Iditarod 46: It's Rookie time!

The finish line and burled arch in Nome, Alaska. March 12, 2017.

Sixteen rookies are set to head to Nome this weekend on a dream come true adventure. The diversity of ages and backgrounds makes for a very interesting line up of rookies, so I wanted to take a few minutes and share them with the world so that they don't get lost in the shuffle. Rookies inspire us all. It's said more people have made it to the summit of Mt. Everest than have finished the Iditarod. Many rookies have tried and failed to finish the "Last Great Race". Some of the class of 2018 Rookies have a lot of miles on the books, and just as much experience. Others are as wide-eyed as you could possibly imagine. All are living their dream.

Class of 2018 Iditarod Rookies


Andrew Nolan - Andrew is the 2017 Iditarod Junior Champion, he runs out of Wade Marrs' Kennel - Stump Jumpin' Kennel. Nolan was involved in a dog team vs motor vehicle accident earlier in the training season, but all is well and on track for his first trip to Nome. You can follow his race through his GoFundMe page, or his "fanclub" Facebook Group.

Andy Pohl - the newest racing member of Seeing Double Kennel, Pohl is a newcomer to the sport of mushing but not the Iditarod trail. Pohl has finished the race via bike, as part of the Iditarod Trail Race that takes place ahead of the sled dog one. In his first trip, he met Kristy Berington - yes, of the Berington Twins at Seeing Double Kennel. The rest is history as they are newly wed (this past summer). It will be interesting to see how he does, he had a hard time on the Tustumena 200 this past January and had to scratch. Seeing Double isn't much for social media, but they do have a nice website.

Anja Radano - Having gotten the mushing bug somewhere around 2004, Anja started her own kennel 10 years ago in 2018. When not mushing the trails around her home in Talkeetna, she is a veterinarian. You can follow her kennel on facebook.

Bradley Farquhar - He learned the ropes from Sebastian Schnuelle and Ken Anderson. Good tutors who helped Bradley qualify for the race. Bradley seems to be a man of adventure judging by his website. He ran the T200 this year, but did not finish, something about dogs going into heat. Hopefully his run to Nome is a little less chaotic.

Brett Bruggeman - Can you say Dad of the Century? If you haven't read his musher bio, go there now. Seriously, how cool is his "getting into dogs" story! You can follow along on their kennel's facebook page to get race updates on this Montana musher as he achieves the goal of finishing the Iditarod. With his lessons from Doug Swingley and Jessie Royer, expect him to go all the way!

Emily Maxwell - The 33 year old Iowan is ready for her Iditarod debut. She's running out of Nicolas Petit's kennel, so expect a fast team. She looked great at the Tustumena 200, now it's time to run a race five times as long. No doubt Petit has taught her well. Follow her journey via her facebook page.

Jason Stewart - He fell in love with the sport in 2011, he fell in love with one of the sport's famous up and comers in 2012. Now he's running their dogs to Nome in his rookie year. We're used to seeing Melissa Owens mush to Nome, but they just welcomed their daughter into the world last year, so I assume mama's happy to be on the sidelines. Facebook is the place for updates on Owl Creek Kennel's musher, too.


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Jessie Holmes - Life Below Zero is coming to the Iditarod. Not that they don't see below temps and a completely different life style on the Iditarod, too. But this race is all reality... like, real reality. The reality star, though, seems well prepared for the race, and is set to make a strong run to Nome. His bio states that he was inspired to run the Iditarod after winning last year's Kobuk race. His official facebook page is keeping fans updated on his Iditarod run.

Matt Hall - Smokin' Aces Kennel is coming to Iditarod! The 2017 Yukon Quest champion will make 2018 his rookie year on Iditarod. Clearly he knows what he's doing, having beaten some of the best dog drivers just a year ago on the other 1000 mile sled dog race. http://www.smokinacekennels.org/

Meredith Mapes - Fun on the Run Kennel is finally hitting the trail! The Junior Iditarod veteran took time off for school and other pursuits, but was eventually wooed back to the sport and she has successfully built her team back up to hit the Last Great Race. She has raised most of her team from puppyhood, and they have serious pedigrees. Mapes works for Mitch Seavey's tours in the summer time, and Seavey is one of her sponsors. It will be exciting to see what Meredith can accomplish! Follow her race on facebook!

Michi Konno - Another one of the more interesting mushers (in my opinion anyway) trying out the Iditarod this year is Michi Konno. Originally from Japan, he moved to Alaska around 25 years ago. He originally got into sprint mushing, and did rather well on that circuit and at one point had a large number of dogs to choose for his team. After retiring from sprint racing he focused on other interests, but it's always been a goal to run the Iditarod. I wish I knew more about him but most of his website (and social media) is not in english! But you can still follow if you wish on his website here.

Peter Fleck - It's the Seavey Puppy Team! Peter will be running his rookie race training the future super stars of Mitch Seavey's kennel. Expect a solid showing for this team. Peter's main goal will to keep the race positive for his team and get as many as he can to the finish line (what every team's goal is, really). He won't be breaking any speed records, and it will be more of a camping trip, but at a nice clip. I assume there will be a few updates on his race from Seavey's Ididaride Facebook Page, but since I no longer run it I'm not really sure what to expect (haha).

Shaynee Traska - A childhood dream come true, this is something Shaynee's been planning since she was 9 years old. She started her kennel when she was in her teens, and now she's here. Expect a giant smile on race day. Follow her journey on facebook.

Tara Cicatello - Bacon Acres will be represented by a rookie this year. Kristin isn't racing, but Tara is ready to go! You might recognize her name as she reported on the race for a couple of years for Nome's radio station KNOM. That's actually how she got into the sport, and how she met Jeff King and Kristin Bacon. Follow along with her race on the Bacon Acres' Facebook Page.

Tim Muto - Tim is "entering the Iditarod to live intentionally and to squeeze the marrow out of life and to travel 1000 miles across Alaska." He will be running a combination of his dogs and Brent Sass's dogs (all dogs are from Sass lines). Muto has been great to share his mushing adventures on social media, and I assume someone will be giving updates while he's on the trail. Follow his race.

Tom Schonberger - One of the few mushers who run an all Siberian Husky team, Tom is entering his first Iditarod with a goal of showing off what the dogs are capable of. Many say that Siberians are too big and slow to run sled dog races anymore, but you can't help but love seeing those beautiful dogs all hooked up loping down the trail. Follow his kennel's facebook page.


Which rookie(s) do you plan to follow? Comment with your thoughts and cheers below!