Iditarod coverage

Sled dog caught after 7 weeks on the run in Washington

For Smilla the Iditarod sled dog, the end of the trail didn't come on Nome's Front Street. It came Sunday in Fall City, Wash., where the skittish husky was captured after roaming loose for more seven weeks.

Enchiladas aid in capture of sled dog in Anchorage (2/14/12)

Evolution of the Iditarod

The changes in mushing affect the Iditarod at many levels. I would like to reflect on the evolution of running styles we have seen over the past 30-plus years.

IDITAROD 40

Iditarod ends with Steves taking the Red Lantern

Jan Steves crossed the finish line at 2:57 a.m. Monday to snag this year's Red Lantern award and bring the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race to a close.

Jonrowe wins dog care award; Mackey honored for sportsmanship

2012 IDITAROD: DAY ONE

Iditarod begins with Redington Jr. out front

After Sunday's restart of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Willow, when racing begins in earnest, Ray Redington Jr. of Wasilla made it first through the first two checkpoints in the famed 975-mile race to Nome.

IDITAROD LIVE: THE SLED BLOG

'Demon' the sled dog kicked by moose on city trail, musher says

Zoya DeNure's lead dog "Demon," a reformed biter that we recently profiled in our "Meet the Sled Dogs" series, was injured Friday in a moose attack, the Gakona musher says. DeNure's racing sled was also damaged in the melee.

On a roll: Kaiser wins first-ever Paul Johnson Memorial 450

Pete Kaiser of Bethel has won the first-ever Paul Johnson Memorial Norton Sound 450, the Norton Sound sled dog club says.

IDITAROD LIVE: THE SLED BLOG

A son replaces his father on the Iditarod Trail

Veteran musher Mike Williams has told Iditarod officials he is withdrawing from the race. It would have been the veteran musher's 15th Iditarod. Competing in his place: Williams' 26-year-old son, Mike Jr.

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.

Iditarod legend Delia, 82, finally says goodbye to Skwentna

Even though Joe Delia officially retired as the Iditarod's Skwentna checker after the 1997 race, the checkpoint was still at his house -- and Delia was still to be seen doing Iditarod work unofficially. But after more than 50 years in Skwentna, Delia has finally moved to the city for good, writes Craig Medred in Alaska Dispatch.

Dogs eating Yukon salmon show higher mercury levels

Sled dogs eating wild salmon from the Yukon River have higher levels of mercury than those eating commercial diets, according to a study conducted by an environmental group. But it doesn't recommend changing the dogs' diet.

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.

Iditarod elects officers

Andy Baker was elected president of the Iditarod Trail Committee's board of directors over the weekend.

Friends mount search for missing Talkeetna musher

Friends of Talkeetna dog musher Melanie Gould say the Iditarod veteran disappeared this week, alarming neighbors and co-workers who were searching for her Friday by foot, by automobile and with aircraft.

SLED DOG RACING

Up-and-coming musher bests Mackey in Copper Basin 300

A young and little-known musher from Chugiak pulled off one of the biggest sled-dog racing upsets in years this morning, topping mushing maestro Lance Mackey at the Copper Basin 300 sled dog race.

Iditarod field stands at 62 mushers

Two veterans of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race, who had their applications in the mail as the deadline passed, have brought the field to 62 mushers.

Iditarod field will be smallest since '99

When champion Lance Mackey tries to rewrite history once again in March, a leaner -- and perhaps meaner -- pack of Iditarod mushers will try to derail his bid.

Swenson will run Iditarod

The winningest musher in the history of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race will point 16 dogs toward Nome once again next year.

First musher from Jamaica finishes Iditarod

The first musher from Jamaica to enter the 1,000-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race has reached the finish line at Nome, three days after Lance Mackey won for an unprecedented fourth consecutive time.

IDITAROD 38

Linwood Fiedler will lead pack out of Anchorage

Linwood Fiedler will be the first musher to hit the trail when the Iditarod begins this weekend with a ceremonial start Saturday in Anchorage and the official start Sunday in Fiedler's hometown of Willow.

Iditarod committee cuts race prize money by $100,000

The Iditarod Trail Committee on Monday announced a funding shortfall of nearly $1 million that's accumulated over the last 12 months, forcing the race to once again slice the purse paid to top mushers.

2 dead Iditarod dogs had fluid in their lungs

Omen and Maynard, the two dogs that died late this week in the Iditarod, had fluid in their lungs, race marshal Mark Nordman reported Saturday.

Number of dog deaths on Iditarod Trail is troubling