Yukon's Michelle Phillips, who will set off this weekend to run the Iditarod, has lost track of how many times she's competed in the world's most famous sled dog race.

"My ninth, possibly? Tenth? I don't know, they all go together," she said.

"It's a special thing to travel 1,000 miles with your dog team. The Iditarod is pretty much the Olympics of mushing — so, putting yourself against the best in the world."

According to the Iditarod race archives, this will in fact be Phillips' ninth race. And it will be the first since her best-ever showing — she came 13th last year, winning $23,798.

She's one of seven Canadian mushers in this year's Iditarod. Three others are from Yukon (Magnus Kaltenborn, Rob Cooke, and Marcelle Fressineau), and the rest are from B.C. (Peter Fleck), Alberta (Aaron Peck), and Nova Scotia (Bradley Farquhar).

Phillips, who has a kennel near Tagish, Yukon, with her partner Ed Hopkins — also an accomplished musher — says she simply loves the the challenge, the solitude, and the beautiful scenery of the trail. For her, competition is almost beside the point.

"I figure a 1,000-mile race is actually more about you racing yourself ... The main thing is to focus on your own dogs and your own team, and what's in front of you and not your competition," she said.

"It can go either way at any time."

The Iditarod has been dogged by trouble this year — a dog doping scandal, the loss of a major sponsor, and growing pressure from animal rights activists. (Nathaniel Wilder/Reuters)

'Not here for the money'

The Iditarod has been dogged by trouble this year — a dog doping scandal, the loss of a major sponsor, and growing pressure from animal rights activists who say the dogs are over-worked.

Phillips says she's not bothered.

"We ignore all that and we just head out on the trail, and we're with our buddies — that's the main thing," she said.

"I think dog mushers would race for a bag of dog food ... we're obviously not here for the money, so it's a celebration of our dogs, and the trail, and just being out there in the wilderness and enjoying the time with them."

Race officials have said the trail looks to be in optimal condition this year. Phillips said this week from Willow, Alaska, that she hadn't seen so much snow in years.

"We're all ready to roll," she said.

The race will begin Saturday with the customary ceremonial start in Anchorage, but the competitive portion begins Sunday north of Anchorage.