Photo courtesy of Kevin Hansen

Kevin Hansen began distance mushing in 2016, but dog mushing has been a lifestyle his entire life, helping with his family’s kennel and racing junior sprint races. He enjoys raising, caring for, training, and traveling with sled dogs and believes that racing not only gives sled dogs an opportunity to display their amazing athletic abilities, but also informs his process as the team’s coach. He enjoys traveling to the villages every year and seeing the amazing country with his dog team. He says he is looking forward to the challenges, has the goal of improving, and developing younger dogs for a rookie Iditarod run. Hansen has raced the local Taaqpak 120 race, winning in 2022 and 2025, and the Kobuk 440, with winning fourth place in 2021. He is sponsored by Maniilaq Association, Northern Air Cargo Utuqqanaat Inaat,  Alaskan Grown Cannabis, and Paul and Margaret Hansen. He would like to thank his sponsors, family/friends for all their support throughout the year. He says thanks, also, to Jr. Iditarod musher Bristol Huffman for working with the dogs again this year.