Iditarod 53 top ten (and change)

It's safe to say we are fully into a new chapter of Iditarod. The torch was fully passed several years ago and a new wave of mushers have fully cemented themselves in the top class. Perhaps it's because we're down to smaller rosters than in the 80s, 90s, 00s, and teens. Perhaps it is because the "legends" have mostly moved on allowing the next generation to create their own legends. Whatever the case, more and more the "up and comers" from just a few years ago are the "favorites to win". It's a bittersweet love to see it. That being said, there are a lot of familiar faces on this year's top ten (and change) list.

We have two Iditarod Champions coming back for another go. One won just two years ago, the other last won in 2017 and has been away from the race since 2022. One is considered to be in the "prime age range" for an Iditarod musher, the other currently holds the title of oldest champ AND is the oldest musher in this year's field. Both have ties to the Iditarod's beginnings. Legacy mushers if you will, but ones who have created legacy in their own right.

While one might think they have the advantage (and in many ways they do) with this year's last minute reroute announcement on a trail that is showing currently as being over 1100 miles long it's given everyone a little more equal footing. The drop bags had been planned for the Southern Route, not 600+ miles of river running where miles between checkpoints can sometimes be further. The race says it will do its best to match drop bags with the new checkpoints, but it's still a guessing game as to strategy. Guessing who will adapt quickest is the name of the game.

So let's take a look/guess at who just might crack the 2025 top ten (without hopefully jinxing them). We will go alphabetically just to seem organized.

Jeff Deeter - Coming off of his Yukon Quest Alaska 550 win (his first race win ever), Deeter looks poised to contend for the champion title in this year's race. Jeff's steadily climbed the ranks since 2018 (his rookie year was 2008 but he took time off to build a home and kennel). Jeff's entire season has been focused on building a winning team for Iditarod this March. He came fourth last year in a very tight battle at the finish, choosing to hold back and make his move on the coast. It paid off. Deeter is serious about his chances this year.  

Jessie Holmes - The 2024 third place finisher in Iditarod is looking to build off of last year's near win with taking it all the way. Holmes championed the mushers' case to change the route after reports had many worried that the traditional route was not a good option. Jessie says the team he has this year is the team he's been building for. He's trained with this team all year off grid in the interior, choosing to focus on Iditarod this year and not many mid-distance races and the one he did enter (Copper Basin) he won! Holmes runs atop mountains (and films it) but won't have too many chances to test out those skills this year on the trail.

Matt Failor - While Matt has just a single top ten finish in his career history, he does know how to race on rivers. The 2019 Kuskokwim Champion just might be one of the teams that does very well on the new route. Failor is known for his care for his dogs as well as his sportsmanship on the trail (remember he's the one who got to gut a couple moose out on the trail a few years ago - and did it properly with very little experience). Consider Matt a wildcard in the race.

Matt Hall - Hall. Is. Serious. Coming second to Dallas Seavey last year may have lit a raging fire under the 2017 Yukon Quest (back when it was still 1000 miles, remember) champion. Matt decided to solely focus on the Iditarod this year. He started cross training doing marathons/cross country type running. He's been following an athlete diet. He's not gone out on any races (his wife did take their team out on the Copper Basin). He has said multiple times in interviews that he's going for one thing in this year's race. Matt Hall is focused, don't count him out.

Michelle Phillips - Michelle just won the Yukon Quest in Canada, which wasn't a total surprise, she kinda owns that race these days. Michelle's last Iditarod was in 2022. She got caught in the windstorm that thwarted many teams finishes, but managed to make it through to the finish and came 17th. There was a bit of a squabble over how she handled the storm with her team (may have bent or even broken a rule or two) but ultimately the race sided with her (after she appealed). She took time off from Iditarod, but has come back this year with a strong looking team. 

Mille Porsild - You'd be hardpressed to find a tougher woman in this field than Mille Porsild. Last Iditarod the woman ran most of the race during a bout of pancreatitis! Her race could have completely derailed -and nearly did in McGrath when she was forced to take her 24 to try and regain health before being allowed to continue. She placed an impressive 7th place under the circumstances. Mille just finished up the Yukon Quest in Canada coming in 4th place in a very competitive 450 mile race. This will be Porsild's sixth Iditarod, her lowest placement was 15th her rookie year, she's only finished out of the top 10 twice.

