Photo courtesy of Kevin Hansen

Kevin Hansen grew up mushing dogs and competing in local sprint races in Kotzebue, and especially enjoys the lifestyle of running sled dogs regularly and caring for them year round. He was inspired to run the Kobuk 440 as a kid, when his family provided housing to mushers, and he bared witness to many great mushers competing in the race, assisting in their efforts when needed. He has competed in the Kobuk 440 three times since 2017, with a high place of fourth in 2021 (a year remembered for its challenging weather). He has completed two runs of the Taaqpak 120, a local race between Kotzebue and Noatak, taking home the championship title in 2022. Kevin looks forward to traveling to all the villages and seeing the country with his dogs. He would like to extend a big thank you to his parents for giving his the opportunity to run their dogs. He’d also like to thank his family and friends for all their support and help with training throughout the year.

Kennel: Hansen Kennel Handler: Family Age: 32 Mushing Since: 90s/00s Location: Kotzebue, Alaska Number of Dogs: 12 Key Dogs: Kip, Yeager, Lobo, Lake, Aarigaa Sponsors: Family, Paul and Margaret Hansen (parents), Maniilaq Association, Northern Air Cargo, Ed and Ruth Iten Previous Races: Taaqpak 120 (2021, 2022) Kobuk 440 (2017, 2021, 2022) Awards: Taaqpak 120 Champion (2022)