HUMAN

Name: Sharon Quigley
Age: 62
Residence: Central Ohio
Occupation: Retired from the school district
Years involved with Iditarod: 2
Iditarod Role: Musher parking and dog handler
Current Location: Downtown Anchorage Ceremonial Start, Anchorage, Alaska

Date of Photo: March 1, 2025
Temperature: 30F outside

What, who or how and when did you first get involved with the Iditarod?:

I got involved with the Iditarod about 20 years ago. My husband, actually, loved the Iditarod. He was the outdoors person. We had to watch it on TV every year. He talked us into coming up to Alaska. He wanted to move here. He since has passed away.
But he loved it so much that I have continued to come up here in the past five years. We’ve come up here about 22 years and last year… Funny short story, but I go to Florida every winter. My place got sold and I lost it, so I’m going to the Iditarod. I talked my friends into coming up, and we’re back again this year.

What is your Why? Why are you here TODAY and involved with the Iditarod?

I’m here today and involved with the Iditarod because I was so impressed and so excited last year, I decided to come back. I just really wanted to be a part of such an amazing event.

Tell me about your most memorable Iditarod experiences?:

One of my favorite memorable moments from the Iditarod was actually before the Iditarod. We were at a restaurant, and we met Jessie Holmes at a restaurant. He was so nice, so welcoming, so engaging with the people in the restaurant. It just gave me such a good feeling about the people that do this and their experience in doing it. So I think the whole experience is incredible, but meeting someone beforehand and seeing that they’re just so personal was a huge impact on me.

What do you know for sure?:

You have to enjoy every minute. We all think life is a given, and it is not. You get up one morning, and your whole world can change. So you really have to live life and do everything you think you need to do.