Mitch Seavey - The three-time Iditarod Champion is back on the runners after taking some time away. In that time he watched his son Dallas win an historic sixth Iditarod (just last year) with some of the dogs from Mitch's kennel. But we aren't talking about Dallas, we're talking about Da Man Seavey. He's the record holder for oldest Champion as well as fastest finish time (2017). A man of few words, Mitch's bio on the Iditarod website simply reads that he is running the Iditarod "because it is hard." A few years back Mitch said he would only run the Iditarod until he felt he was no longer competitive. Expect him to race for a top placement.

Paige Drobny - Paige and her team of disco dogs (IYKYK) also known as The Squids surprised everyone, including maybe even the musher, as they came from behind and picked off many of the top teams. Paige had planned to run a relaxed and fun race with her team of younger dogs. It was about experience and not just pushing for a top placement. But as the race ran on Paige realized her team was ready for more. She placed fifth place right behind Jeff Deeter. Paige was a last minute entry for this year's Iditarod and it was after she and husband Cody realized just how special a team they had. Cody took the team to the Kusko (his first time there) and came third just 32 minutes after the winner. They just might be right about this team's speacialness.

Riley Dyche - Full disclosure, it was pointed out that the race preview for the Kusko was not fair to Riley. And Riley proved that right when he nearly ran away with the race in Bethel. Riley ended up just minutes behind Pete Kaiser and was incredibly candid about the "mistake" that cost him the win. Riley is very much a dark horse just because he has chosen to stay off social media, so unless one is within the inner circles of mushing it is quite easy to count him out. Let's not make that mistake again. He took last year off to work on his home and kennel and took this season to solidify his seat at the table.

Ryan Redington - The 2023 Iditarod champion had something to prove (in his mind) when he won. The grandson of Joe Redington Sr. - the Father and Founder of the Iditarod - was well aware that a Redington had yet to win Joe's race. Ryan had really hoped the 50th running of the Iditarod would be THE year, but it was the 51st running that he took home the title. Ryan has taken it a little easy this year choosing to allow handlers to have a little more fun while he sat back with some of his younger dogs. Now it's Ryan's turn to take the top dogs of his kennel out on the trail. It will be interesting to see if he chooses to start of fast as he typically does, or if he holds back considering the extra 150ish miles this year's route has added to the trail.

Travis Beals - In 2024 the new dad was in a place he'd never been previously: leading the Iditarod. While Travis had a solid race plan, he started to improvise to protect his lead, and it was just a little too soon for the sort of move he tried. In trying to keep space between him and the chase pack, he neared burn out. The musher realized the mistake and course corrected for preserving his team and not trying to push through it (top it off he injured his eye which he dealt with for the final third of the race). He finished 6th and mentioned in post interviews it was a huge learning curve. Travis is a good study of Iditarod strategy and no doubt will take the lessons of 2024 into 2025. 

You'll note the top 10 is really a top 11. Right now the Iditarod feels a lot like the 70s and early 80s of the race where the race was top heavy with excellent teams all poised to take the top spot. It comes down to skill, planning, as well as the breeding and training programs of the dogs. There are other teams that are wildcards and could play spoilers to get into the top 10 and mix things up. Perrenial fan favorite Nicolas Petit chose to spend the winter training in Eureka, running only the Kusko saying he needed to try something different to prepare for Iditarod. Rookie Jenny Roddewig is a second-generation musher who spent most of her life dreaming of Iditarod, she's a seasoned competitor with several wins in mid-distance races under her belt (blogger note: when she signed up on opening day there were a LOT of people, mushers and officials, excited to see her there) she's looking like she'll be in the running for Rookie of the Year. Many will be looking at Jason Mackey or Brenda Mackey to be the next great musher out of the legendary Mackey family - Brenda of course is focused on finishing what she started in 2021 and getting her belt buckle, Jason is hoping to find that magic carpet ride his father and older brothers experienced. 

There's an argument to be made for just about every team on the roster this year to make the top ten.

With so much river running it will be up to the mushers to keep their teams focused. A lot of similar scenery is tough on all living being's psyche, and if there's wind, they'll feel like it's a wind tunnel (dogs hate the wind in their face, so this blogger's been told). It's been suggested that teams that carry dogs (Seavey and Beals will be the teams most likely planning this strategy, not confirmed) the resting dogs while on the trail in the sled bag was a strategy Jeff King initially tried, and Dallas Seavey perfected it (Mitch learned some of those tricks, too). It's a controversial strategy as some mushers feel that it's not in the spirit of the race which is to run with your team not rest half of it while the others pull. Still, it's not against the rules and it's a musher's choice whether or not to use the strategy to their advantage.

