HUMAN

Name: Aliy Zirkle
Age: 50 
Residence: Two Rivers, Alaska
Occupation: I am a dog lover/musher. It’s what I do, it’s what I’ve done for about 20 plus years.
Years involved with Iditarod: 20 this year
Iditarod Role: Musher

Current Location: Midtown Anchorage, Alaska. 
Date of Photo: March 6, 2020
Temperature: 14F/Outdoors

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

I got involved with Iditarod exactly 20 years ago and that was because I had run the Yukon Quest for a number of years and I heard there was another race that went to the West instead of to the East and I thought it would be absolutely thrilling. Actually, the coolest thing I thought about Iditarod is it goes out to the ocean, and I had never seen a frozen ocean before. And I thought that was absolutely phenomenal. I don’t know, if you’ve never seen the frozen ocean, it’s something that everyone should see. And so my first year of running Iditarod was 2001 and I made it to the frozen ocean and beyond, up to Nome. So that was my first experience with Iditarod. 

What is your Why?.. Why are you here today and involved in Iditarod?

I’m here today and involved with Iditarod because not only is it a race, but – let’s be honest, it is kind of an addiction and you have to have this certain, I don’t know, thrill for life. You don’t want to just live life on the couch and watch it go by. You want to be part of it. And I think Iditarod whether you’re a musher, whether you’re a photographer, whether you’re a volunteer or whether you’re a fan. Yeah, I don’t know. You’re kind of grabbing life and you’re running with it. So that’s what I’ll be doing really for the next 9, 10, 11 days. It’ll be phenomenal to be out there. The coolest part is to be out there with my dogs. They’re dedicated to me. I’m dedicated to them and I’m going to do my best to win this thing.

Tell me about just one of your most memorable Iditarod experiences?

One of my most memorable Iditarod experiences was coming into Unalakleet, the checkpoint out on the Western coast of Alaska, and I was in lead that year and a lot of people were really excited about it, including myself. But this young woman, probably 18 years old or something, came up to me on the sly and was like, “Aliy, I hope you win this race because my whole family and my boyfriend, they just think women can’t do anything, and I just came down here to support you. They don’t even know I’m here. And I think if you win, then that’ll show them that women could do anything they really want.” I tear up at that, but that was one of my most memorable experiences. 

What do you know for sure?:

What I know for sure in life is that love is the most important thing. We need to open our hearts and love more, whether it’s your family, your spouse, your dogs, your best friends. That’s what’s going to keep us human beings happy and on this planet for longer than if we don’t love each other.