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About Melanie Gould

In the spring of 1998, Anchorage-born Melanie "Mel" Gould and her Siberian Husky named Kodiak left Jackson Hole, Wyoming and headed North to Alaska. Seeking adventure and a new place to call home, she happened upon the village of Talkeetna. Here, she signed on as a dog handler for Iditarod racer Jerome Longo, and quickly became enthralled with the world of sled dogs and mushing.

One year later, Melanie ran her first Iditarod Sled Dog Race, placing 64th. Kodiak, her "pet" Siberian, even made it to Nome as a member of the team.

Melanie spent 10 years living in a cabin with Longo on 5 acres on the Talkeetna River, maintaining a simple, active lifestyle. A big garden and fish from the river helped sustain them through the winters. For most of those years they hand-pumped their water from a well, and lived off the electrical grid, with an outdoor shower and a small wood-heated sauna.  

In 2002, Melanie and her team placed 37th in the Iditarod. In 2003 they placed 25th. In both 2004 and 2005, they arrived at the finish line in 23rd place.  In 2006, Melanie and her team moved up to an 18th place finish. (Unfortunately, 2007's harsh, icy trail conditions resulted in a broken sled that forced Mel to scratch at Rainy Pass.) They have also participated in many mid-distance races, such as the Nome Council 2001, placing 2nd, and the Kobuk 440 in Kotzebue, placing 8th in 2007.

In 2008, Melanie made some big life changes and decided to take a break from competitive mushing. She began a new adventure on her own piece of raw land, living the good life in a teepee - with her beloved dog team helping her gather firewood to keep warm in the cold winter. Mel and her dogs still mush the trails of Talkeetna with great joy, feeling that same grand connection to Nature that they felt on their epic Iditarod journies.

Look for Melanie to be back on the racing trail in the future. News will be posted here....