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11 — Chris Adkins from Sand Coulee, Montana. Age 54. Chris grew up running dogs, and attempted his first distance race, the Race To The Sky 500, at 21. He entered the stage race in 2010 as a training run for Iditarod and fell in love with the trails of Wyoming. Chris has raced in… Read more »

10— Mike Bestgen from St. Cloud, Minnesota. Age 64. After running long and mid distance races the last 23 years, Mike decided to take on the Stage Stop this year. “It has always been a goal to race this amazing race,” he wrote in his online application. Mike has worked for Miller Chevrolet in Rogers,… Read more »

9 — Michael Tetzner from Burg, Germany. Age 57. Michael began mushing in 1987 after watching a sled dog race in Germany. He started running Siberian Huskies and has been racing dogs all over the world. He’s an IFFS (International Federation of Sleddog Sports) world champion. Michael has traveled to Alaska for years to participate in… Read more »

8 — Austin Forney from Leadville, Colorado. Age 41. Austin has run the Stage Stop the last seven years. Born and raised on a cattle ranch in western Nebraska, he now lives and trains at 10,152 feet in Leadville, Colorado. Fifteen years ago, Austin switched his allegiance from cattle and horses to sled dogs and… Read more »

7 — Thad McCracken from Mosier, Oregon. Age 49. During the 15 years that Thad has raced sled dogs he has steadily worked his way from 6-dog and 8-dog races to “open class”. He’s competed all over the lower 48 states, Alaska, and Canada. He’s run the Wyoming Stage Stop, Fur Rony, and “The Pas” World… Read more »

6 — Christina Gibson from Carlton, Washington. Age 20. At age 12, Christina ran a dog for the very first time, then started building her own team a year later. She now owns Whiteout Racing Kennel, a professional race team, in Methow Valley, Washington. Christina is a professional dog trainer and social media marketer living in… Read more »

5 — Tim Thiessen from Leadville, Colorado. Age 39. Tim has run the Stage Stop every year since 2019. His passion for dog sledding began in 2003 when he began working for a Breckenridge, Colorado dog sled tour company. He soon began competing in his local race circuit with his own team. Tim and his… Read more »

4— Bruce Magnusson from Newberry, Michigan. Age 59. 2023 marks Bruce’s eighteenth consecutive year running the Stage Stop Race — more than any other competitor in our 28-year history — and his twentieth year of mushing. He lives and trains in Newberry, in the upper peninsula of Michigan. “The Stage Stop is always the primary focus of… Read more »

4 — Geneva Lyon from Brightwood, Oregon. Age 47. Geneva lives in Brightwood, Oregon on Mt. Hood with her husband Tim Snail, 7-year old daughter Shade, and their 16 dogs. Born and raised on a small farm in rural southern Oregon, she grew up snowboarding, then discovered skijoring, and fell in love with driving a… Read more »

3 — Dennis LaBoda from Grand Marais, Minnesota. Age 64. Sled dogs were a neighborhood activity when Dennis was growing up in Minnesota. His older brother, Dale, started mushing as a teenager, and raced the IPSSSDR in the early years of our event. Following his brother’s “footsteps in the snow” Dennis started mushing as a… Read more »

2 — Al Borak from Newberry, Michigan. Age 63. Al is a detail man who’s learned to read dogs, and how to take care of them. His special talent is preparing young dogs to be world-class racers, something he plans to do this year with a talented group of youngsters from Magnusson’s kennel. “Any dog… Read more »

1 — Randy DeKuiper from Hesparia, Michigan. Age 75. Randy is a proud native of Michigan, and, in his spare time, he’s grandfather to 13. He’s raced dogs for 53 years — New Hampshire, New York, Wyoming, Alaska, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio. And let’s not forget Canada—Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Quebec. “I look forward to… Read more »

24 — Grant Beck from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. Age 71. Grant has been mushing dogs since age seven, when his first job was delivering groceries by dog team in the remote village of Fort Resolution, NWT. By age twelve, Grant was travelling by himself in the bush with his dog team, learning to live… Read more »

23 — Fernando Ramirez from Peoa, Utah. Age 36. Fernando ran the Pedigree Stage Stop Race in 2019 and in 2020. He and his wife, Dana, own and operate Rancho Luna Lobos in Peoa, Utah. They offer educational sled dog tours, kids’ summer /winter camps and have a dog rescue and rehabilitation program on their… Read more »

22 — Jerry Scdoris from Bend, Oregon. Age 74. Jerry: “I am a Vietnam era Veteran and a very serious University of Oregon Duck; a retired high school teacher, counselor, and football and track coach. My dogs have run in eight Stage Stop races, one with my daughter Rachael Scdoris when she was 15, two… Read more »

21 — Hans Gatt from Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada. Age 63.  Hans is a dogsled builder with his partner Susie Rogan in Whitehorse, Yukon. He began racing sled dogs in the European Spring circuit in 1987 and moved to Canada in 1990 to pursue stage and distance racing. After winning the Stage Stop four times,… Read more »

20 — Rachel Courtney from Vita, Manitoba, Canada. Age 29. Born in Mainburg, Germany, Rachel started mushing at age 10 with her pet Siberian Husky and was “immediately hooked on mushing.” At age 14 she began bikejoring (riding a bike with a dog pulling) and four years later came to Canada to handle for Chris… Read more »

19— Geneva Lyon from Brightwood, Oregon. Age 46. Geneva became interested in mushing at the age of four and says that she’s “always loved dogs and all animals.” Born and raised on a small farm in rural southern Oregon, she grew up snowboarding, then got into skijoring and fell in love with driving a dog… Read more »

18— Dennis LaBoda from Grand Marais, Minnesota. Age 63. Dennis is a self-employed contractor. Sled dogs were a neighborhood activity for him when he was growing up in Minnesota. His older brother, Dale, started mushing as a teenager and raced IPSSSDR in the early years of our event. Following in his brother’s “footsteps in the… Read more »

17 — Cathy Rivest from St-Paul-de-Joliette, Quebec, Canada. Age 46. Cathy is a prosthetist and has worked with amputees for 25 years. She began dogsledding at age 12 helping to run the family sled dog tour business for tourists. That business quickly turned to competitive sled dog racing. Cathy has raced sprint class, 4-dog and… Read more »