'); } -->
DAY 18
An apparent bid by two mushers to win the Red Lantern as the last finisher in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race ended Tuesday when rookie. Glenn Lockwood crossed the finish line in Nome
DAY 17
Sorensen fights through adversity to win race honor
The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race started horribly for 47-year-old Norwegian Tove Sorensen but ended marvelously on Sunday when she learned the other competitors in the 1,100-mile adventure across Alaska had voted her the winner of the Chevron Most Inspirational Musher Award.
DAY 4
Mushers blown out by high winds
If scratching and being stranded with a team of 16 dogs for two days here at Rainy Pass Lodge wasn't difficult enough for Iditarod musher Lori Townsend of Willow, Wednesday's hurricanelike winds amplified her frustrations.
Burns leave musher resolute, looking to future
Second and third degree burns charred Jerry Riley's face. His right eye swelled shut. Some of his clothes had melted to his body. The musher seems perpetually composed, whether he's fighting his way through a ground blizzard on the Iditarod or fighting off the pain of a serious burn. The fire scalded his features, but not his hope of fielding another competitive dog team this season.
When the 34th annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race starts in early March, more than 70 mushers and hundreds of sled dogs will begin the challenging 1,100-mile race to Nome.
Plucky global walker lugs sled over Iditarod Trail to promote charities
rmed with guts and determination, Rosie Swale Pope set out along the Iditarod Trail from White Mountain on Dec. 9 in the same way she has set out from so many remote communities since leaving the United Kingdom two years ago to hike around the globe:
Iditarod moves race restart to Willow
Despite forecasts of snow for Wasilla this weekend, the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Friday pulled the plug on the scheduled March 5 restart of its race there.
DAY 5
Swingley not worried about King
With a 60-mile push across the Interior from Ophir to Cripple, Jeff King snatched the lead in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Thursday afternoon, but a cocky Doug Swingley didn't seem all that worried.
DAY 9
Fresh off a 50-mile run across frozen Norton Sound, the dog team of Paul Gebhardt pulled into this checkpoint on the Bering Sea Coast on Monday in third place just hours behind the race leaders, Jeff King and Doug Swingley. The Kasilof musher wiped tiny icicles from his mustache.
DAY 15
Dutch Iditarod musher told to get off the trail
The slow pace of rookie musher Ben Valks got him booted from the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Saturday.
DAY 13
Despite strong start, Currier's Iditarod hopes stopped in dogs' tracks
For 45-year-old, college-educated dog musher Judy Currier, the 2006 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race turned painfully from the best of times to the worst of times on Thursday.
DAY 12
Top 30 Iditarod finishers already into Nome
The top 30 mushers in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race were already into Nome and across the finish line Thursday morning, swapping stories about their adventures competing in the longest sled dog race in the world.
DAY 13
Despite strong start, Currier's Iditarod hopes stopped in dogs' tracks
For 45-year-old, college-educated dog musher Judy Currier, the 2006 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race turned painfully from the best of times to the worst of times on Thursday.
DAY 5
Swingley not worried about King
With a 60-mile push across the Interior from Ophir to Cripple, Jeff King snatched the lead in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Thursday afternoon, but a cocky Doug Swingley didn't seem all that worried.
DAY 15
Dutch Iditarod musher told to get off the trail
The slow pace of rookie musher Ben Valks got him booted from the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Saturday.
DAY 11
The extra rest Montana musher Doug Swingley gave his fading dog team along the Bering Sea coast on Tuesday allowed Jeff King from Denali Park to coast to a fourth Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race victory early Wednesday morning.
DAY 6
Hazard in middle of trail leaves sleds battered and broken
Lucky ones solve trail difficulties while others get stumped.
CEREMONIAL START
From the helicopters over downtown Anchorage to the crowds swarming the streets, it's clear Iditarod is the new Anchorage Fur Rondy Championships.
