John Baker, Kotzebue, Alaska John Baker, 33, was born and raised in Kotzebue, Alaska. He’s been mushing dogs since he was 17 and considers that his hobby. After watching the early Iditarod races and all the trials of the mushers, John decided to run. He says, "The Iditarod is the ultimate in mushing." Owner of Baker Fuel for the last two years, he says his other hobby is flying. John is single and the father of an eight year old son, Alex.

John Barron, Big Lake, Alaska When John Barron leaves the starting line on March 2, he will begin his 17th Iditarod race. He has finished in the top 20 ten times. The forty-six year old musher was born in Texas. The family moved to Alaska to homestead. John began mushing in 1979 and became interested in the Iditarod from reading an article in the Iditarod Annual®. A full time professional musher, John has also participated in the Yukon Quest and many middle distance races. John and his wife, Cathy, have three sons, Laird, 25 (Iditarod ‘91, ‘93 & ‘94), Jason, 23, (Iditarod ‘93), and William, 19, (who hopes to run in ‘96.

Lavon Barve, Wasilla, Alaska For over 30 years, 52 year old Lavon Barve has been mushing dogs. He started racing in his birth state of Michigan in the mid 1960’s, running sprint races with a young eager team. He raced throughout the Great Lakes area and was awarded the Great Lakes Sled Dog Championship Award in 1968. Lavon says he’s always liked to go on trips with his dogs, and his wife, Betty, and now adult children, Lance, Mary and Judy, can attest to that. In 1975 Lavon tried his first Iditarod with a sprint time that had little more than training for the Fur Rendezvous races. He went again in 1976 and placed 22nd. In 1983, he started putting together a trotting team and ran the same basic team from 1985 to 1993, finishing six times in the top 10, with one third place finish. Seeking new trails in 1994, Lavon entered the Yukon Quest. During the race, he passed everyone and finished first in record breaking time. In 1995, as part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Serum Run to Nome, Lavon mushed a 13 foot freight sled from Old Minto to Tolovana with a 700 pound load. Now with the great condition of the Iditarod Trail and the speed that the teams travel, Lavon is once more training a sprint team for the Iditarod and will try to get to Nome as fast as he can. Lavon owns and runs a printing business, L & B Color printing, and in 1992 and 1993 served as president of the Iditarod Board of Directors. He even tried to run a competitive sled dog race during those years! This year, he will have more time to train and less mental stress. He’s hoping to enjoy himself and his dogs as they try their best. Lavon is still a member of the Iditarod Board of Directors and especially enjoys antiques and photography.

Jack Berry, Homer, Alaska Thirty-eight year old Jack Berry, a concrete mason, worked in his birth state, Michigan, a few years before coming to Alaska in 1980. He has recently started his own concrete business, Peninsula Concrete Specialist, Inc. Jack began mushing in 1983 after watching the Iditarod several years. He has completed the Yukon Quest once and the Iditarod twice. He trains outside Homer in the Caribou Hills and is currently building a cabin on his six acres. There are 65 dogs in his Lost Mountain Kennel. Jack is single and the father of two daughters, Jacklyn, 14, and Julie, 18.

Mark Black, Duluth, Minnesota Mark Black was born in Minnesota thirty-four years ago. He has for Lake Superior Paper Industries as a woodyard/woodroom operator for the last eight years. He began mushing in 1977 and ran a sprint race that took place a couple of miles from his home. He says he’s dreamed of running the Iditarod since he got his first sled dog. He will be running a team of Alaskan Huskies, all from Minnesota breeding with roots in Alaska. "I enjoy traveling and camping with the dogs at our training camp in Hoveland. Mark’s full time job means that he has long days without much sleep. He and his wife do all the training on his team. Mark has participated in many different sports over the years, including football, hockey, softball, track, cross-country, and he is a former golden glove boxer. They have one son, Tony, 13. Mark’s hobbies are dogs, hunting, fishing, working out, and being outdoors. Mark says he’s probably the largest musher around at six feet seven inches tall and 250 pounds.

Rich Bosela, Eagle River, Alaska Rich Bosela was born in New York in 1959 and came to Alaska in 1981 to look for "work and adventure." He is currently an electrical manufacturer’s representative and has been employed by the Arctic Sales Agency for three years. Rich began mushing in 1987 and was an Iditarod volunteer in the early 80’s. He soon knew he had to run the race someday and realized that dream in 1991. He says, "Running in the iditarod helps bring in focus why I moved to Alaska in the first place. It allows me to see the beauty of the State from a different perspective. Also, the demands of driving a dog team are very appealing and different from the typical fast pace of life I lead as a parent and business owner. Iditarod is a vacation away from the 8 to 5 schedules, no faxes, phones or deadlines." A member of the Chugiak Dog Mushers and the Illuminating and Engineering Society, Rich says his hobbies are his family, hunting, fishing and travel. Stan is single and the father of three girls, Janelle, 12, Kristen, 11, and Catie, 6.

Charlie Boulding, Manley, Alaska Fifty-three year old Charlie Boulding was born in North Carolina on July 8, 1942. He is married and lives on the Tanana River near Manley. He’s been a commercial fisherman for the last 12 years. Charlie began mushing dogs in 1980 in Montana and came to Alaska in 1983 to become a full time musher. He won the Yukon Quest in 1991, finished third in 1992 and won again in 1993. After his third place finish in the Quest, he immediately ran the 1992 Iditarod, saying it would be his learning year for the Iditarod. He finished 43rd that year. Charlie finished seventh in his next Iditarod two years later and received the Alaska Commercial Sterling Achievement Award for being the most improved musher that year. Continuing to place better, he finished fifth in the 1995 race.

