Iditarod 37
SLED BLOG
The top 30 mushers in this year's Iditarod will split a combined purse of roughly $550,000, the race director said Thursday.
Moore edges Mackey, Neff for Yukon Quest halfway gold
Allen Moore of Two Rivers won a duel with Lance Mackey and Hugh Neff late Wednesday to become the first musher to reach Dawson, the halfway point of the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race.
Mackey leads Yukon Quest by a minute
Four-time champions Lance Mackey grabbed a narrow lead Tuesday in the 1,000-mile sled dog race between Fairbanks and Whitehorse, Yukon.
FAA grounds Quest's volunteer air force
The Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race is without its volunteer air force program this year. Officials learned three weeks ago that the group of volunteer pilots who fly to areas of trail inaccessible by other means during the race was not conforming to Federal Aviation Administration regulations.
Neff, Sass separated by minutes in Yukon Quest
The unforgiving Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race claimed its first casualty while veteran contenders Hugh Neff and Brent Sass appeared to be turning the dog race into a dogfight as the leaders began the long run to Eagle and the Canadian border late Monday night.
Iditarod Trail will be a little tamer for this year's race
Feared by rookie mushers and respected by veterans, the Happy River Steps live in Iditarod Trail infamy as a place of busted sleds and broken bones. This year, for the first time, the Last Great Race will bypass the Steps.
Andy Baker was elected president of the Iditarod Trail Committee's board of directors over the weekend.
Seats on Iditarod sleds are open for bidding
Anyone who ever dreamed of hopping into their favorite musher's sled at the start of the Iditarod can start bidding in the Idita-rider musher auction.
6 Iditarod champions headline sign-up list for 2012 race
Look for an ultra-competitive Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in March. Headlining the group of returning past champs is Kotzebue's John Baker, who blazed 1,000 miles in record time this year to become the first Inupiat Eskimo Iditarod champion.
The mid-distance mushing season kicks off today with a pair of races -- the Sheep Mountain 150 and the Alaska Excursion 120.
The Iditarod Trail Committee on Thursday said tests conducted on the first 40 race finishers came back with no sign of drug use.
Raw video: Iditarod champs John Baker and Lance Mackey
How did Kotzebue musher John Baker win the 2011 Iditarod with record speed? Will he be back next year? And how does the sport's most outspoken heavyweight feel about missing an unprecedented fifth-straight win?
TUESDAY, MARCH 22
Videos: Kotzebue gives hero's welcome to Iditarod champ Baker
Iditarod champion John Baker got the royal treatment from Kotzebue residents upon his return home Monday. He was taken from the airport to the school in a motorcade, and his speech was followed by traditional drumming and dancing.
Mushing couple wins sportsmanship, humanitarian awards
For many dog mushing kennels, earning an honor at the Iditarod's post-race banquet is a once-in-a-lifetime thrill. But on Sunday, Allen Moore and wife Aliy Zirkle of Skunk's Place Kennel in Two Rivers earned two of the race's most coveted awards.
Wasilla musher collects her second Iditarod red lantern
Ellen Halverson of Wasilla became the only repeat Red Lantern winner in the history of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Sunday morning.
2011 IDITAROD: DAY TWELVE
Village mushers and women finished strong this year
Led by champion John Baker of Kotzebue, the 2011 Iditarod saw a resurgence of mushers who live off the road system. Women also had one of their best years.
Mackey's winning streak ends, but he's reloading for 2012
Lance Mackey has already set his sights on the 2012 Iditarod but admits it won't be easy to win for a fifth time. "When Rick Swenson got five (wins) there was five or six guys you had to beat. (Now) there's 20 people you have to beat," Mackey said Wednesday after finishing 16th.
Video: Mackey in Nome: "I'll be back"
Video: Baker one day after winning Iditarod
When John Baker from Kotzebue mushed down Front Street in Nome yesterday to complete his record-breaking run in the Iditarod, the sounds of Native drummers filled the celebration. One day later he talks about his reaction to the scene, and what it means to win his first Iditarod after 16 years of top finishes.
