Thomas Wærner is a professional long-distance dog musher and dog breeder. Born in 1973, Thomas grew up in Norway’s capital city of Oslo. At the tender age of 11, his imagination ran wild at the thought of winning the illustrious Iditarod race. Also known as the “Last Great Race,” this annual long-distance dogsledding competition runs nearly 1,000 miles from Anchorage to Nome through dense forests, desolate tundra and jagged mountain ranges at below zero conditions. As a freshman, Thomas ran the Iditarod in 1995 finishing 17th-place to claim rookie of the year honors. In 1999, he went on to win both the Femund race as well as the Finnmark race—the longest dog-sled race in Europe—within the same year and realized his childhood dream the following season when he won the Iditarod. When Thomas is not training his canine companions, he enjoys running Berserk kennel with his veterinarian wife, Guro, in Synnfjell, Norway.