Iditarod

With closing kick, Dan Seavey joins son, Iditarod champ grandson in Nome

All three generations of Seavey are across the finish line of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

Seventy-four-year-old Dan Seavey, the third-place musher in the inaugural Iditarod of 1973, slipped under the burled arch on Nome's Front Street a little after 10 a.m. Sunday, to the cheers of his son Mitch (seventh place), grandson Dallas (champion) and a small crowd that had gathered to welcome him to the Gold Rush city. Although Dan was 51st out of 53 mushers likely to finish – the last two, Bob Chlupach and Jan Steves, hadn't left White Mountain yet – he reached Nome in plenty of time for Sunday night's banquet.

"Good job," said Race Marshall Mark Nordman, shaking Seavey's hand at the finish line. "You represented us well."

Dan Seavey finished in 13 days, 19 hours, 10 minutes -- a time faster that 10 of the 40 Iditarod champions.

"Nome looks pretty good most of the time, but it never looked better," Dan Seavey told Iditarod Insider on the race's website. "It was a beautiful morning out on Cape (Nome) with the sun coming up. It was reminiscent of the first time, way back in 1973, when I rounded the Cape and saw the lights of Nome for the very first time. It's a thrill. I finished in about a week less time than the first time, too."

Dan's first Iditarod required 20 days, 14 hours, 35 minutes. A year later, he was nearly two days slower.

While grandson Dallas may remind the eldest Seavey he completed the 1,000-mile trip more than four days quicker, that line of friendly gibing will only go so far.

ADVERTISEMENT

Apparently waiting to unleash his fearsome kick, Dan Seavey covered the 22 miles from the final checkpoint in Safety to Nome in 3 hours, 12 minutes – 25 minutes faster than the champion and five minutes faster than his son. Those slowpokes.

Dan was happy his grandson had found speed somewhere along the Iditarod Trail from Willow to Nome. "Since somebody had to be a champion and come in first, it might just as well be a Seavey as anybody," he told Iditarod Insider.

Contact Mike Campbell at mcampbell(at)alaskadispatch.com

Mike Campbell

Mike Campbell was a longtime editor for Alaska Dispatch News, and before that, the Anchorage Daily News.

ADVERTISEMENT