HUMAN

Name: Sean Williams

Age: 37
Residence: Anchorage & Mat-Su Area, Alaska

Occupation: Dog Musher
Years involved with Iditarod: Off and on since 2009

Iditarod Role: Dog Musher
Current Location: Airland Transport in Anchorage during pre-race musher food drop
Date of Photo: February 18, 2021
Temperature: 66F/INDOORS

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

I first got involved with, Iditarod when I worked for Matt Hayashida, in Juneau, Alaska in the summertime, and that kind of transitioned to working for Martin Buser during the winter racing season for a few years. And after that, you kind of get the bug and it starts to grow. And here we are.

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

Oh my gosh I’m here today involved with Iditarod because superficially, I’m running the race as a musher. This is my first time. I’m a rookie. I’ve been involved in the mushing world for a good decade. It’s my occupation with tourism, but this year, the world kind of changed. And I decided, as a family, we needed something to focus on. So I signed up, you need something to focus on every day for this race for me, it’s about just one step in front of the other, just looking right in front of you and just being persistent and determined and keep going no matter what. And hopefully, as a parent that will pass down to my son who really hopefully will learn a lesson from that and it will benefit us as a family.

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

One of my most memorable Iditarod experiences is definitely being at the finish in Nome and seeing mushers come across and just the deep ingrained satisfaction with them and their dogs and the bond to witness it firsthand is really something else. The first time I went to Nome was one of the Lance Mackey wins, and it’s hard to find a more inspirational figure in dog mushing than he was at that time. And even now, so that’s really stuck with me for several years now.

What do you know for sure?:

What I know for sure in life is that those closest to you, those right around you are the most important, your friends, your family, anyone that relies on you, anyone that you have a strong bond with. And in this case, obviously it’s my dog team as well. In addition to my family.