HUMAN

Name: Maura Murphy

Age: 17
Residence: Pennsylvania, right outside of Philly
Occupation: I’m in high school. I’m in 11th grade
Years involved with Iditarod: Rookie
Iditarod Role: I get to be in the ceremonial start of it
Current Location: Coast Inn, Anchorage, AK

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

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

I got involved with the Iditarod in about third grade and I thought it was super, super cool. And honestly, I think that’s probably what started up my love of dogs. And so I have a dog now and I love her. I think it’s such a cool thing that it originated from needing to get medical supplies transported. So that’s cool that now it’s a competition.

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

 

I’m here today involved with the Iditarod because it was my Make-A-Wish to come here to Alaska and get to be part of the Iditarod and only one wish kid gets to do it each year. So I’m very lucky that I was able to be the kid that does it this year, and so I’m really excited to do that because I’ve always thought the Iditarod is so cool and dog sled racing. So it’s awesome that I get to do that.

Tell me about your most memorable Iditarod experiences?:

One of my most memorable Iditarod experiences were probably watching the movie Iron Will when I was little, because I was watching, I was like, wow, a kid did something like that. That’s honestly really impressive. And the drive that he had to complete this race to help out his family was really… That was cool. That’s something that’s inspiring.

What do you know for sure?:

What I know for sure in life is that I want to be able to be as independent as I can despite definitely having medical issues that make things more difficult, like vision loss and hearing loss. So my goal is definitely to be as independent as I can when I’m older.