefield. “I owe a big thanks to Lev, Linwood (Fiedler) and my family, without their mentorship, support and encouragement, I wouldn’t have found myself on the path to pursue my Iditarod dream. I will be running a young group of Linwood’s dogs in the race this year.” Alison lists her hobbies as mountain biking, backpacking, photography, kayaking, horse back riding and archery.