With just eight days until the Ceremonial Start, fans have a lot of time to think and rethink their Fantasy Teams, and hopefully this top ten and change can help the choices being made... or maybe it'll just further confuse things. It's that most wonderful time of the year!

Who do you think will be in the top ten? Thoughts on who was overlooked? Is anyone overhyped? Comment with your thoughts below!

If you like what you see and want to support my addiction (I mean HOBBY) of following these races and stalking (I mean cheering on) the mushers, you can buy me a slice of pizza (that really goes to paying for my internet/web expenses).

Iditarod 53 rookie class

The 53rd running of the Iditarod boasts a roster of thirty-three, of that number nearly half are rookies. Sixteen "rookie" mushers from Alaska, Canada, the Lower 48, and Europe are getting ready to head for Nome in just under two weeks. Of the sixteen, five have attempted to complete the Last Great Race at least once before. Pandemics, illness, injury, tragedy took them out in the past, but they're trying their hand again to complete the journey. Each musher has their own motivation for attempting the race.

There's a musher from a legendary family, there are handlers taking puppy teams thru their first Iditarod, there are mushers wanting revenge on a trail that bested them before, adventurers, bucket listers. The things that will bind the Idita-Class of 2025 will be the trail and the adventure shared with 16 of their best friends.

The mushers are rookies in name only. Sure, they may not have taken the trail ahead of them before (to be fair most of the mushers this year qualify as not having run this particular route as it's a re-route) but each have spent countless hours training teams. All rookies must qualify for the Iditarod by completing several mid-distance races (two 300 mile or longer approved races, and one 150-200mile approved race--or have completed the 1,000 mile version of the Yukon Quest), they must also provide a reference from a veteran Iditarod musher. 

Keep in mind, if you're playing Fantasy Mushing that the award for Rookie of the Year is only for first year rookies, those that have started a race to not finish previously cannot be elligible for ROTY.

With such a large number of rookies in this year's race there will be many names/faces fans may not be familiar with. Let's do a quick rundown of who they are, and how you can find out more about them and support them. 

Idita-Class of 2025

Brenda Mackey - That last name looks familiar, doesn't it? Brenda is the daughter of 1983 Iditarod Champion Rick Mackey (Rick passed away in 2024 after a hard fought battle with cancer). That makes her grandfather (1978 Iditarod Champion, member of the first class of Iditarod mushers) Dick Mackey, and her uncle is the late Lance Mackey (that guy who won 4 Yukon Quests and 4 Iditarods in a row, with several of those wins overlapping). Brenda first attempted the Iditarod in 2021 on the Gold Loop Trail but had to scratch in Nikolai in the best interest of her team. It was a huge disappointment, and she took a few years to regroup. Brenda's husband Will Rhodes completed his first Iditarod last year and Brenda decided to run again this year. Brenda has said numerous times that she knows her father will be with her as she travels the trail. You can learn more about Brenda and the Mackey's Alaskan Distance Dogs via her Iditarod Bio, Website, Facebook page, and Instagram.

Bryce Mumford - Mushing is a family affair for the Mumfords. Bryce got into dog mushing after watching a tv special on the Iditarod in 2008. While Bryce is the one who got the family into the sport, his father and his kids are also racing these days. Mumford notes that one of his proudest moments in the sport is winning an award for best dog care in the Race to the Sky race. Mumford is one of the few teams not from Alaska in the Iditarod this year. Bryce is another one of the mushers looking to complete what he started last year. Mumford made it to Unalakleet after having difficulty on the run from Kaltag, his team had stalled and he chose to scratch to preserve his team. To learn more about Bryce and the Mushing Mumfords you can read his Iditarod Bio, Website, and Instagram.

Calvin Daugherty - The son of Iditarod Veteran (and obsessive mountain climber, as well as one of Alaska's top oncologists) Larry Daugherty tried his hand at the Iditarod last year. After suffering the loss of a dog out on the trail (which is an automatic scratch when cause cannot be immediately determined) Calvin and his team from Mitch Seavey's kennel will try again. An undetected cardiac arrithmia was most likely to blame for Henry's passing. Calvin has spent the last year working through all the what ifs and will carry that into this race. You can learn more about Calvin from his Iditarod Bio, Website, Facebook, and Instagram.

