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 nose by a stranger, a mandatory COVID-19 testing precaution for every musher coming into McGrath. Even with a foreign object swirling halfway up his nasal cavity, cameras and questions hovered around him like mosquitoes in June.