Don Bowers, Montana Creek, Alaska Don Bowers was born in Arkansas in 1948. He became a musher two years ago after retiring from a 24-year career in the Air Force. He flew C-130’s at Elmendorf and worked on various headquarters staffs, including the Joint Staff and the Military Airlift Command staff, but his heart has always been in Alaska. He first came to the Last Frontier in 1975 and never doubted he would ultimately stay here and run the Iditarod. Don first learned of "The Last Great Race" from Ron Aldrich who ran the first race to Nome in 1973. Ron loaned Don three dogs for his cheechako (beginner’s) race at Montana Creek in 1978, and within a few years Don bought land next to Ron’s homestead, where he built the cabin in which he now lives. Don was an Iditarod Air Force regular for many years, taking leave from Uncle Sam every March to fly his own plane along the trail as part of the Iditarod Air Force. He is now chief pilot at Hudson Air Service in Talkeetna; he’s also a writer and certified grade-school teacher, currently substituting in the Mat-Su Borough. Don started the 1995 race but had to scratch at Rainy Pass: his team was more into making "Iditapups" than running. He admits he made a lot of mistakes he hopes not to repeat. His only goal is to finish the race honorably this year and then to run it in the future as many times as he can get the funds and the time to do it. Don is single.

Dave Branholm, Wasilla, Alaska Thirty-seven year old Dave Branholm was born in North Carolina. His grandparents came to Alaska in 1932 to search for gold and his father was raised here. His grandmother still lives in Fairbanks. His first trip to Alaska was in 1975. At that time he became involved in sprint mushing, training with Raymie Redington. He returned to the lower 48 for awhile, and worked as the captain of offshore longline vessels off the eastern seaboard. He returned in 1988 and now he and his children, Heather, 16, and David, 13, consider Alaska home. Dave fishes several different fisheries in the summer months and is working for Igloo Electronics installing satelite dishes this winter. He’s been raising this Iditarod team since 1989 and says he’ll always have dogs. "The Iditarod gives me a sense of accomplishment, knowing we raised and trained every dog that’s been to Nome with us." Dave is a member of the Carpenters Union and says his hobbies are computers and his kennel. Dave is single.

Bob Bright, Chicago, Illinois Fifty-six year old Bob Bright is returning to Iditarod competition after an eleven year absence. Born in Pennsylvania he now makes his home in Chicago where he is a self employed Sports Promotion Consultant. He began mushing in 1970 and has been interested in the Iditarod since its inception. He says he’s had a life long interest in things that run. He’s worked with human long distance runners, race horses and sled dogs at the professional level. He has competed in many endurance events, marathons, triathlons, ect. This will be his third Iditarod and he plans to run about three more times and be more competitive each time. Bob is single. He has two grown children. His hobbies are dog mushing, long distance running and 19th century American west history.

Ramy Brooks, Fairbanks, Alaska Born on Christmas Eve in 1968, Ramy Brooks is a true Alaskan. Grandfather Gareth Wright and mother Roxy Wright-Champaine, both sprint racing champions, have laid the foundation for Ramy to be a successful musher. With his wife Cathy and their new daughter, Abby, he is working to build his own kennel. Ramy dreams of winning the Iditarod some day and so far his record has been excellent. He was "Rookie of the Year" in his first Iditarod, finishing in 17th place. Ramy is employed by BP Endicott and operates sea water clarifiers. He lists his hobbies as reading, snowboarding and just spending time with his family.

Aaron Burmeister, Nome, Alaska Aaron Burmeister, a college student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, was born in Nome, Alaska, in 1975. Aaron’s father, Richard, is an Iditarod veteran and Aaron says he was mushing dogs as soon as he could walk. He ran the Jr. Iditarod four times and just a few months after his 18th birthday, while still a senior in high school, he ran the race to Nome. He finished 37th. "Running the Iditarod was the most awesome experience of my life and something I had planned to do again someday," said Aaron. He says when Ramy Brooks offered him the chance to race his second time in the ‘96 race, he jumped at the opportunity. "Since I’ll be going to college this sprint, the race will just be a two week vacation from college for me." When he isn’t studying or running dogs, Aaron enjoys hunting, fishing and camping.

Martin Buser, Big Lake, Alaska Born in Zurich, Switzerland in 1958, Martin became fascinated with sled dogs while still a teen. He came to Alaska in 1979 to enhance his knowledge of care and training of sled dogs. He began working and training with long-time Alaskan musher Earl Norris and ran his first Iditarod in 1980. Martin garnered a 21st place finish and has continued to compete in "The Last Great Race" every year since 1986, finishing in the top ten each of the last eight years. He finished in first place in 1992 and again in 1994, both years breaking the previous record. Martin, his wife Kathy, and their two sons, Rohn, 5 1/2 and Nikolai, 7 (both named for checkpoints) own and manage Happy Trails Kennel. Martin has worked as a carpenter, youth counselor and commercial fisherman. He built the home his family lives in and even sewed all the curtains in the house, getting his sewing experience from making dog harnesses and sled bags. Martin likes to make his own gear for racing and training. He spends a large percentage of his personal time speaking with youth on the humanitarian care of animals and the spirit of the Iditarod. Says Martin, "I run the Iditarod to prove that my dogs, bred, trained and raced by Happy Trails Kennels, are the best amongst the world’s long distance athletes." As tribute to his treatment of his racers, Martin is the only three time winner of the Alaska Airlines Leonhard Seppala Humanitarian Award. Martin is a member of P.R.I.D.E., ISDRA and Rotary.