2011 IDITAROD: DAY TEN - BAKER WINS IDITAROD 39
How John Baker finally won the Iditarod
Willow musher Ramey Smyth arrived at the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race finish line Tuesday morning in Nome in record time. On his birthday. With just five hours of sleep in the previous six days. This is what Iditarod legends are made of. And it still wasn't enough to beat John Baker.
Photos: John Baker's Iditarod run
Photos: Day 11 | Day 10 | More
Video: Baker after winning the Iditarod
Story: Long a top contender, Baker finally wins the Iditarod
Get ready for the new guard of elite racers
Video: Ramey Smyth on trying to catch Baker
Video: The scene after Baker's victory
When Kotzebue musher and Inupiaq native John Baker made the final run of his record-breaking Iditarod up Front Street in Nome, he was greeted by Native drummers and a sense of history.
Video: Baker under the burled arch after winning Iditarod 39
Kotzebue musher John Baker, flanked by his lead dogs adorned in yellow roses, talks about his mindset throughout the race, and his confidence in his team.
Long a top contender, Baker finally wins the Iditarod
To the sound of Native drummers and cheering fans, John Baker and his record-setting huskies claimed victory in the 39th Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race this morning in Nome, ending Lance Mackey's string of four victories and securing the first win by a Northwestern Alaska musher in the 1,000-mile race across Alaska.
Video: Ramey Smyth on trying to catch Baker
Willow musher Ramey Smyth broke Martin Buser's previous record for finishing the Iditarod this year. Unfortunately John Baker broke it first, leaving Smyth in second place, his best Iditarod finish.
2011 IDITAROD: DAY NINE
Baker, Smyth on homestretch to Nome
John Baker dropped one dog, then drove the remaining 10 out of White Mountain at 12:04 a.m. today starting the last 77-mile sprint to Nome. In second place Ramey Smyth was to give chase 51 minutes later but hadn’t been reported out by 1:30 a.m. The trip normally takes 9 to 10 hours or so, making a finish likely between 9 and 10:30 this morning.
History suggests Baker will be challenged
Photos: Day 11 | Day 10 | More
Emily's mission: Dispensing the famous Nome serum
History suggests Baker will be challenged
Iditarod fans looking to compare how John Baker and Ramey Smyth match up mano-a-mano don't have to reach deep into Iditarod history.
Baker, Smyth wait to make the last dash
Just 51 minutes will separate leader John Baker from chaser Ramey Smyth when the two return to the Iditarod trail between midnight and 1 a.m. Tuesday after a final eight-hour rest in White Mountain.
Photos: Day 11 | Day 10 | More
Emily's mission: Dispensing the famous Nome serum
Cheers greet Baker in White Mountain
Meet the Sled Dogs: Scruggs (Allen Moore)
Four-time champ Mackey tells it like it is
Cheers greet Baker in White Mountain
Kotzebue's John Baker pulled into White Mountain at 4:03 p.m. Monday to a rousing reception. Ramey Smyth of Willow pulled into White Mountain at 4:54 p.m., setting up a sprint to the finish line when the mushers finish their layovers between midnight and 1 a.m. They'll leave White Mountain 51 minutes apart.
Can Smyth catch Baker on the Iditarod homestretch?
For Ramey Smyth, the Iditarod has become a game of follow the leader. Taking no rest in Shaktoolik and pausing for little more than two hours in Koyuk, second-place Smyth today said his only chance to catch leader John Baker is to react when Baker acts.
Emily's mission: Dispensing the famous Nome serum
A traveling nurse from Montana who has been working at Providence Medical Center this winter, thinks the public should know about the frontier medicine women who dispensed that famous diphtheria serum. And what better time than right now during the 2011 Iditarod and Women's History Month?
Rookie Musher Brennan Norden, 37 of Kasilof, scratched at 2:38 p.m. Monday in Shageluk. Norden was running last when he scratched.
Meet the Sled Dogs: Allen and Scruggs
Allen Moore's dog Scruggs can barely tolerate the Velcro-fastened booties Moore puts on his feet.
