Meet The Mushers

Photo by Paul Cyr

I have been running dogs for 22 years and have completed many Can-Am's in the past. I haven't been up to run the Can-Am since 2019 so I'm really looking forward to being back here amongst the Can-Am 'Family'! I run a mixed team of siberian and alaskan huskies, mostly bred by me.



Team Sibersong is sponsored by Emerald Environmental Technologies (Wentworth NH), Minus33 Wool (Ashland NH) and The Last Chair Brewery (Plymouth NH).

Animals have always been apart of my life. I have always worked with and around either dogs or horses and they never cease to inspire me. I have always been drawn to northern landscapes. Some people dream of sandy beaches, I dream of snowy adventures. Dog sledding for me merges everything that is important to me, discipline, honesty, hard work and perseverance. There is nothing I rather do then be out training my dogs. It's indescriptable to explain. My partner and I have a kennel of 35 dogs together and we motivate each other to reach our respective goals. We have one daughter, Marianne, who has been raised in our mushing world and we believe raising her in such an environment brings on very important values in her life. We can't wait to be back in Fort-Kent!

I'm an helicopter pilot half of the year and musher half of the other, I get to have the best of both worlds. I have always seeked adventures and love to travel desolate country. Luckily, one of these passions permits me to do the other. My partner and I have had dogs since we have been together and our aspirations are always growing! This is our eleventh time coming to the Can-Am-Crown on different distances and we are just as excited to run it as the first time!

Le can-am est ma course favorite! Je course la 250 depuis plusieurs années. Depuis les dernières années je course avec mon fils ce qui est encore plus agréable! Nous avons un chenil de 50 chiens. Le mushing est une affaire de famille pour nous, ma conjointe est également notre Handler a tristan et moi depuis toujours.

Le mushing est une histoire de famille, de génération en génération. J'ai eu une très belle saison 2020 en coursant d'importante courses tel que Can-am 250, Up200, la tchitogama 100.... Je suis impatient d'être de retour au courses.

When I was 8, I put a harness on our house dog, a big St-Bernard!!! Then, one day, I saw a team of several dogs, and that's when I realized that I wanted to harness more dogs. As a teenager, I was doing sprint races and it was only in 1996 that I actually started doing long distance races, racing from 60 miles to 400 miles races in the same year, the Labrador 400. I climbed the ladder and I started winning the Can Am Crown 250 (Fort Kent, Maine) in 1998, then in 2019, I won it for the 10th time, six in a row. I did the race circuit in North East North America, but in 2003 I realized one of my dream by running the Yukon Quest (1000 miles), where I placed 6th. I won the Hudson Bay Quest in Manitoba (220 miles) twice and I placed 2nd at UP200 in Michigan many times. In 2022, I was the first musher from Quebec to complete the Iditarod and I placed 21st.t What I like most about dog sledding is to be in the nature, discover new territories and especially to listen to my dogs and to see that we are an amazing team between human and the beast.

I was born in Attleboro, Massachusetts and at age one I moved to Florida with my mother for my next ten years. At age 11 we moved to Maine and raised a small farm where I recreationally started training sled dogs. Finishing high school I started work making dog sledding equipment and handling for Mountain Ridge Kennel in Shirley, Maine. At age 18 I had the opportunity to race the Can-Am 250 and was determined just to finish the race, but ended up placing 4th that year and again the following year. During the process of building a house and kennel, I met my husband Mark, which made it all come together. We are currently training 28 Alaskan Huskies from our now 40 dog kennel. I look forward to the Can-Am every year.

I am a musher from the SE corner of Minnesota where mushing is about as common as deep sea fishing. We operate a relatively small kennel of 20 amazing dogs. I have been able to compete in races as far west as Alaska but this will be my first trip mushing in the North East. I am greatly looking forward to experiencing the wild places of northern Maine with my furry four legged friends. When I'm not busy doing all the things dog mushers do, I enjoy spending time with my wife and 3 kiddos. My other hobbies include hunting, fishing, camping, canoeing and so many more.

I started the sled dog at 8 years old and I knew right away that I would progress you in this sport! in my family the mushing more than a passion these our lives and we are very proud of botre sport

I have been training sled dogs for over 30 years

I'm a mom of three kids of five, two and one. I also have a business of house plans. I started racing in the 30 miles in 2019 and since that day I couldn't stop thinking about dog sledding. I now have 20 some dogs of my own and I am racing in the 100 miles races for the first time this winter!

