Free Republic

Thomas Waerner, a 46-year-old Norwegian, has claimed his first Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race victory. Waerner made the winner's march up Front Street and arrived at the famed burled arch Wednesday at 12:37 a.m. with 10 dogs. He finished the race in 9 days, 10 hours and 37 minutes. Waerner was a clear leader early on in the race. The only true mystery was how big the margin of victory would be. He took hold of the race in Unalakleet, putting the rearview mirror and the rest of the field away. As far back as Cripple, 550 miles from Nome,...

ANCHORAGE (KTUU) - Veteran Iditarod musher Aaron Peck, wearing bib no. 36 scratched at the Shaktoolik checkpoint Monday afternoon. According to the Iditarod's public relations team, Peck scratched at the Shaktoolik checkpoint - which was relocated to Old Shaktoolik - at around 3:50 p.m. Peck, of Grand Prairie, Alberta, Canada, reportedly made the decision to scratch "in the best interest of his race team." He and his dogs will be flown back to the Unalakleet checkpoint.

ANCHORAGE (KTUU) - UPDATE: 3/17, 11:26 a.m. Veteran Iditarod mushers Anna Berington and Kristy Berington have both scratched at the Unalakleet checkpoint. The Beringtons made the decision to scratch due to a death in the family and for the good of their race team. Anna Berington had eight dogs in harness at the time she made the decision to scratch. Kristy Berington had 10 dogs in harness at the time she made the decision to scratch. Original Story Veteran Iditarod musher Larry Daugherty scratched at 12:42 a.m. Tuesday at the Kaltag checkpoint. Daugherty had 13 dogs in harness at the...

NCHORAGE (KTUU) - Update: 3/16, 10:46 a.m. Waerner is the first to check into Koyuk. He checked in at 9:30 a.m. Original Story Norwegian musher Thomas Waerner is currently in the lead to the Koyuk Checkpoint.

Raymie Redington, 75, has three children who have run the Iditarod, which is a pretty great track record. But his dog Bison, 8, definitely has him beat. Bison is one of Alaska’s most popular stud dogs, with litters of pups in at least 12 Iditarod mushers’ kennels, including those of three former champions. Several of his pups are running in this year’s race, Redington said. How did this dashingly handsome athlete — “all heart,” as Redington called him — become mushing’s most eligible bachelor? The answer is a combination of genes, timing, a sportwide trend toward traditionalism and a very...

On Friday, the Iditarod announced that mushers would not be stopping in the village of Shaktoolik, a key source of shelter along the notoriously stormy Norton Sound, and would instead pick up their drop bags and straw at a hospitality stop outside town — without shelter, water, food or volunteers. The village had voted that, in light of the spread of COVID-19, they didn’t want outsiders coming in at this time. They have to protect their elders, and other vulnerable people, from the risk of infection. The decision was not made lightly. A century ago, the Spanish influenza epidemic left...

Iditarod - a song parody If Brian Wilson and Mike Love had written a song about the annual 1000-mile dogsled race in Alaska, it may have sounded like this. Massive apologies to the Beach Boys!

Here are five things to know on Sunday, Day 8 of the 2020 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race: 1. Race Outlook: Weather & checkpoint changes present new obstacles Weather and checkpoint changes are obstacles facing mushers on the trail. Snow and warm temperatures are slowing every team down, while changes in checkpoint availability due to concerns over the novel coronavirus are forcing some mushers to deviate from their race plans. As for leaders, the coast is still between their teams and Nome. It's not time for bold moves yet. Front-runners just want to stay within striking distance. 2. Race Forecast:...

Under steady snowfall at the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race restart in Willow last Sunday, veteran musher Matthew Failor's dog, Cool Cat, snuggled inside his warm trailer. "She's kind of my spirit animal," Failor said, before giving her a pre-race kiss. He said he was excited about racing to Nome with Cool Cat this year. He wanted to bring her last year, but she was pregnant with a litter of puppies during the 2019 Iditarod. At 9 years old, Failor said Cool Cat is the "matriarch" of his kennel. She's a good lead dog, but she's also like a pet...

Two Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race mushers have scratched at the Galena checkpoint. Veteran musher Linwood Fiedler, of Willow, scratched at 1 p.m. Saturday. Rookie musher Martin Massicotte, of Canada, scratched at 5:58 p.m. A release from the Iditarod said both mushers chose to scratch in the best interest of their race teams. At the checkpoint, Fiedler told KTVA's Heather Hintze that there were cascading issues with his team's health. Massicotte said the weather was too warm. Fiedler had 14 dogs in harness when he decided to scratch, while Massicotte had nine. As of Saturday evening, six mushers have scratched...

