HUMAN

Name: Chad Stoddard
Age: 38
Residence: Big Lake, Alaska
Occupation: Guide

First Year Ran Iditarod: 2021

Years involved with Iditarod: 8 years

Iditarod Role: Musher

Current Location: Iditarod Headquarters Vet Check, Wasilla, Alaska

Date of Photo: March 4, 2026
Temperature: -1F

What is it about running sled dogs that you love so much?

 

What I love about running sled dogs is the connection and relationship with the dogs themselves. I feel it brings me back to something maybe deep inside that just feel most alive and most myself when I’m out with the dogs. There’s no distractions, and I’m just perfectly in the moment with them and just connecting with them. And that’s what I love the most, just bonding with them and overcoming challenges and just doing what we were born to do.

Question 2: What, who or how and when & why did you first get involved running the Iditarod?

I got involved running the Iditarod because I was born in Alaska and I’ve always felt a strong connection to this state. And I know how much Iditarod means to the people in Alaska, and it’s very gratifying for me to be a part of an event that means so much to so many people. And it’s just something I’ve always loved since I first found out about Iditarod.

Tell me about just one of your most memorable experiences running the Iditarod:

 

My most memorable experience running Iditarod was in 2022, leaving the checkpoint of Shaktoolik in the middle of the night in a windy scenario, and coming across the sea ice as the sun rose was one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen. And I will never forget that moment traveling with that team across that ice on our way to Koyuk as the sun came up. It just felt like another world.

What in life do you know for sure?:

 

What I know for sure in life is, for myself, I love to learn, and I love to grow, and I think those are two things that are really important to me. And I think we all like to be comfortable. I like to be comfortable, but I’ve learned about myself that comfort is a beautiful thing, but nothing can ever grow there, and so in order to grow and to learn, you’ve got to be willing to accept a little pain and discomfort and go out there and push yourself, and for me, this is the most gratifying thing for me is to do those.