I like all kind of races. Races short or longer is always a good stories. This is my second years as a competitive musher. I came last year to race the 30 miles. But before that i tried many racing sports. Cycling, skiing, running and even sailing. Today i'm racing our family dogs. i like to train them with my teenagers (when they show up). To be outdoor with dogs is the best family time.

I am SO happy to be running my favorite race once again! The community, organization and trails here are awesome! We couldn't have gotten here, however, without the help of our amazing support crew! Thank you: Charlotte, Liv, Meghan, Nicole and Sarah. You all are GREAT! And... we can't move and inch down the trail without our AMAZING dogs! Rockstars, every one!

hunting moose, bear, trapping, and of came to Fort Kent every year !

Can't wait to get back to can am this year, my favorite event!

Passionné de traîneau à chiens depuis mon enfance et musher depuis presque 25 ans, je suis très heureux de revenir à Fort Kent pour la CanAm 100 !! Ce sera ma première course de 100miles et mon but est de terminer avec 10 chiens heureux et en santé !!


Merci beaucoup à toute l'organisation et félicitations pour ce super événement !!





Passionate about dog sledding since my childhood and a musher for almost 25 years, I am very happy to be back in Fort Kent for the CanAm 100!! This will be my first 100 mile race and my goal is to finish with 10 happy and healthy dogs!!


Thank you very much to all the organization and congratulations for this great event !!

j'adore travailler avec les animaux les pousser plus loin me plait, les entrainer me passionnes,

I am a cancer scientist / professor at the Université de Sherbrooke in QC, and I am married to my beautiful wife Maryse and we have a 15 year old son, Gabriel, who keeps us busy! In fact Gabriel will participate in the Can Am 100 with me this year!! Asides family, work, and DOGS, I have no time for hobbies :) What I like most about my dogs is their genuine happiness while running, and that keeps me living the present moment, which is awesome therapy!

I am excited to come back to Fort Kent and see old friends, and especially the Saunders, who have become like family to me!

De retour pour la deuxième fois pour le 100 milles pour cette superbe course! On est ici et on se pratique pour le 250 milles dans quelques années ! D'abord et avant tout nous sommes ici entre amis et amoureux du mushing!

I stumbled into the world of mushing three years ago. Over the past few seasons I've learned a lot about myself and mushing along the way. I am looking forward to racing again this year and can't wait to hit the trails.

I am very blessed to be supported by my wife and three boys. Together we have a small kennel of 19 sled dogs. We love to run and spend time with each other. When we are not training to race the Can Am we give tours in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont , spreading the love and amazing drive of these beautiful dogs

Caleb, 18 years old, has been breeding, training and mushing Seppala Siberian Sleddogs with his father right here in the Saint John River Valley since he was old enough to walk. Caleb is senior at Wisdom High School in Saint Agatha and serves as the senior team captain for the Valley Mustang's Football team.



Last year Caleb's dog team was repeatedly attacked by a moose during a training run. The 45 minute standoff only ended after Caleb shot the moose. Two days later he entered the Can Am 100, but scratched 3/4 way through the race.



Caleb looks forward to finishing what he started in the Can Am 100 this year before heading off to the US Marine Corps like his father and older brother.



Caleb says, "Our team bench is larger than ever, and we have trained harder than ever- I'm looking forward to finishing strong!"



Caleb will be running a purebred team of Seppala Siberian Sleddogs, fueled by NATIVE 4 Performance Nutrition For Canine Athletes.

Cascade Kennel is a small kennel located in Trout Run, Pennsylvania, and consists of Alaskan Huskies ranging in age from two to fifteen years. Most of my time is dedicated to my dogs. Other than training and conditioning dogs, my hobbies include camping, hiking, motorcycling, and gardening. I work as a school counselor.



Thanks to all for organizing this race! I am thrilled to be returning to the Can-Am and excited to see the trail of the 100 mile race. Also, I am so very thankful for my husband's support especially in helping us get to this starting line.

I moved to Maine from Virginia almost 5 years ago now and the Can Am Crown 30 mile race was the first race I had ever run. It's my goal to do the 250 mile race next year, and my dream is to run the Iditarod someday.


I couldn't do all that I do without my family and close friends, they support and encourage me to follow my dreams even if they don't quite understand them, and I'm so thankful for that; but most importantly I wanted to thank my dogs. Without them I truly wouldn't have a purpose and I certainly wouldn't be where I'm at today!

