Martin Buser is a champion of sled dog racing. Martin Buser began mushing at age seventeen in Switzerland. In 1979, Buser moved to Alaska to train and raise sled dogs full-time. His training operation, Happy Trails Kennels, is located in Big Lake, Alaska. He entered his first Iditarod in 1980, and has run every race since 1986, his third Iditarod. In thirty Iditarods, Buser has won the event four times, in 1992, 1994, 1997, and 2002. On sixteen occasions, he has finished among the top ten finishers. He is the runner-up for fastest finish time in Iditarod history; his team completed the 2002 race in 8 days, 22 hours, 46 minutes, and 2 seconds. He entered his first Yukon Quest in 2009 and finished in fourth place, earning him "Rookie of the Year." His sense of humor and positive outlook have made him a fan favorite. In 2008, he comically caused quite a stir among fans worldwide when he accidentally gave his GPS unit to a pilot who was transporting dogs and equipment to and from a checkpoint, when the race was first introducing GPS tracking on the racers so fans could follow their paths live. 

March 29th, 1958 in Winterthur (Age 66)