Originally from the small town of Red Wing Minnesota, Anna grew up on the shores of the Mississippi River. Starting at a very young age she felt most alive when spending time outside and enjoyed canoeing, backpacking, and simply adventuring for hours in the woods behind her house. 

 

Anna graduated from college in 2013 and after working as a nurse in Iowa for three years, she moved home to her beloved northern Minnesota where she found herself on the runners of a dogsled for the first time! This life changing moment started her relentless pursuit of dog mushing. 

 

The next few winters she worked with sled dogs in both Minnesota and Alaska by guiding dog sled trips and sharing her newfound love of mushing with others. From 2018 to 2021 she worked and trained with Sawtooth Racing, a kennel owned by good friends in Grand Marais Minnesota. 

 

Always dreaming about someday running the Iditarod, Anna decided to make the dream a reality and moved to Alaska in 2022 to race and train for Iditarod with Kathy Frederick’s kennel, Shameless Huskies! Together with many incredible Alaskan Husky athletes, Anna completed her mid-distance Iditarod qualifying races in January of 2023. Anna and a team of fourteen dogs will run the Iditarod in 2024! 

 

When not training and racing dogs, Anna works as an ER nurse and wilderness guide leading expeditions for teens and fostering the adventurous spirit, resilience, and self-empowerment for other young women that she herself learned from years of outdoor pursuits. 

 

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Anna Hennessy Race History

Willow 300 - 8th place, 2023

Copper Basin 300 - 11th place, 2023

Knik 200 - 17th place, 2023

Gunflint Mail Run - 5th place, 2022

Wolf Track Classic - 4th place, 2021