2008 Iditarod Musher Profile

Jake Berkowitz, 21, was born and raised in Minnesota. He attended a local community college and then studied to be an EMT at the University of Colorado. He started mushing when he moved to Michigan in the fall of 2005 to work with Ed & Tasha Stielstra at Nature's Kennel. He will race Stielstra's B team in the 2008 Iditarod with his goal being "to have all the dogs finish, to learn the trail and to have fun doing it." He remembers learning about the Iditarod at a young age but says, "It was one of those childhood dreams, like being a fireman or a cowboy; I just never thought it would happen." In the off-season, he is an expedition guide in Northern Minnesota. His hobby is whitewater canoeing.