Aaron Peck first raced the Iditarod trail in Alaska at age 20. (Zoe Todd/CBC) - Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 
Grande Prairie dog sledder taking on Iditarod race
An Alberta man is training to compete in the Iditarod, a multi-day dog sled race that spans 1,600 kilometres across Alaska.
Aaron Peck trains up to six hours a day, four days a week, mushing his team of eight huskies across farmers' fields around Grande Prairie, Alta.
No Canadian has ever won the historic Anchorage-to-Nome race, which started in the 1970s as a way to preserve the fading sled dog culture.
Peck wants to be the first.
"It's a lofty goal," Peck said. "And to even say it out loud, I don't know if that jinxes me or makes me crazy, but it's been a dream of mine since I was a boy."
Peck started mushing at age 13, after watching the Iditarod on TV.
"It caught my imagination," he said. "The allure of travelling across Alaska with your dogs fascinated me."
In 2000, Peck completed the Iditarod for the first time.
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