Carole Keller, 17, began mushing in 2006 with five dogs and she says she had seven by the end of the year. “My mom brought home a five dog team and I was cool enough to get into it.? By 2007 she had 10 dogs and began racing. She finished last year’s Jr. Iditarod and plans to improve her place this year and run more races. “I’m also mentoring a fellow musher who previously ran sprint races. My lead ran in the Iditarod twice as a leader and my original leader was trained by me. I run right out of the driveway, near Eklutna Lake, and occasionally make trips to our cabin for “training week.? Carole is a junior at Chugiak High School. She says she is big into the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program and she enjoys reading, talking to friends, relaxing on line, writing (poetry/short stories) and listening to music. She says that when she graduates she may do a 13th year of school in Germany and wants to go to college and become an interpreter/translator. She says that maybe in time, following college, she’ll get back into mushing.