2011 IDITAROD: DAY EIGHT
Northwest Alaska cheers on local musher
John Baker of Kotzebue is a hometown favorite. After years of top-five finishes, he's on the verge of becoming the first musher from Northwest Alaska to win the Iditarod title -- an achievement that would end Lance Mackey's four-year reign.
Photos: Day 11 | Day 10 | More
Four-time defending champ Mackey tells it like it is
Forty-year-old Lance Mackey sat at a long cafeteria table, in 11th place, talking about what went wrong in his quest for an unprecedented fifth-straight Iditarod victory.
Video: Lance Mackey: 'People expect you to win every time'
Lance Mackey, in Unalakleet, reconciles with the fact that his streak of four-straight Iditarod championships was coming to end this race. He said both Baker and Smyth deserve the win this year.
Hiland inmates take a turn caring for dropped dogs
As long as anyone can remember, Iditarod dogs that are too tired or sore to keep racing have been shuttled to a safe place in Eagle River: the Hiland Mountain prison.
Baker is on a potential record pace
How fast an Iditarod is John Baker running under what have been nearly ideal conditions? Darn fast. Potentially record-setting fast.
Smyth, Gatt make push to catch Baker
As darkness descended on Norton Sound Sunday night, Ramey Smyth of Willow and Hans Gatt of Whitehorse were making a final hard push to run down John Baker, who’s led the 1,000-mile marathon since late Friday night.
Baker exits Unalakleet with strong lead
Race leader John Baker pulled out of Unalakleet a little after 9 a.m. today in Iditarod 39. Two of the mushers in the group chasing him, Hans Gatt and Sebastian Schnuelle, said this morning that they don't think they can catch him.
Photos: Day 11 | Day 10 | More
Baker's coast dogs lead out of Kaltag
2011 IDITAROD: DAY SEVEN
Baker's tough coast dogs lead out of Kaltag
Kaltag is where mushers leave the Yukon River to make a 76-mile push to Unalakleet and the punishing Norton Sound coast. John Baker, who lives and trains in blustery Western Alaska, rested just four hours there before leaving ahead of a chase pack of contenders.
Photos: Day 11 | Day 10 | More
Jamaican musher scratches in Anvik
Video: Neff and Mackey's rivalry
Meet the sled dogs: Judy and Muggles
A small dog, Muggles has a Napoleon complex and doesn’t always get along with the rest of the team. That’s why he runs as the wheel dog in the back of the roster, Currier said.
Baker leading Iditarod, Mackey falls to 12th
Kotzebue's John Baker and a team of 12 huskies left Eagle Island early this morning to expand his lead in the Iditarod, while four-time champion Lance Mackey plummeted from third place to 12th place and trails Baker by almost five hours.
2011 IDITAROD: DAY SIX
Sled bobblehead: Buser fights to stay awake on the trail
In the early morning darkness between on the trail to Shageluk, Lance Mackey saw a light bouncing in the distance. Turns out it was the headlamp of Martin Buser, who later said he nodded off dozens of times.
Video: Buser's nap attacks on the trail
Baker makes strong push toward front out of Grayling
Kotzebue’s John Baker, one of the finest racers never to have won an Iditarod, thrust himself into the tussle for first place Friday night, pulling out of Grayling just five minutes behind race leader Hugh Neff.
Video: Macky in Anvik: "In my opinion Martin's out"
Lance Mackey talks about once-favored Martin Buser's current chances in the Iditarod, and throws out a few of the mushers he thinks still have the best chance to win the race.
Video: Buser's nap attacks cost him the lead
Big Lake musher, and favorite to win the Iditarod during the first half of the race, Martin Buser talks about the rigors of staying awake on the long dark Iditarod trail.
Video: Swenson has no regrets for continuing with broken collarbone
Five-time Iditarod champion Rick Swenson broke his collarbone Moday on the Happy River Steps before the Rainy Pass checkpoint. Three days into the race later, he has no regrets for deciding to push forward.