Every once in awhile, when on trail with the dogs, something anchors me to place and time, something catches the attention of my heart. I am immediately and totally aware of my surroundings: the gradients of topography, the wind moving through the trees, the other critters that share the landscape. I can see the bigger picture, one might say, and suddenly feel so small, so humble. In those moments, I turn to the dogs and say 'I'm so happy to be on this trail, in this place, with you all right now.'





While I aim to train a competitive race team, what I love most is the sense of scale traveling by dog team in the winter offers you. As a writer, I still struggle to explain what it feels like to not only train dogs, but to travel with them through winter landscape. I love Can Am for the sense of wilderness, unlike any other race, as we travel through the mountains of Northern Maine. As we race through the mountains of Northern Maine, I, and the dogs, are so grateful to everyone who makes this race possible.





Home is the mountains of northern NH and western ME, where I work for a land conservation organization creating or adding to new conservation lands. Sometimes I'm lucky enough to race on land I've helped protect for public access. I have a non traditional home life, as the guardian and primary caregiver for my two disabled adult siblings, but am fortunate to have a team to help make it all work. Thank you to my partner Chuck, to Brianna our superstar handler/ co-musher, and to Patrice and Jack who take care of my siblings this winter, and thank you to the community of dog and team sponsors.





Gemma, let's go racing!

Dog life!!!!!!!!!

We have been coming to Can Am for many years and always love this race! Last year was an awesome trail and crew! This year we have 9 yearlings on our team, so we splitting them up within 2 teams and going to enjoy the trail and time out there with these yearlings and make it fun for them!

My wife and I have been training and racing sled dogs for over 10year together. I have

been guiding since 1997 and have been enlightening people about the outdoors and

animal behavior ever since. I love seeing how the variety of genetics keep coming

out in the sled dog with each new generation, slightly different and also so similar

This is my 10th season training and racing sled dogs, and this will be my 5th Can-Am Crown race (Can-Am 30: 2015, 16, 19 and Can-Am 100: 2017, 20). I manage a kennel of 13 Siberian Huskies based in Alton, New Hampshire, all of which have names from the popular Star Wars franchise. Currently, I am taking online classes from Southern New Hampshire University to peruse a degree in Game and Digital Media Design. Other than training and spending time with my dogs, I enjoy drawing, archery, weightlifting, and reading.

A few words from the dogs. Hello everyone in Fort Kent Maine. We are ready to go. We want to say a loud and ruckus Woooo Hooooo. We can't wait to hit the trail. We are ready and over the top happy to run. With snow beneath our pads and clear trails ahead, we can't wait to take off. Our barks are filled with joy, glee, and anticipation of the fun ahead. Thank you Fort Kent Maine! We love this great trail and race. See you at the finish line!











Thank you race organizers, volunteers, our amazing handlers, of course the dogs and Ingrid! You are all the best!

I started mushing in my 20s and have enjoyed every year. The past several years I have worked weekends so I could not race for several years. I now have a schedule that I can enter a few races each year. I have started a new kennel and I m looking forward to hitting the trails again.

After handling for Kasey McCarty in the Can Am 100 last year, I am excited to be running a team in it this year. Running a team of veterans mixed with young dogs, this race is going to be an experience for musher and pups! I am very grateful to Kasey for the opportunity to run her magnificent Siberians in such a prestigious race.

This is my second year racing the Can-Am 30. I was here last year and fell in love with the trail and the Can-Am community; y'all are a welcoming bunch of very kind people . My favorite place to be is on my sled runners behind my dog team enjoying the beautiful wilderness. My goal this year is to beat my rookie time from last year. Let's mush!

I started out with a team of four Siberians about five years ago, then decided to race so adopted a few veteran dogs from the Pattersons and Sally Manikian. My first race was such a great experience, I decided to come back, and keep improving myself and my team -- I have now begun to train my own dogs (thank you Hyside for your patience and dependability as a leader these last 3 years) and I'm excited to see how these young dogs do. Thank you to the mentors and friends I've made -- near and far--through this shared love of working with dogs. I am continually grateful and amazed by your generosity and support. Finally, thank you to my family for kennel building, trail clearing, chore help-- and generally making sure "life continues" while I'm busy with dogs!

