HUMAN
Name: Marshelle Johnston
Age: 29
Residence: Denver, Colorado
Occupation: Personal Trainer, and own a gym for women, MJ Fit
Years involved with Iditarod: This is my first year getting to volunteer at the Iditarod
Iditarod Role: Dog handler, both for the start and the restart
Current Location: Lakefront Hotel in Anchorage
Date of Photo: March 3, 2023
Temperature: 68 degrees inside
What, who or how and when did you first get involved with the Iditarod?
I first became involved with the Iditarod this year, so this is my very first opportunity, and it’s just always been a bucket list thing for me to get to participate in the Iditarod race. I’ve known about it ever since I found my love for Huskies, which was several years ago, and I’m very excited to get to be very immersed in it by being a dog handler.
What is your Why? Why are you here TODAY and involved with the Iditarod?
I mentioned it a little bit already, but I’m here today and involved with the Iditarod because I’m an avid traveler and have always loved adventures and always found Alaska to be absolutely fascinating and stunning. And I’ve been here once before, but it was in September, so I was excited to experience it in the winter. And no better way than to come to actually get to be a part of the Iditarod and be amongst the dogs and the handlers and the mushers and get to experience one of the coolest events, in my opinion, Alaska has to offer.
Tell me about just one of your most memorable Iditarod experiences:
So far, I’ve only done the dog handler training, so getting to watch different YouTube videos of the Iditarod and getting to follow different mushers on Instagram and Facebook has been really amazing to get me hyped up for being here this week. But so far, I’ve only done the dog handler training, so I’m excited for the adventures to come this weekend with the start and restart.
What in life do you know for sure?
What I know for sure in life is that adventure is so important. One of my life mottos, probably my biggest life motto, is to be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire. And for me, that’s adventure, that’s traveling, that’s experiencing different cultures and amazing events. And the Iditarod, like I’ve already mentioned, has been one of my bucket list events and activities to participate in for years, and I’m just so honored to be here. And I’d say that sense of adventure and loving experiencing cultures and events and new things and growing, both personally and professionally and everything is one of the things in life I know for sure is so important to me.