2011 IDITAROD: DAY FIVE
Life's rules are different on the Iditarod trail. Defending champion Lance Mackey said this month that the race is an escape from everyday bothers -- bills, squabbles, phone calls. For many mid-pack mushers like Ed Stielstra, whose best finish in five Iditarods is 29th, the race is both professional duty and 12-day getaway.
Photos: Day 11 | Day 10 | More
Soft trail to the Yukon favors tougher teams
Behind a team of dogs he calls "elderly," Sebastian Schnuelle of Whitehorse pulled out of the abandoned town of Iditarod just before sunset Thursday to face an uncertain trail and an uncertain future.
Sebastian Schnuelle of Whitehorse pulled out of the abandoned mining town of Iditarod at 5:51 p.m. Thursday, headed for the village of Shageluk and, beyond that, the Yukon River.
Photos: Day 11 | Day 10 | More
Meet the sled dogs: Swanny (Ed Stielstra)
Mitch Seavey out of race; Herbst collects halfway money
Mitch Seavey, the 2004 Iditarod champ, is out of the race with an injured hand. Race officials said early this morning that race marshal Mark Nordman withdrew the Sterling musher at the Ophir checkpoint. Meanwhile, Trent Herbst collected the $3,000 prize for being the first musher to the abandoned mining town of Iditarod, while the race's real leader, Big Lake's Martin Buser, maintained his 90-minute lead on a pack of mushers that pursued him out of Ophir early this morning.
2011 IDITAROD: DAY FOUR
As layovers end, the big dogs are ready to race
It was the Iditarod on pause Wednesday as the race's big dogs spent a day in the sunny riverside checkpoint at Takotna for their mandatory 24-hour rests. Martin Buser returned to the trail at about 10 p.m. with a team competitors say is perfect for this year's hard, speedy trail.
Herbst collects halfway prize; Mitch Seavey out of race
Musher scratches after resuscitating dog on the trail
Reunited with the dog she had feared dead, Gakona musher Zoya DeNure on Wednesday said she was done with the Iditarod for awhile but not done with sled-dog racing.
Video: Mackey: "I've got to be realistic. I've got a team that's not 100%"
On his 24-hour layover in Takotna four-time Iditarod champion Lance Mackey assesses the state of his prized sled dog team.
Video: Buser talks about dog health, trail, strategy
As he rests on his 24-hour layover in Takotna, Martin Buser takes a few moments to reflect on the race so far.
Video: Hans Gatt says his sick team is looking better
Hans Gatt of Whitehorse, says after a day his dogs are looking better, not 100 percent "by a longshot," but their attitudes and appetites have improved.
Video: Sebastian Schnuelle on kennel cough, his elderly team and Buser
Sebastian Schnuelle's dogs also are recovering from a bout with kennel cough as he looks at a trail he says is perfect for a team like Martin Buser's but not so good for his own.
Four reach Ophir; top teams still in Takotna
Four mushers who have yet to take their 24-hour layover and hit the Ophir checkpoint in the early afternoon today. Robert Nelson of Kotzebue was first to arrive at 11:58 a.m., just one minute ahead of Trent Herbst of Ketchum, Idaho. Cim Smyth of Big Lake pulled in at 12:02 p.m. and Kelley Griffin of Wasilla arrived at 12:11 p.m.
Kotzebue's Nelson postpones layover, grabs lead out of Takotna
Meet the new Iditarod leader: Robert Nelson of Kotzebue. Without taking his mandatory 24-hour layover yet, Nelson leapt ahead of the lead pack, most of whom had, on his way out of the Takotna checkpoint.
2011 IDITAROD: DAY THREE
Warmth, pace, illness slow some top teams
This year's fast, hard trail may be perfect for Martin Buser of Big Lake, record holder for fastest finish. But several other top teams appeared in danger of overheating or flaming out as they stopped in Nikolai for macaroni salad and a few hours sleep Tuesday.
Four reach Ophir; top teams still in Takotna
Photos: Iditarod, Day 4 (Nikolai and Takotna)
Meet the sled dogs: Pepper (Gerald Sousa)
Veteran Willomitzer of Whitehorse scratches
USA Today asks: Is the Iditarod sport or torture?