Wally enjoys being active outdoors, especially during the colder months. He hunts, bikes, camps and skis with his wife and four kids. He first started following dogs hunting upland birds and has progressed to also running dog teams. He is running dogs from the Kryska Kennel for now until he has his own team. His kids also enjoy helping out running and working the dogs.

My name is Piper Ashley. I'm 13. I am a student at Valley Rivers Middle School (VRMS). I live in Fort Kent with 19 dogs, a horse and a cat. I enjoy dogsledding, horseback riding, hunting, fishing, camping, skiing, and skijoring. I also enjoy hanging out with my cousin Finley and Fletcher and my friend Kaylen. I started mushing in 2017, we got our own small team of dogs in the fall of 2018, we had a litter of puppies in the spring of 2020, there are 12 healthy puppies. I do skijoring races with the sled dogs and my favorite is Shenan. I am very independent and confident in my skills and asked my dad if I would run the race alone.

I was born and raised in the white mountains of New Hampshire. I started running sled dog tours when I was just 16. Fast forward 10 years, I've ran hundreds of sled dogs and made some pretty incredible friends. My favorite part of mushing is wrangling the chaos that is a team of yearlings! When I'm not behind a team of dogs, I run Over the Hill Senior Dog Sanctuary, an in-home rescue for Senior and special need dogs. This is my second Can-Am and I am so so happy to be back!

Première expérience de course l'an passé. Souhaite vivre l'expérience CanCrown cette année !

This is my second time racing in the Can-Am, and I'm very happy to be here. My goals for the next few years is to move to Alaska, and grow my kennel. I also hope to some day be racing my own team of Alaskan huskies in the Iditarod. Thank you to my mom who is my handler and helps take care of the dogs.

Have always been strunggling to be able to keep racing year after year. Just like every mushers, I guess.
2023, once more, happy to be in the race again. Let's have fun, dogs and mushers. Thanks to the organisation and to the public to make this event possible.

I am 15 years old and attend high school. I love being with my dogs and I enjoy cross-country and road running in my free time. Last year I could not take part of the Can Am 30 because I tested positive for Covid. This year I am very excited to finally be able to race the Can Am I will be happy to see my friends in Fort Kent (the Saunders family and especially Sophie) and I really hope to have a great time. My goal for this race is to finish with happy and healthy dogs!

What started as a journey to find a four-legged running partner in 2019 morphed into traversing the Vermont woods with a team of sled dogs. The Misfits started with an Alaskan puppy (Loki) from Conway Area Humane Society, and the motley crew of retirees, re-homed dogs, and puppies quickly followed. Our goal this season is to get more race experience for the young team, and we are very excited to be part of the Can-Am this year.

This will be my first race. I've been recreational dryland mushing for six years in Virginia. I've since retired and moved to Madawaska to run/race Purebred Siberians.

I was born into running dogs and my mom Maureen put me on a pair of runners as soon as I could stand. I started my 1 dog junior with Shania and Kube. Worked my way up to running open size teams for sprint and mid distance races. I am pushing myself with this 30 miler so it'll be a new goal. I am from Bow, NH which is 7 plus hours away, but I've always dreamed of doing this race. I came in 2019 to run the skijor race. Here I am to run the 30. I work overtime along with running my own photograph & graphic design business on the side. Balancing all that, family time, training dogs, and working my barrel racing horse - you could say I live off of Aroma Joe's and chocolate croissants. I love hiking, fishing, skiing, nature walks, and my photography. I had to take a few years off from racing to finish 2 college degrees in exercise science and business management while battling a liver disease for almost 2 years. I am 100% healthy now and ready to rumble down the trail with my team. Thank You to all the support we've had, sponsors, and well wishes. I wouldn't be where I am today without my mom Maureen and our long time family friend and handler Fayth Weed who I get to share the trail with today. The dogs want to thank Osborne's Farm & Garden Center, Victor Dogfood, and Nutrisource Dogfood for powering our amazing dogs and keeping them in tip top shape.

I love Can-Am and have been involves as a volunteer for a number of years now. Ive been wanting to get on a dog sled for a while now and have an opportunity this year. My first year

2023 is my first year in mid distance racing, I'm so exited to take my passion to a new level. We will be trying out the 50 mile races and who knows maybe one day it will try a 250! Between working on the farm and having dogs, I don't do much. In the summer I bring the dogs swimming, camping and horse riding, I also have a second job where they can accompany me each their turn. What I love the most about my pack is to see how versatile they can be, absolutely amazing beings. They are as good on the sled pulling as they are being in the house cuddling or at work getting patted by dozens of children. My dogs are what make me the most proud.

