HUMAN

Name: Andrea Murphy
Age: 46
Residence: Collegeville, Pennsylvania
Occupation: Gym Owner
Years involved with Iditarod: First year
Iditarod Role: None, spectator. My daughter, Maura, is riding in the ceremony
Current Location: Coast Inn, Anchorage, AK

Date of Photo: FEBRUARY 27, 2025
Temperature: 68F inside

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

So my daughter, Maura, first learned about the Iditarod when she was in third grade, and it sparked her love of dogs. They learned about it in school, read a book, watched a movie, and it’s how she finally convinced us to get a dog a number of years later, right before Covid started, which has been immensely helpful to have that dog in our lives. And if it wasn’t for her finding out about the Iditarod, she probably would’ve never convinced me to get one.

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

So we are here today, because Maura picked to see the Iditarod as part of her Make-A-Wish. She, three and a half years ago was diagnosed with brain cancer. She had two brain surgeries, 33 radiation treatments, and four inpatient chemo treatments. She also had 60 hyperbaric oxygen treatments to deal with her radiation injury from her treatment, and continues to have some different difficulties. She is partially blind, she has hearing loss, and she has epilepsy and migraines.
She was asked about what she wanted to do for her Make-A-Wish. She loves cold weather, and she loved learning about the Iditarod in third grade. That was her favorite year of school. And was such a perfect thing for her to pick because it was really symbolic of the journey that she went through, which was so much struggle and so much hardship. And the mushers and the dogs, that are all involved, with the Iditarod go through this marathon of hardship to get to their ultimate goal of getting to the end. And the Iditarod itself started because they were trying to deliver medications to Nome. So it just seemed such an amazing and fulfilling wish for her to be part of something that was helping children from the very start.

Tell me about your most memorable Iditarod experiences?:

One of my most memorable experiences of the Iditarod was really just coming here today. Everyone we have met, everyone we’ve been involved with, has been so amazing and wonderful and welcoming, and we are so excited to be part of this.

What do you know for sure?:

What is for sure in life? Really nothing. We have to take today and be so grateful for everything we have right now. Live our life to the fullest. Never take your future or your health for granted, because you never know what’s going to come. So you have to be so present in every moment, and really enjoy all of the experiences that you have around you.