HUMAN
Name: Cain Carter
Age: 34
Residence: Fairbanks, Alaska
Occupation: Pawn Shop Manager
First Year Ran Iditarod: 2011
How Many Years Involved With Iditarod: 14-ish
Iditarod Role: Musher, handler
Current Location: Fairbanks, Alaska
Date of Photo: June 19, 2026
Temperature: 78F outdoors
Question 1: What is it about running sled dogs that you love so much?
What I love most about running sled dogs is when the dogs are determined to finish the run and there’s no giving up, and they just will finish the run with you.
Question 2: What, who or how and when & why did you first get involved running the Iditarod?
I got involved running the Iditarod because, when I was a young teenager, my mother married Lance Mackey, and one of my chores/responsibilities was to take care of the dogs, feed the puppies, watch them grow, and I got to evolve and watch those dogs grow from the time I started, which was probably about 2005, 2006, all the way until Lance won his last Iditarod.
So, mainly Lance Mackey is who got me into it, how I did have amazing people in my life that helped me and supported me, as well as all of the sponsors I’m sure everybody knows that are involved with the help.And why, I’m not going to lie to you when I first started picking up dog poop, I was not the biggest fan. I definitely did not want to run dogs ever, but with raising the dogs and seeing them grow, and seeing that that’s what they love to do, it was just something that I knew once I got involved in, I was going to go deep. And we did go pretty deep for a long time and I had a great time running dogs and the Iditarod has been a huge part of my life even since I’ve been out of mushing.
Question 3: Tell me about just one of your most memorable Iditarod experiences running the Iditarod.
My most memorable experience running the Iditarod is— I decided to leave a checkpoint and camp outside of it when I probably shouldn’t have. Wind was whipping on the river right in my face. It was cold, 40 below, snowing. I couldn’t see anything but Star Wars beams shining in my face, when your headlights so bright in the snow and dark and cold.
I brought some straw. I decided to find a good little spot where we came into a bunch of trees. I set up a little camp. I got the dogs all bedded down, all in their coats and covered. I emptied my sled bag out and crawled in it, zipped my parka, where the fur was covering my face.
And I slept for probably about four hours. And when I woke up, I didn’t know if I was going to start moving again. I was so cold and it took so much power in my body to just even get up, start moving, snack the dogs, get their booties on.
And all I could tell myself was as soon as we start moving I’ll be able to pump. I’ll be able to run, I’ll be able to kick, and was I joking myself, because as soon as my dogs took off it was nothing but two feet on the drag, all the way to the next checkpoint.
What in life do you know for sure?:
What I know for sure in life is, it takes determination to do whatever you want to do or accomplish. And one thing that I’ve gotten out of mushing dogs and running the Iditarod is, never quit and just keep going. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Sometimes the tunnel’s a little colder than others, but it always gets better as long as you just push through the hard times, that’s for sure.