DAY 2
Iditarod leaders leave Rainy Pass
As Iditarod mushers Robert Bundtzen and Bryan Bearss headed for this checkpoint high in the Alaska Range on Monday, Iditarod veteran Zack Steer poured himself a cup, took a slurp and settled back to watch the progress of his dogs via the internet.
DAY 4
Mushers blown out by high winds
If scratching and being stranded with a team of 16 dogs for two days here at Rainy Pass Lodge wasn't difficult enough for Iditarod musher Lori Townsend of Willow, Wednesday's hurricanelike winds amplified her frustrations.
DAY 17
Sorensen fights through adversity to win race honor
The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race started horribly for 47-year-old Norwegian Tove Sorensen but ended marvelously on Sunday when she learned the other competitors in the 1,100-mile adventure across Alaska had voted her the winner of the Chevron Most Inspirational Musher Award.
Follow the mushers along the Iditarod trail's northern route, with live standings at each checkpoint.
Check out the The Last Great Race from the fans' perspective as readers post photos from every checkpoint along the Iditarod trail.
Armchair Musher: Sebastian Schnuelle
Musher Sebastian Schuelle will be following this year's Iditarod on snowmachine and writing about it for the ADN.
Follow the news and notes leading up to the Iditarod and, after the race begins, live from the trail.
Latest posts
Seavey on why he sued: 'I feel like I'm doing the right thing' 5/22 5:14 PM
Jonrowe wins dog care award; Mackey honored for sportsmanship 3/18 9:44 PM
Happy trails 3/16 2:47 PM
Third-place Ramey Smyth: 'I almost didn't get to the start line' 3/16 7:15 AM
Meet the Sled Dogs: Colleen & Penny 3/15 7:09 PM
Iditarod champion Dallas Seavey greets Aliy Zirkle in Nome after she finished in second place, an hour behind Seavey.
Happy mushers make for happy dogs. And vice versa, Iditarod racers say. Iditarod musher Brent Sass and Armchair Musher Sebastian Schnuelle explain it.
Race leaders Aliy Zirkle and Dallas Seavey talk about their race strategy in the last half of the Iditarod.
Scott Janssen's dog Marshall, who was resuscitated by Janssen on the trail, has a homecoming in Anchorage.
While resting at the Takotna checkpoint, 2011 Iditarod champion John Baker talks about whether Aliy Zirkle could win the race, what fans should make of the pace and how you might catch him dancing to 80s music on the dog sled.
Iditarod rookie Matt Failor was the last musher to leave the Skwentna checkpoint on Monday morning. Failor, from Mansfield, Ohio, explains why it's all part of the plan and why doesn't expect to stay in last place for long.
Sign-up for the Iditarod newsletter to receive "Postcards from the Trail," archived images sent out in the weeks leading up to the ceremonial start, and then our twice-daily updates during the race.
AnchorageShowers 50° (50°/47°)
Skwentna Mostly cloudy 50° (55°/39°)
McGrath Partly sunny 61° (61°/36°)
Kaltag Mostly cloudy 58° (61°/34°)
Unalakleet Cloudy 32° (36°/27°)
Nome Partly sunny 47° (46°/34°)
Mushing's 1st family Mackeys pile on the victories
Scdoris finishes Iditarod 34, despite tussle with tree
Legally blind musher gets a new guide
Iditarod's allure stifles growth of sprint races
Iditarod will bomb trail to ease avalanche risks
Nome sends four teams to starting line of the Junior Iditarod
At isolated Cripple, mushers battle fatigue
The 260-mile sprint to the Nome finish line begins
Iditarod dog death under investigation
Vets warn mushers about canine flu
Wasilla will enjoy Iditarod Days without the race
Taking Iditarod to the top of the world wide web
Elbow-deep in slime, musher gets stinking rich in fish heads
Fur Rendezvous festival combines old favorites, new twists in '06 (11-25-2005)
Join Iditarod mushers on a dog-sled ride into Alaska wilderness (11-25-2005)
Anderson racks up early mushing victory
Volunteer triggered avalanche at Pass Creek