In 1990, she also won Europe's largest dog sled race, the Alpirod, across Italy, Austria, and France.
After high school he joined the U.S. Navy then went to the University of Washington before returning to Alaska and married his wife, Cathy.
[7] Kami is a respectful Japanese term for sacred spirits,[8] and Brooks chose the name to symbolize the importance of his family.
Brooks has visited schools as a motivational speaker since 1993, participates in Mush for Kids since 1997, and from 2003 has been a trustee of the Alaskan Children's Trust.
As a result, he began working with the Alaska Mental Health Trust in 2005, in an attempt to reduce the extraordinarily high rate of suicide among Native Alaskans.
[9] Brooks won his first race, the single-dog Junior North American Championship, when he was four years old, with his dog Sam.
[10] After two family deaths less than 10 days before the 1998 race and recurrent dog problems,[13] he completed his worst finish in 1998.
[17] In 1999, he won the race from Fairbanks, Alaska, to Whitehorse, Yukon, with a time of 11 days, 7 hours, and 31 minutes.
[19] Brooks has also raced in the Kuskokwim 300, Copper Basin 300, Tour de Minto, Fire Plug Stakes, Sheep Creek Classic, and Henry Hahn 200.
Brooks denies the more serious allegations,[21] but acknowledged "spanking" the dogs in his team with a trail marking lath.