Iditarod Com News Today

Print article DESHKA LANDING — To prepare Sable the sled dog for long, cold nights on the Iditarod Trail, a vigorous plan was deployed by mushers Paige Drobny and Cody Strathe. “She slept outside one night,” Strathe said after the 10-year-old female helped pull him to a career-best 20th-place showing Tuesday in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Sable loves her people and her special status as a house dog at the couple’s Squid Acres Kennel in Cantwell. After Drobny and Strathe finish...

Print article Sheets hang over the windows to block out light at the Two Rivers home where Aliy Zirkle and Allen Moore live. Moore speaks to his wife in whispers, and Zirkle doesn’t go outside or online. Since crashing her sled and her skull on the ice last week in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, Zirkle has avoided light and sound because of a head injury. Tuesday was the first day she hasn’t vomited, Moore said early in the afternoon, and she still can’t lift an arm that was disloca...

Print article DESHKA LANDING — The 2021 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race marked Dallas Seavey’s return to the race he dominated the previous decade, and he came into it wanting to make a statement. He did exactly that with the laser-focus approach that made him a four-time champion before he turned 30. He ran a methodical race that left everyone chasing him and now, at age 34, he’s a five-time champion. Shortly after crossing the Deshka Landing finish line Monday morning to match Rick Swens...

Print article McGRATH — In the final big push of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race on Sunday, top competitors were leapfrogging one another, jockeying for a lead as they re-cross the Alaska Range. Aaron Burmeister passed four-time champion Dallas Seavey on Saturday afternoon, as the front-runner rested his dogs by Tin Creek, about two dozen miles from the Rohn checkpoint. “This is what we’ve been building up the team for the entire race. It’s taken a lot of patience but it’s the game plan...

Print article Things are heating up in an Iditarod that has dished out extreme cold in recent days. Aaron Burmeister and a full team of 14 dogs were the first to reach Rohn as the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race rushes to what could be a dramatic conclusion. Burmeister arrived at the Rohn checkpoint at 4:26 p.m. Saturday, but Dallas Seavey stole the lead while Burmeister was taking a break. The third musher to reached the checkpoint, Seavey left after six minutes. He’s on his way to Rainy Pa...

The four-time champion left the final checkpoint before the finish line at 8:44 p.m. Sunday. A win would match Rick Swenson’s record five championships.

UPDATE, 1 p.m. Friday: The two mushers who shared Gunnar Johnson’s tent in Nikolai had not been identified as of noon Friday, race officials said. Additionally, COVID-19 testing is being added to two more checkpoints on the return route -- Rainy Pass and Skwentna. In-bound mushers will also be tested in McGrath. Original story: Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race officials are trying to identify two mushers who shared a tent at a checkpoint with Gunnar Johnson, the Minnesota musher who was pull...

Deep snow and limited trail-breaking resources prompted the change.

As the Iditarod prepares to shift into reverse, mushers dread what’s ahead Wait 1 second to continue. OPHIR — Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race mushers are contending with an unprecedented situation this year, one that is stirring anxiety as racers ruminated during their 24-hour mandatory rests on Wednesday. For the first time, the Iditarod is following an out-and-back route. That means competitors now have a clear idea what’s in store when they go back over daunting sections of trail. �...

As the leader of the Iditarod pack in McGrath, Seavey draws a lot of attention — but his focus stays on his dogs Published March 9 Share on Facebook Print article McGRATH — Dallas Seavey pulled off the Kuskokwim River and into the checkpoint here at exactly 4 p.m. Tuesday. For the next hour and a half, he methodically worked through an elaborate set of essential chores with the kind of focus that he’s hoping will win him a fifth Iditarod title. It began with a swab jabbed up his no...