HUMAN

Name: Gerhardt Thiart

Age: 53

Residence: I am from Cape Town, South Africa, but I’ve been in Michigan training for this opportunity

Occupation: Summer, cook. Winter, dog musher

Years involved with Iditarod: This is the first year I’m actually running the Iditarod

Iditarod Role: Just musher, rookie, first time, one and done.

Current Location: Lakefront Hotel, Anchorage, Alaska
Date of Photo: March 3, 2022

Temperature: 68 F Indoors

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

I first became involved with the Iditarod it was 2002, 2003 in South Africa. We, me and my wife, we had a few Siberians and we did dryland sledding dirt roads. And then I heard the word Iditarod. I wrote the name down. I went to the local bookstore. I couldn’t pronounce Iditarod. The book, the guy behind the counter, he couldn’t announce it. Then dot com came out and I said, “Okay, I’m going to buy a few Iditarod DVDs.” So there we were back in South Africa, 124 at night. We sit, and we’re drinking cold beers, and the swimming pools are crystal, and we look at these guys like the Mitch Seaveys, and Busers, and Lance Mackeys, and look at them. They’re all frozen and frosted up. And we laugh and it’s also say that it’s minus 40, and we laugh and say, “We can do that,” me, back in South Africa. So, yes. And I just keep on pushing. Keep on pushing, and never gave up, and 20 years later, here I am.

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

I’m here today and involved with the Iditarod because of the big why. One thing to do it for personal reasons, it’s not big enough, it’s not good enough. What’s going to happen? So a few years back, I started a foundation called G-A-T GAT Foundation and I’m here to promote and bring awareness to the needs of veterans.. I’m dedicating my rookie run to U.S. veterans, me being a veteran of the South African Defense Force Infantry Corps itself. So that is the why I want to be here and just do it and promote veterans. 

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

One of my most memorable, memorable Iditarod experiences was the scenery. You see this pictures, and video clips, and photography of this outstanding, beautiful mountains. And also, then I thought around about 2003 and 2004, thinking back, but what better way to see Alaska than from the back of a sled dog team? That’s it.

What do you know for sure?

What I know for sure in life is that money comes back. Your time doesn’t. Whatever you do, live life, go out on adventures, just do what your heart feels to do, and never, never, ever give up on a dream.