About us
How it all began ...
We are a young family; myself Ben Voigt, my partner Katarina Walther and our kids Ronja & Anved, along with our 35 Alaskan huskies. It was in 2007 that Katarina and I first came to Langfjordbotn in Northern Norway.
Being great nature and dog lovers from an early age, we have both spent a lot of time outdoors. As avid followers of everything Scandinavian the ‘Friluftsliv Culture' of the Norwegians led us to Alta in Finnmark, where we were eager to experience this culture as students for one year.
During our studies we worked as handlers on a diary farm that also ran huskies in Langfjordbotn, and where we have now made our home. We soon fell in love with the dogs, the life in the countryside and the wild, rough northern Norwegian nature. A return to our old residence in Berlin was now out of the question.
As dog lovers spending so much time with these Alaskans in the nature, they certainly provided a fascination, so the two of us with a dream of having our own pack was born and a life without sled dogs is now difficult to imagine.
Finally, our own home ...
Could it have just been luck that we could buy an old farm in Langfjordbotn 2010, where we could start with our own dogs? It took a lot of time and energy with help from family and friends for our husky yard to develop. Starting with ten Alaskan Huskies that we could call our own, we founded a racing kennel. We could then call ourselvs ‘mushers’ or ‘dog drivers’.
Since our initial success a lot has happened, ten dogs have become 35 achieving many successful placements during Finnmarksløpet and smaller races providing a hunger to do more. Today, we are a medium sized racing kennel having recently completed the Finnmarksløpet 1000km (Europe’s longest and the Worlds Northernmost Sled Dog Race.
The ‘outdoor life’ that originally brought us to Norway, is now an instrumental theme together with our tour experiences and our four-legged friends, creates unparalleled memories of long distance races as well as ice fishing during the midnight sun.
It is this interaction between human and dog connecting to the nature that provides the setting for the spirit we want to bring to our guests.
Dre Langefeld...
…has been our dedicated handler since 2016. She is originally from North Carolina but moved to Alaska during college and started working with sled dogs. She has worked in several kennels, building her skills as a handler, musher, and guide. By coincidence and a translation error, Dre fortunately landed at Vidda Runners. Her passion for dogs and hard work ethic have made her an important part of our team. In recognition of he good work, Dre was allowed to run Finnmarkslopet 600km in 2018 with a team of our younger dogs. Through training and hard work she was able to bring the team to an impressive 5th place finish and was also crowed with the Best Dog Care Award.