Video: "I'm not taking myself out of it yet," says Mackey
Two of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race's most accomplished mushers are defending the race that is now under renewed attack by animal rights activists after 100 sled dogs were killed at a tour business in Canada in an unrelated event.
Buser, Mackey, Schnuelle first to Takotna
The blur doubling as the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race continued to threaten race records on Tuesday, and it was no surprise who's leading the speedsters.
Swenson: Race with broken bone 'not so bad'
Rolling up plastic for his dog sled runners? That's hard. Lifting his left arm above his chest? That hurts. But mushing with what appears to be a broken collar bone isn't as bad as five-time Iditarod champion Rick Swenson expected.
Gebhardt, down to eight dogs, calls it quits
Kasilof musher Paul Gebhardt, who arrived in Nikolai today with three dogs in his sled, scratched from the race early this afternoon.
Mushers suspect kennel cough on the trail
A perennial threat to win the Iditarod says half his team is suffering "kennel cough" and eating poorly. Hans Gatt is struggling, he said, and not because he suffered second-degree frostbite during the Yukon Quest.
4-time champ Buser leads way out of Nikolai
After a rest of more than four hours, Iditarod leader Martin Buser and a swift team of sled dogs left Nikolai today at 12:31 p.m. Buser, making a bid to join Rick Swenson as the race's only five-time champion, has a full team of 16 dogs.
Video: Mackey drops dogs, says he's not feeling confident
Defending champion Lance Mackey dropped three dogs minutes after arriving in this chilly village checkpoint -- a move he says dampens his chances of winning a historic fifth-straight Iditarod.
Owens, DeNure are first mushers to scratch
Two mushers scratched this morning in Rainy Pass. Nome musher Melissa Owens, suffering from an injured leg, decided to scratch at 2 a.m. Four hours later, at 6 a.m., Gakona musher Zoya DeNure called it quits too.
2011 IDITAROD: DAY TWO
Big-name mushers suffer crazy day on the trail
Martin Buser lost some dogs for a while Monday, Rick Swenson may have broken his collarbone, DeeDee Jonrowe lost her way and Sebastian Schnuelle took a face plant. Oh, and Lance Mackey took the lead at a pace faster than the record.
Some like to use GPS, others disdain the technology
For the first time, this year mushers in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race are allowed to bring personal GPS units on the trail. Race organizers have long tracked sleds by satellite, but it was against the rules for mushers to use similar gadgets to monitor their own speed and location.
The blistering pace of Iditarod's first 36 hours didn't cool much as the sun faded behind the Alaska Range Monday night, but the musher leading the race was a surprise.
2011 IDITAROD: DAY ONE
Restart in Willow officially launches Iditarod 39
To the cheers of hundreds of fans, DeeDee Jonrowe of Willow mushed her 16-dog team down the start chute on Willow Lake early this afternoon to get the 39th Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race started.
Fanfare ends; Iditarod now is all business
Yukon Quest champion Dallas Seavey's idea of a great sled dog is one who loves to race, making supreme athleticism on the toughest trails look easy. "You can't make a dog mush 1,000 miles," he said. "They have to want it more than you."
Photos: Iditarod restart at Willow
Sled Blog: End of an era in Skwentna
2011 IDITAROD: CEREMONIAL START
Tailgate party sends Iditarod on the way
Think of Saturday's ceremonial start of 2011 Iditarod as the tailgate party of the "last great race." It doesn't influence the game any, but there's plenty of hot dogs and Pabst Blue Ribbon and snowballing anticipation for what's to come.
'Mushin' Mortician' believes mental toughness gives him an edge
Meet the sled dogs: Aliy and Boondocks
'Mushin' Mortician' believes mental toughness gives him an edge
Scott Janssen, the Anchorage funeral director who calls himself the Mushin' Mortician, is a dog driver who comes equipped with necklines and punchlines.
2011 IDITAROD PREVIEW
Follow the mushers progress through the ceremonial start in Anchorage by tracking their bib numbers.