When mushers arrive in Ruby, it marks the beginning of the journey on the Yukon River. The first musher to reach that milestone is treated to a five-course meal and other prizes. Jessie Royer won that award and shared her meal with other front-runners.

CRIPPLE — As the world grapples with whatever new reality the coronavirus is bringing, a few dozen people racing through Alaska’s Interior find themselves insulated from the chaos. They’re the mushers competing in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. As they mushed along, watching for moose and changing out dog booties, professional sports leagues suspended seasons, gatherings of even a few hundred people were banned in some of the country’s most populated cities. The stock market took a historic dive. Yet, on the Iditarod Trail, you’d have no idea. In Takotna on Wednesday night, people weren’t huddled around a TV...

NIKOLAI — Most mushers plan for a year, at least, to run the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. John Schandelmeier had an hour. Schandelmeier said Wednesday morning in the frigid cold at the Nikolai checkpoint that he no longer has the burning desire to race sled dogs. To him, there would be no difference in finishing or winning the Red Lantern, the prize for the last musher to cross the finish line in Nome. Schandelmeier was a last-minute substitute for his wife, Zoya DeNure, who withdrew from the race just before the restart in Willow because of a heart condition....

UNALAKLEET — The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is continuing as of Friday night despite growing concerns about the potential spread of the novel coronavirus. Events surrounding the finish in Nome have been canceled, and the race is taking additional steps to protect racers and communities along the trail as mushers progress through the second half of the race. “We have been taking the normal precautions that everyone should be taking,” race marshal Mark Nordman said Friday at the Unalakleet airport. Nordman said the race has been in communication with Dr. Anne Zink, the state’s chief medical officer. The first...

GRAND PORTAGE, Minn. – The 36th Annual John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon has a winner. Alaska native and 2018 Beargrease Marathon winner Ryan Redington crossed the finish line at 4:35 p.m. Tuesday to become the 2020 Beargrease Marathon champion. Keith Aili came in second place at 4:50 p.m. This year 14 teams kicked off the race on Sunday morning at Billy’s Bar in Duluth. They will be crossing the finish line at the Grand Portage Lodge and Casino. You can follow the rest of the race by visiting the Beargrease marathon tracking page on their website.

GREAT FALLS— Brett Bruggeman is a Great Falls dentist who specializes in root canals. But, what may come as a surprise, is that he owns 36 sled dogs and is a musher who competes in sled dog races. Brett and his son, Spencer, coincidentally were both reading books about sled dogs at the same time about seven years ago. Spencer, being born with a birth defect in his right leg, left him unable to do traditional sports. After reading these books on sled dogs, they both realized they wanted to start a sled dog team. This is when Skinny Leg...

FAIRBANKS - Mike Davis lives in Oklahoma, but he travels to Alaska all the time to work with our greatest athletes. “I’m up here about once a month, about half around Anchorage and half around Fairbanks,” the Oklahoma State University veterinarian and exercise physiologist said on the phone from Wasilla. “If I could settle on a single address, I could get a Permanent Fund dividend.” Davis was in Wasilla for the start of the Iditarod. There, he cheered on Aliy Zirkle, Martin Buser, Jake Berkowitz, Rick Swenson and other mushers who over the years have entrusted Davis to take blood...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The streets of downtown Anchorage were filled with barking dogs and screaming fans Saturday as the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race got under way with a rollicking sprint through Alaska's biggest city. The ceremonial start of the world's longest sled dog race is always a festive affair in which one of the city's main streets becomes crowded with dog teams and people seeking to greet their favorite mushers and bid them good luck in the 1,150-mile race to Nome.

The end of the trail is near for Isobel. The nine-year-old Siberian husky-malamute cross will retire in January, five years after she lost her sight. In January 2005, veterinarians told her owners, Gerald and Jenofar Azure of Churchill, that Isobel couldn't work as a sled dog ever again due to blindness from a virus. Isobel, however, had other ideas. "Isobel went absolutely wild, she wanted to run," recalled Jenofar Azure. The dog's story is one of incredible heart that has caught international attention. NBC will air a feature about Isobel during its 2010 Winter Olympics coverage. Tourists come to Churchill...

This is an 18 miute video/narrative/interview of the champion teams and mushers that sets the stage for this year's race. It is VERY GOOD.