Robert Bundtzen

{{Infobox person | name = Robert Bundtzen | birth_name = Robert Bundtzen | birth_date = 1949 | birth_place = [[North Dakota]], [[U.S.]] | image = Robert Bundzen in his 12th Iditarod race (3417413316) (portrait).jpg | caption = Bundzen in 2009 | education = [[University of Alaska]]<br/>[[University of Washington]]<br>[[University of Wisconsin]] | occupation = Physician, dog musher | spouse = Dr. Joan Bundzten | children = 1 }} '''Robert Bundtzen''' (born 1949) is an American physician and [[Mushing|dog musher]] based in [[Anchorage, Alaska]].

== Early life == Bundzten was born in [[North Dakota]] in 1949. As a child he lived in [[New Mexico]] before his family relocated to [[Anderson, Alaska|Alaska]] in 1960. The family first lived in [[Fairbanks, Alaska]] and later moved to [[Anderson, Alaska|Anderson]]. There, the family of six lived in a mobile home while his father, an electrical engineer, worked to help to create the [[Ballistic Missile Early Warning System]] in [[Clear, Alaska|Clear]]. The town of Anderson was small; Bundtzen's school had only one room and the class had twelve pupils, three of whom were his siblings.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://news.uaf.edu/alumni-across-decades/|title=Alumni across the decades - UAF news and information|date=2017-07-17|work=UAF news and information|access-date=2017-12-26|language=en-US}}</ref> His mother was diagnosed with breast cancer during this time and after she died the family moved back to Fairbanks. Where he enrolled at the [[University of Alaska Fairbanks|University of Alaska]]. He later attended the [[University of Washington School of Medicine]], earning his [[Doctor of Medicine]] in 1975, and subsequently completed his [[Fellowship (medicine)|fellowship]] and [[Residency (medicine)|residency]], focusing on [[infectious diseases]], at the [[University of Wisconsin]] in 1978.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://alaskaregional.com/physicians/profile/Robert-W-Bundtzen-MD|title=Physician Detail|website=Alaska Regional Hospital|language=en-us|access-date=2017-12-26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://iditarod.com/race/2016/mushers/69-Robert-Bundtzen/|title=Robert Bundtzen - Musher Details - 2016 Iditarod - Iditarod|website=iditarod.com|date=13 January 2013 |access-date=2017-12-26}}</ref>

== Career as a dog musher == Though Bundzten first experimented with [[mushing]] in the '60s as a teenager growing up in Alaska, he did not take the sport seriously until the '90s. His competed in the [[Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race]] for the first time in 1995, taking 13 days, 9 hours, 55 minutes, and 9 seconds to complete the course and coming in 40th place. To date, his best time is 10 days, 15 hours, 25 minutes, and 15 seconds, a time he achieved in 2006, and his highest position was achieved in 1997, when he placed 27th.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://iditarod.com/race/mushers/69-Robert-Bundtzen/|title=Robert Bundtzen - Musher Career Summary - Race Archives - Iditarod|website=iditarod.com|date=13 January 2013 |access-date=2017-12-27}}</ref> According to the Iditarod's official website, he has won a combined total of $14,607.88 in prize money.

===Race history=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Position ! Time ([[hour|h]]:[[minute|min]]:[[second|s]]) |- |1995 |40th |13 days, 09:55:09 |- |1997 |27th |12 days, 01:32:43 |- |1999 |28th |12 days, 15:04:15 |- |2001 |31st |12 days, 15:38:43 |- |2002 |31st |11 days, 00:34:42 |- |2003 |28th |11 days, 15:18:54 |- |2004 |38th |11 days, 06:53:00 |- |2005 |39th |11 days, 18:45:30 |- |2006 |30th |10 days, 15:25:15 |- |2007 |43rd |12 days, 14:21:17 |- |2008 |35th |11 days, 05:58:45 |- |2009 |34th |12 days, 13:24:30 |- |2014 |42nd |11 days, 20:23:18 |- |2016 |54th |11 days, 08:10:25 |}

== Personal life == Bundtzen is married to Joan Bundzten (b. c. 1948), a [[Chemical pathology|chemical pathologist]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.healthgrades.com/physician/dr-joan-bundtzen-w9qqv|title=Dr. Joan Bundtzen, MD - Anchorage, AK - Chemical Pathology {{!}} Healthgrades.com|website=www.healthgrades.com|language=en|access-date=2017-12-26}}</ref> They have a son and two grandsons.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://meghanlhbundtzen.wordpress.com/news-credentials/who-i-am-quien-soy/|title=Who I am. Quien soy.|date=2017-09-03|work=meghanlhbundtzen|access-date=2017-12-26|language=en-US}}</ref> Both he and his wife practice medicine in Anchorage. He has three siblings.

==References== <references />

==External links== {{commons category|Robert Bundtzen}} * {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071222062453/http://www.cabelasiditarod.com/mushers/bundtzenr.html |date=December 22, 2007 |title="Iditarod Musher Biography: Robert W. Bundtzen" }} ''Cabela'' 2007 * [http://iditarod.com/race/mushers/69-Robert-Bundtzen/ "Complete Musher Summary - Bundtzen, Robert"] Iditarod Race Archives

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bundtzen, Robert}} [[Category:1949 births]] [[Category:Dog mushers from Alaska]] [[Category:Sportspeople from Anchorage, Alaska]] [[Category:People from North Dakota]] [[Category:Living people]]