HUMAN

Name: Ava Poetta (Lindner)

Age: 35

Residence: Fairbanks, Alaska

Occupation: Nurse

First Year Ran Iditarod: Part of my life since I was born.

How Many Years Involved With Iditarod: 3

Iditarod Role: Helping my father Sonny Lindner

Current Location: Fairbanks, Alaska

Date of Photo: June 21, 2026

Temperature: 68F outdoors

Question 1: What, who or how and when did you first get involved with the Iditarod?

I first became involved with the Iditarod at a very young age, basically since I was born, since my dad’s (Sonny Lindner) been running it since the ’70s. I, as a kid, would always go to the starts. My earliest memories are probably when I was eight, nine years old, and my best friend and I would go down and be able to hang out at the starts with the dogs. The ceremonial start was always our favorite because it was all exciting, lots of people. And then, physically, more so I became involved when I started running dogs at 14. I moved out with my dad and had my own team of dogs, so then was able to actually physically help at the start of the Iditarod, and would go to the finish as well to help with the dogs when he would finish.

 

Question 2: What is your Why?  Why did you stay involved with the Iditarod?

 I stayed involved with the Iditarod because it was always such a big part of my life and it was always really important to me in watching the mushers and the dogs and the love of the race and the culture that the race brings. And originally, I had wanted to run the Iditarod. I spent time qualifying for the Iditarod while I was helping my dad out with our kennel, but ended up going to school and getting a degree and then life. But Iditarod just was always such an important part of Alaskan history and I always just thought it was important. Plus, watching those dogs love to run and love everything about that Iditarod trail is really important, so that’s why I stayed involved.

 

Question 3: Tell me about just one of your most memorable Iditarod experiences.

One of my most memorable Iditarod experiences was being at the finish line and watching my dad, Sonny Lindner, cross the finish line, which I did multiple times. One of the most memorable was when he had his infamous leader, Fluffy Pete, in front, and he saw me on the side of the road and decided to come to me instead of going under the arch, so I had to run in front of him to get him under the arch. But watching my dad finish those races was always really special because it was just always such an incredible feat and he’d been doing it for so long at that point. And so, those are some of my favorite experiences.

 

Question 4: What in life do you know for sure?

What I know for sure in life is that caring for a kennel of dogs, such as my dad, Sonny Lindner and I had, which was at times 70 or 80 dogs, it always just felt really important, because each and every one of those dogs was individual in personality. We could always tell who was who, who came from who, and the families that we had in the kennel, and it just always felt really important to be able to care for them and love them like a big, giant, fluffy family.