Charmayne Morrison - Charmayne is one of those kids who fell in love with the Iditarod and sled dogs and by 14 had her own kennel. She established Morrison Racing Kennel in 2015 and moved to Bozeman, Montana in 2018 to work with her mentors Rob and Cara Gregor. Morrison has been successful in many mid-distance races in the North West part of the Lower 48. This will be Charmayne's first attempt at the Iditarod, fulfilling her childhood dream. Don't be surprised if she's in the running for Rookie of the Year. You can learn more about her through her Iditarod Bio, Website, Facebook Page, and Instagram.

Connor McMahon - he musher who named his kennel Feral Racing has been working with dogs since age fifteen and it was a malamute with "behavior issues" that got him into mushing. The one-dog team instilled a desire to mush full time and that's what the Canadian does now. Training and racing dogs in the winter and giving rides in the summer at Caribou Crossing. Connor attempted the Iditarod just last year and had to scratch in Galena when his dogs decided they were done running on the river. Connor was a fan favorite for always having a smile on his face, and it is a very happy surprise that he's come back to try again so soon. You can learn about Connor from his Iditarod Bio, Website, Facebook Page, and Instagram.

Dane Baker - Dane is one of those mushers who was just going to try mushing for a season - it was his gap year plan before heading off to college. That was a while ago. Instead of college he's spent years studying the sport under several kennels where he's landed as one of the main handlers at Matt Failor's Alaskan Husky Adventure Kennel. Baker will be taking out the "puppy team" as they're lovingly called. The team that isn't planning to win, but is planning to finish. Baker will most likely not be running for a top placement, but he will no doubt give Insiders some wonderful interview moments. You can learn about Dane from his Iditarod Bio, Facebook Page, and the Kennel Facebook Page.

Daniel Klein - Daniel is an adventurer at heart. That's what Iditarod means to him: Adventure. Klein is running dogs out of Ryan Redington's kennel. He'll no doubt use everything the 2023 Iditarod Champion has taught him as he takes on the Last Great Race. Daniel has completed races like the John Beargrease - the lower 48's longest and some say toughest race. He's run the Knik 200 and Copper Basin. It's anyone's guess what Daniel is planning for his longest race yet, but there's no doubt he'll be loving every minute of it. You can learn more about him through his Iditarod Bio, and follow his race from Ryan's Kennel Facebook Page.

Ebbe Pedersen - The Iditarod Volunteer (2004) is now an Iditarod musher. Pedersen has handled for Iditarod teams for a while now, and in the last few he's been with Turning Heads Kennel (Travis Beals). Ebbe just came off the Kusko earlier in February with the Red Lantern award. The musher knowingly chose to take it easy giving his young team much more rest (and camping out on the trail experience) than what the other teams were taking. Perhaps he had a premonition that his team would need experience of camping between checkpoints and river running ahead of the 2025 Iditarod. You can learn more about Ebbe from his Iditarod Bio and you can follow his race through the Turning Heads Kennel Facebook Page.

Emily Ford - Another one of those with an adventerous spirit, Emily is running dogs from Kathleen Fredrickson's Shameless Huskies kennel. Ford is no slouch, a quick search on the interwebs will find a whole host of accomplished adventures and accodlades for this young musher. Emily's partner Anna Hennessy completed the Iditarod last year, so this year it's Emily's turn. Emily will join a small group of black mushers to run the Last Great Race. Emily says she continues to seek adventure and represent the underrepresented in outdoor spaces. You can learn more about her by going to her Iditarod Bio, Website, Facebook Page, and Instagram.

Jenny Roddewig - This second-generation musher (her dad ran Iditarod twice and is mentor to Charmayne Morrison!) is well known in mushing circles and is considered one of the favorites for Rookie of the Year. Jenny's got a list of top finishes starting from her junior mushing years all the way up to having won the Race to the sky 10 or so years ago - the youngest winner! Jenny is from Montana but moved with her husband to Fairbanks three years ago to accomplish her dreams of establishing a kennel and running the Iditarod. You can learn more about Jenny through her Iditarod Bio, Website, Facebook Page, and Instagram.

Justin Olnes - Justin is one half of the human team that makes up ReRun Kennel. The Marine Biologist came up to Fairbanks for his gradutate degree and fell in love with mushing after working with his professor's trapline dog team. He met his wife and kennel partner Kailyn during the pandemic and the rest is history. What's fun about the Olnes' kennel is about 75% of their kennel is made up of rescued dogs. Justin says many of their rescues make up his Iditarod team. You can learn more about Justin from his Iditarod Bio, Website, Facebook Page, and Instagram.