I grew up around horses and dogs. My mother lived in Alaska for a few years when she was younger and always loved sled dogs. I went to school to train horses but ended up working in the medical field after I graduated. My mother ended up needing help at her kennel so I quit my job and just handled all of last year. I went to a race and fell in love with the atmosphere. I already work with training all the sled dogs so I decided to join the mushing world as well this year.

I have been mushing for 9 years now. I started with my rescue Siberian and my passion for it evolved from there. I got my first working Siberian from Kelim back in 2016, and then several dogs from Sibersong Sleddogs over the past few years. They are the best dogs I could ask for, they're hard working in harness as well as wonderful companions. Yona and her daughter Chise are my main leaders, Yona is all the brains of the operation while Chise is learning under her wing. They compliment each other very well.

I started off loving northern breeds and hoping to work with them one day when I was young, though my family was mostly tradesmen. I never dreamed where I would be now. My wife, Tasha, and I bought a working line Siberian as an active bikejoring / hiking companion in 2018 named Zero, he was an oops singleton destined for greatness and little did we know he was our gateway Siberian to the amazing world of mushing. We were smitten and dived in head first. We met great people within the community, found fantastic mentors and we soon figured out our goals as well as the Siberian bloodlines we really enjoyed working with. Now our lives revolve around our dogs and their passion, mushing! We've worked very hard over the past few years to build our kennel from the ground up, and learned as much as we could to create our program. We now have a full kennel of siberians where we run at least two ten dog teams regularly from fall through winter and participate in other performance events whenever we can. We absolutely LOVE what we do and live each day to the fullest thanks to our amazing dogs who we consider family. I'm so excited, thankful and pumped to be doing this race with my best friends!

"Castarek's was created to celebrate the freedom we feel while running with our teams and the pure joy of working with Siberians of different backgrounds coming together as one. The "Cas" in Castarek's represents one of my soul dogs, Casper, who has made a big impact to our dogs, our kennel, and our personal lives. The "ta" represents Tasha, the mind, trainer and bind of the kennel. And the "rek" represents Derek, the hard working, fun loving, dedicated soul who puts 110% into everything he does for the kennel and our family. We know we won't be as competitive as some of the other teams, but we love the idea of keeping Siberians active within the sport they were originally bred for. Anytime the dogs get out to an event is a win for us, they don't care how well they do they just have fun! However, I've been dreaming of this race for a few years now, we had signed up last year but unfortunately we got hit with Covid hard and had to withdraw. I'm more than excited to finally get the opportunity to run it with my best friends for 2023!! Wishing everyone a safe and fun run!"

Ses ma deuxieme fois a la can-am 30 milles. Nous avons 65 chiens au chenil moi et ma femme denise . Mon but pour les prochaines annees es d'aller faire la course pedigree stage stop au wyoming et d'aller au manitoba ( the pas et cross lake). merci a ma femme et tout ceux qui maide avec les chiens pour me rendre ici.

After seeing the discovery channel documentary Iditarod-The Last Great Race 14 years ago I thought that was a good way to exercise my four black labs. Never seen a dog team and knew nothing about mushing and was hooked immediately once we started. The incredible bond and trust that develops really hit me and I knew I had to do what makes me happy. I left a high paying career to scoop poop for min wage at a police dog academy. Eventually I was training dogs and took over the kennel. Opened a boarding kennel but I couldn't survive Covid and haven't reopened. I decided to take the winter to REBOOT my mental health. Dogs will keep you humble and teach you to live in the NOW. My goal for this race is to reconnect with myself and my dogs and to have fun.

Alex won his first race at the age of three and loves it just as much now as he did then! He is the Owner and a Guide at 'The Ultimate Dog Sledding Experience' in Oxford Maine where he offers guided dog sled tours in the winter season. In the off-season he is a white water rafting Guide and avid outdoorsman.

I am a retired Army medic who absolutely loves my family and our dogs. Mushing is a passion and I look to do it until I get old and can't anymore. There's nothing better than seeing the dogs happy as can be running their fluffy butts off. Thank you to my wonderful wife who supports me and to our son Kai, may you grow up loving dogs, and take over for dada one day.

I just recently moved to NH and I am very excited to be part of the can am. The can am 30 has always been a goal of mine!