Talia Martens, 17, says she is running the Jr. Iditarod in 2018 to “follow my dream of running my own dog team in Alaska.” She lives on a hobby farm in Bule, Wisconsin, and was on sled runners before she could walk. Her brother, Morgan, 10, is also a dog musher. “Besides dog mushing, my family enjoys the outdoors: fishing, boating on Lake Superior, canoeing, horse camping and hiking.” An 11th grade student at Northwestern High School in Maple, Wisconsin, she says she’s always loved music and plays clarinet in the school band and signs in the choir. She also runs cross country trace. Outside of school, she and her friends are in a Christian band called New Sesnse. She writes music, plays the piano and sings and the many social events where they perform. Her family is active in the Gitchi Gumee 4H in Oulu, Wisconsin, Her 4H activities include woodworking, winter travel and horses. I show my riding horse and my carriage pony and have taken the pony to the Wisconsin 4H state horse driving competition. Talia has been running in races since 2010, placing in the top 10 most of the time. After graduation she plans to got o college and maybe become a veterinarian. Says she will continue mushing.