Jacob Gauthier, 17, will race his first Jr. Iditarod in 2003, and his last. He and his family moved to the Kenai Peninsula in 1999. He said he’s always enjoyed being outside and mushing sort of crept up on him. He worked with Dr. John Bramante and Katie Tongue in 2001 and 2002 doing dog lot chores and then he became a handler for John’s second team. “I really dug the excitement of being with the team. I became more involved and really decided to do a race that would make me trail the dogs for a race solo. I can’t explain in words how fortunate I am to have the opportunity to run dogs with such awesome folks who I really admire. My family is very encouraging about my desire to run dogs. My brother is into wrestling, my mother is a die hard runner and my dad is very humorous and extremely supportive as being one of my sponsors.? Jacob is a junior at Skyview High School and participates in cross country running and soccer. He also enjoys auto mechanics, fishing, hunting and sports. He plans to attend college and hopes to get a master’s degree in wildlife biology. He says he does plan to continue mushing.