HUMAN
Name: Allen Moore
Age: 64
Residence: Two Rivers, Alaska
Occupation: Retired dog musher. Wow. I can just now say that. Wow.
Years involved with Iditarod: I don’t know, 20 something
Iditarod Role: Well, we ran Iditarod for 20 years, my wife and I, Aliy Zirkle. And now we are actually helping my daughter, Bridgett Watkins, do her first Iditarod.
Current Location: Ceremonial Race Start, 4th Ave, Downtown Anchorage, Alaska
Date of Photo: March 5, 2022
Temperature: 32 F Outdoors
What, who or how and when did you first get involved with the Iditarod?
We first became involved with the Iditarod probably 20, 22 years ago when my wife started running it in 2001. And then, I became involved more so myself a few years later. And we both run Iditarod, I don’t know, a total of 30 something times, both of us together. So that’s how I was involved in Iditarod.
What is your Why? Why are you here TODAY and involved with the Iditarod?
Involved with the Iditarod is because my daughter, Bridgett Watkins, it’s going to be her rookie year. She started mushing when I first moved to Alaska when she was five. Now she’s 37, 38, whatever. She’d been wanting to do it her whole life. And now, she has a opportunity to do it. And she has a few of our dogs that, when we retired, we gave to her. So now, she has a opportunity to follow in our footsteps.
Tell me about just one of your most memorable Iditarod experiences.
The race itself, where there was probably 300 miles of no snow on the trail. And it was just very difficult running that year. So that was probably my most memorable, because of the difficulty factor.
What do you know for sure?
What I know for sure in life is that it’s short and you make the most of every day and In life, it’s not going to be easy. And Iditarod is a great example of that. When you run Iditarod, it’s just challenges you have to go through every day. And you have to overcome. And that’s just a nutshell is what life is about. So there you go. I guess, that’s what makes us keep coming back year after year is that aspect of it.