Valuable Van Zyle painting recovered after being stolen from elderly man
Anchorage police say officers recovered a valuable Alaskana painting this week that was stolen from an elderly man, sold to a local shop by his caregiver, and put up for sale in an Iditarod-themed auction.
Mushing mom, dad take turns behind sled
To 2-year-old Jona Schandelmeier of Paxson, every musher she sees on TV is either "mommy" or "daddy." The daughter of Zoya DeNure, who is making her third Iditarod attempt this weekend, Jona has grown up napping through the barking at a kennel dedicated to rehabilitating unwanted sled dogs.
Iditarod makes city maintenance crews reverse their roles
City road maintenance crews began dumping thousands of pounds of snow through the heart of Anchorage late Friday to build the in-town portions of the 20-mile-long course for the ceremonial start of the 2011 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
Mackey on the competition, Quest fallout and why he doesn't need a GPS
Defending Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race champion Lance Mackey said Thursday he feels healthier and hungrier than ever as he tries for a historic fifth-straight win.
Contest: Pick this year's Iditarod winner
Jonrowe, Redington Jr. draw first spots
Jonrowe, Redington Jr. draw first official spots
The Iditarod will have one of its biggest stars leading the charge down Fourth Avenue on Saturday. Two-time runner-up DeeDee Jonrowe drew the top bib at the 2011 Iditarod Mushers Drawing Banquet at the Dena’ina Center in front of a packed house of racers, sponsors and fans Thursday night.
Four years ago when Lance Mackey drove nine dogs down Front Street to claim a spot in Iditarod history, he became the first musher to win the Yukon Quest and Iditarod back to back.
Good places to watch the Iditarod begin
Iditarod fans have an array of spots where they can watch the 62 race teams make their way across Anchorage on Saturday morning. One of the best is at the end, on Campbell Tract in Far North Bicentennial Park.
Aging racers: Five decades and still going
When Jeff King triumphantly drove his dog team down Front Street in 2006, he joined an elite group of mushers with four or more victories in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. He also established a record he wanted no part of -- oldest champion in race history.
New Zealand army veteran now an Iditarod rookie
At 65, New Zealand native Bob Storey is one of 13 rookies hoping to earn a finisher’s belt buckle in this year’s race. This is the first try for Storey, a former Army officer and rugby player, who believes he would be the first New Zealander to make it to Nome.
Will a rookie make mushing history?
For rookie mushers attempting their first distance marathon, the prospect of racing 1,000 miles across Alaska can range between daunting and scary. Unless you're Jodi Bailey of Chatanika.
Iditarod comes down to decisions at crucial moments
Every Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race contains crucial moments that decide the fate of every musher and, ultimately, the race winner.
Standing provided by iditarod.com
© 2011 Iditarod Trail Committee, Inc.
Check out daily galleries from this year's race, and seven years worth of past Iditarods.
Track the race on the musher gallery leader board with updated results and standings.
Follow the mushers along the Iditarod trail's Southern 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.
Follow the news and notes leading up to the Iditarod and, after the race begins, live from the trail.
Latest posts
A son replaces his father on the Iditarod trail 2/10 4:12 PM
Top 30 mushers to split $550,000 in winnings 2/9 6:19 PM
Disappointing end to Iditarod qualifier 1/16 2:56 PM
Extreme makeover: Iditarod edition. 5/17 5:30 PM
New book chronicles Jamaican musher's foray into sled dog racing. 4/29 11:35 AM
Crowds line the streets of Anchorage, Alaska, as the ceremonial start of the 2011 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race gets underway on Saturday, March 5, 2011.
Veteran musher Bruce Linton talks about his approach to mushing, and live, as an insulin-dependent diabetic.
Watch the set-up and festivities downtown for the ceremonial start, pulled from 20 hours of web cam footage and condensed into 68 seconds.
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.
Follow the mushers along the Iditarod trail's Southern route, with live standings at each checkpoint.
Good location, tasty food and delicious pies make the Takotna checkpoint a favorite resting spot for mushers.
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