Despite difficult winter, Talkeetna musher finishes Jr. Iditarod

Greeted by the cheers and support of her friends and family, Alex Floor crossed the Jr Iditarod finish line in late February.

“It was a big relief that I finished the whole race,” she said, “and seeing all my family and friends cheering me on as I passed.”

Alex trained for that moment for over five months, spending countless weekends accumulating over 1800 miles mushing. Due to low snowfall this year, Alex and her coach, Heather Siirtola of Hardcore Huskies, had to travel up the Denali Highway a few months before the race to train.

Sirrtola stated traveling to practice almost every weekend was a major time investment.

“It’s not just taking off from the yard, which is quick and fast, faster than driving, the three hours to Cantwell and back,” she said, “We also had to load up a trailer, load up the dogs, get all of our gear set, make sure we had a checklist, get there, unload the dogs, and then we go for anywhere from 40 to 50 miles. We camp the dogs and then do a rerun of it, and then drive home so she can get to school the next day.”

All that training paid off. Alex ran all 140 miles making it across the finish line.

Alex said she’s excited to take a breath and spend time with the dogs outside of a competition.

“I love running the dogs a lot, and I love racing too, but I feel like I wanna stay less on the competitive side,” she said, “I just want to have fun with my dogs, go on 40 mile runs, and do a little fun camping trip with them.”