Keaton Loebrich - Keaton is one of the "newest" mushers, having only started racing in the last couple of years (after starting his kennel just a couple before that). He is known for his enthusiasm. A man of few words (for his bio anyway) he shares a lot of his mushing experiences over social media. It's one of those mushing stories where it went from "I got a few dogs" to "I got a few more dogs, and oh look more dogs" pretty quickly. His kennel is one of the smaller ones in the field, but they've steadily improved their standings and seem poised to make a go at the longest race to date. You can learn more about Keaton from his Iditarod Bio, TikTok, Facebook Page, Instagram, and GoFundMe.

Mike Parker - It's been a few years since we had a team from the Northern Whites on the Iditarod trail. Mike Parker has worked hard to be prepared to take the dogs from Jim Lanier's kennel back onto the Last Great Race. Fans may remember that last season Parker and his team were involved in a snow machine accident, they lost a teammate, but Parker and the Northern Whites have perservered to make their goal of Iditarod 2025. I'm told that Parker is not one to sleep on as far as what to expect for the race. It will be interesting to see how thier race pans out. You can learn more about Mike from his Iditarod Bio, Facebook, and Instagram.

Quince Mountain - Quince is back for a second try at the Iditarod. The second year rookie had a strong race in 2020 that went a little sideways when he got sick a couple of days into the race (not Covid). Having to take a somewhat slower pace to try and get over whatever bug it was, he fell off the pace he had wanted to set. Cobble that with the pandemic that hit just as teams hit the Yukon and it became a hurry up and finish situation for all mushers. Quince was one of many teams that ended up having to cut their race short because the trail officials wanted to pack up quicker than normal to beat any sort of shut downs. Q took it in stride, but took some time away from Iditarod to focus on family, fans, and fun with the kennel he shares with wife Blair Braverman. The new dad chose to come back this year to be a light in darkness. The first openly trans musher to run Iditarod, Quince felt very strongly that he needed to come back to Iditarod to prove that there is a place for Trans athletes to compete. He wanted to give a voice and face to those who feel they have no voice and must hide. You can learn more about Quince through his Iditarod Bio, Patreon Page, Facebook Page, BlueSky, and GoFundMe.

Samantha LaLonde - It will be really interesting to see what time of race Samantha runs. She's running dogs from Dallas Seavey's Kennel in a year that no one else from Alaska Sled Dog Tours/Dallas Seavey Racing kennel. Samantha worked with ATAO kennel for a long while before moving on to working with Dallas and his crew. Samantha is one of those mushers that kinda flies under the radar. That's not a slight, it's just hard to know what to expect - except that there should be little worry about if she will finish. She's got the training and the team to do it. You can learn more about Samantha from her Iditarod Bio, Facebook, and Instagram.

Sydnie Bahl - Sydnie is dreaming her dream and running dogs from, well, Vern Halter's Dream a Dream Kennel. Bahl met Iditarod Veteran Cindy Abbott and learned about Cindy's experiences mushing the Iditarod and was intrigued. After visitng Vern's kennel and taking a ride, she was hooked. She stated she started working for Vern the next day and now here she is running her first Iditarod. It should be an enjoyable ride to follow along with her journey. You can learn more about Sydnie through her Iditarod Bio, and Facebook Page.

This year's race is on record as possibly the longest trail in Iditarod's history. The teams prepped and planned for the traditional southern route while dealing with lack of snow and trails to run on during this insane winter. As with every Iditarod, curve balls have been and will be thrown at all of the teams, and the rookies will have no Iditarod experience to fall back on. One of the fun things about the reroute of Iditarod 2025 is that no team has the advantage of having run this exact trail before. While many of the miles and routes are the same for those like Mitch Seavey who have run reroutes in the past, the Iditarod has once again changed which turns it will take and which checkpoints it will go through. Everyone is on even footing in deciding where to stop, where to go through, and the like. This should be a very exciting and fun ride for all sixteen mushers working to achieve a dream and receive that coveted belt buckle. To join that very exclusive club of Iditarod finishers. Here's a toast to all sixteen with the hope and prayer they all have the ride of their lives.

Which rookies are you cheering for? Who do you think will end up with Rookie of the Year? Comment below!

