Aliy Zirkle Explained

Aliy Zirkle
Birth Place:New Hampshire
Occupation:Sled dog musher
Nationality:American
Spouse:Allen Moore

Aliy Zirkle (born 1970 in New Hampshire) is an American champion of sled dog racing.[1]

Aliy Zirkle moved to Bettles, Alaska at age twenty and began mushing due to the remote nature of the town. She adopted six sled dogs and began learning how to race and train dogs. Aliy raced her first Yukon Quest in 1998 and her first Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 2001. In 2000, she became the first woman to win the Yukon Quest, finishing the race with a time of 10 days, 22 hours and 57 minutes.[2] Aliy has been the runner-up in the Iditarod three consecutive years, 2012, 2013, and 2014. Her best time in the Iditarod came in 2014, when she finished the race with a time of 8 days, 13 hours, 6 minutes and 41 seconds.[3] Aliy has finished the Iditarod 14 times and the Yukon Quest 3 times. She has completed either the Yukon Quest or the Iditarod every year since 1998. Aliy also regularly competes in shorter dog sled races, such as the Two Rivers 100, the Copper Basin 300, and the Yukon Quest 300.

Aliy has received various awards throughout her mushing career, some of which were awarded to her by her fellow mushers. These awards include the Yukon Quest Challenge of the North award, given to the musher who "most exemplifies the spirit of the Yukon Quest, a spirit that compels one to challenge the country and win", and the Iditarod Leonhard Seppala Humanitarian Award for exemplary care of her dogs.

Aliy met fellow musher Allen Moore in 1998 and the two were married in 2005. Aliy has two step-daughters, Brigett and Jennifer, through Allen. Together Aliy and Allen run Skunk's Place (SP) Kennel in Two Rivers, Alaska. The kennel is named for Skunk, one of the six dogs Aliy adopted when she first moved to Alaska and began mushing.

During the 2016 Iditarod race, Zirkle and fellow competitor Jeff King were intentionally hit by a man on a snowmobile. He killed one of King's dogs.[4]

She had announced that the 2021 Iditarod would be her 21st and last Iditarod race. Her husband, who had been the oldest musher to ever win the Yukon Quest, had retired a year earlier.[5] In 2021, due to COVID-19 and weather conditions, the course was shortened. When Zirkle arrived at the Rohn checkpoint, she fell and had to be airlifted to Anchorage for a concussion and upper torso injuries, though suffered no broken bones.[6]

Race standings

Yukon Quest Results

YearFinishing PlaceTime Prize winnings
1998 17 13d 21h 40m --
1999 4 11d 19h 17m $12,000
2000 1 10d 22h 57m $30,000

Iditarod Results

YearFinishing PlaceTime Prize winnings
2001 33 12d 17h 53m 33s $1,049
2002 29 10d 28h 1m 45s $1,571
2003 14 10d 17h 17m 38s $14,857
2004 34 11d 2h 4m 44s $1,049
2005 11 10d 1h 46m 30s $26,111
2006 14 10d 0h 36m 50s $25,000
2007 28 10d 19h 57m 7s $3,600
2008 21 10d 7h 10m 21s $15,000
2009 17 11d 2h 28m 45s $10,800
2010 16 9d 18h 5m 10s $14,100
2011 11 9d 10h 22m 31s $20,600
2012 2 9d 5h 29m 10s $46,500
2013 2 9d 8h 3m 35s $47,100
2014 2 8d 13h 6m 41s $47,600
2015 5 9d 4h 44m 25s $44,300
2016 3 8d 18h 42m 36s $57,750
2017 8 8d 22h 49m 42s $33,700
2018 15 10d 6h 42m 22s $14,912
2019 4 10d 2h 26m 56s $35,843
2020 18 10d 7h 28m 30s $12,661
2021 Scratched, Rohn

2014 Iditarod Record

Check PointsPosition inDateTime in
  1. Dogs in
Layover (24)(8)Date outTime out
  1. Dogs out
Dropped dogs
Anchorage 9----------3/110:17pm12--
Willow 9----------3/22:16pm16--
Yenta 53/26:04pm16----3/26:07pm16--
Skwenta 163/29:09pm16----3/31:50am151
Finger Lake 53/35:04am15----3/35:06am15--
Rainy Pass 73/38:23am15----3/31:32pm15--
Rohn 23/35:12pm15----3/35:22pm15--
Nikola 33/47:34am15----3/411:22am15--
Mcgrath 13/44:53pm15----3/44:54pm15--
Takotna 13/47:06pm1524--3/59:06pm15--
Ophir 93/511:06pm15----3/511:23pm15--
Cripple 43/611:45am15----3/611:56am15--
Ruby 13/712:09am15--83/712:18am141
Galena 33/76:10am14----3/72:16pm14--
Nulato 23/75:38pm14----3/79:34pm122
Kaltag 13/83:11am12----3/83:18am111
Unalakeet 13/84:34pm11----3/88:48pm11--
Sharktoolik 13/93:51am11----3/97:12am11--
Koyuk 13/92:07pm11----3/95:51pm11--
Elim 23/911:47pm11----3/101:01am11--
White Mountain 23/107:59am11----3/104:00pm11--
Safety 23/1010:57pm11----3/111:01am101
Nome23/114:06am10------------
[7]

Awards

YearAwardAssociated Race
1999 Spirit of the North Yukon Quest
2005 Leonhard Seppala Humanitarian Iditarod
2011 Leonhard Seppala Humanitarian Iditarod
2012 Spirit of Alaska Iditarod
2012 Alaska Gold Coast Iditarod
2014 Fish First Iditarod
2014 Alaska Gold Coast Iditarod
2016 Leonhard Seppala Humanitarian Iditarod
2018 Leonhard Seppala Humanitarian Iditarod
2019 GCI Dorothy G. Page Halfway Iditarod
2019 Leonhard Seppala Humanitarian Iditarod

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: SP Kennel- About Aliy. 5 March 2015.
  2. Web site: Yukon Quest Website Musher Hall of Fame. 5 March 2015.
  3. Web site: Iditarod.com Musher Career Summary. 5 March 2015.
  4. Web site: Snowmobile slams into Iditarod teams, killing one dog and injuring others. 2016-03-13. Los Angeles Times. en-US. 2019-10-23.
  5. https://www.adn.com/outdoors-adventure/iditarod/2021/03/03/aliy-zirkle-and-allen-moore-reflect-on-their-mushing-careers-and-discuss-why-theyre-retiring-after-the-2021-iditarod/ Aliy Zirkle and Allen Moore reflect on their mushing careers and discuss why they’re retiring after the 2021 Iditarod
  6. https://apnews.com/article/sports-alaska-anchorage-coronavirus-pandemic-iditarod-trail-sled-dog-race-fe6ae0ca7b69d5af1a8f3e358a809403 Iditarod musher Zirkle suffers concussion, injuries in fall
  7. Web site: Aliy Zirkle - Musher Details - 2014 Iditarod - Iditarod. iditarod.com. 2016-03-08.