If you like what you see and want to support my addiction (I mean HOBBY) of following these races and stalking (I mean cheering on) the mushers, you can buy me a slice of pizza (that really goes to paying for my internet/web expenses).

Iditarod 53 releases information on rerouted trail

After announcing Monday afternoon of the decision to change from a traditional southern route to a Fairbanks restart and reroute, the Iditarod gave out more information Monday on the planned trail. 

Most expected a route similar to what the race used in 2017 when teams ran to Huslia to honor the history of the village as well as pay tribute to one of Alaska's most famed mushers George Attla. That portion of trail got teams off the river and into different terrain, it also had teams camping on the trail between checkpoints - something that hasn't been a real thing on the Iditarod in decades. Many mushers spoke in reverence of their time in Huslia with Aaron Burmeister even stating he wished he wasn't racing so he could spend more time with the people of Huslia.

However, it seems with the late switch, a route involving Huslia is not in the cards. The race, instead, will still meet up with some of the checkpoints of the southern route (though not all, teams will not find themselves in the ghost town of Iditarod, for example). The race will have long runs on rivers as the teams make it to the coast, with a loop along the Yukon checkpoints (visiting several twice).

The checkpoint route will be as follows:

Fairbanks to Nenana
Nenana to Manley
Manley to Tanana
Tanana to Ruby
Ruby to Galena
Galena to Nulato
Nulato to Kaltag 1
Kaltag 1 to Eagle Island 1
Eagle Island 2 to Grayling 1
Grayling 1 to Anvik
Anvik to Shageluk [Loop back upriver]
Shageluk to Grayling 2
Grayling 2 to Eagle Island 2
Eagle Island 2 to Kaltag 2
Kaltag 2 to Unalakleet
Unalakleet to Shaktoolik
Shaktoolik to Koyuk
Koyuk to Elim
Elim to Golovin
Golovin to White Mountain
White Mountain to Safety
Safety to Nome

There's not been an official mileage given for the new route, but the race promises to update fans and mushers in the coming days with more information. 

Another issue will be the logistics of getting drop bags to the right checkpoints. Mushers had already delivered their bags to the Iditarod hangars to be shipped out - with some pallets having already made their way out onto the trail. Likewise the logistics of trail volunteers and trail breakers are now having to be replanned. It is a lot of logistical effort with very little time, but the race and mushers are all certain it will be done.

After all, 53 races ago they had NONE of what we will see this year.

With the restart being held in Fairbanks, the race will take a day between the Ceremonial Start and ReStart to get everyone safely to the starting line. The restart will take place on Monday, March 3 at 11am presumably from Pikes Landing heading down onto the Chena River. (This has not been confirmed at this time.)

In related news, Iditarod Insider won't skip a beat this year as they will have similiar infrastructure for their livefeeds as last year (aka Starlink). One of their sponsors has once again stepped up to pay for the service (Starlink is NOT a sponsor of Iditarod as of this date). This will have many loyal Insiders of "Iditarod Nation" very excited.

What do YOU think of the reroute? Will you be signing up for Insider? Comment with your thoughts below!

If you like what you see and want to support my addiction (I mean HOBBY) of following these races and stalking (I mean cheering on) the mushers, you can buy me a slice of pizza (that really goes to paying for my internet/web expenses).

Iditarod 53 to start in Fairbanks after all

After announcing at the end of January that they would be able to run the traditional Southern Route for the Iditarod this year, the Iditarod as switched course just 10 days before the musher banquet. The race announced today that due to the unforseen deterioration of trail which they had deemed questionable in January led them to decide to forgo the Gorge and Burn entirely and use the Fairbanks Restart.

Teams had already submitted their drop bags for the traditional route, so there are logistics that need to be hammered out, but for the most part it looks like this is a move the mushers are happy with.

More info to come.

Iditarod 53 musher roster

We are into the final weeks before Iditarod 53 makes its way down the trail to Nome. This year has been a series of "will we"s as much of South Central Alaska (and the Western Coast) saw little to no snow, abnormally high temperatures, and so much rain it seemed winter was washed away. Yet, here we are, just days away from the Last Great Race on Earth once again being the focus of many Alaskans and fans world wide. 

The race still has a few unknowns (like where are they going to take off from - as of February 16, 2025) but the excitement continues to build. The race is now taking off from Fairbanks with the longest trail in race history planned. With a field that includes 16 rookies, this race has the potential to see a lot of new faces in the top 10 of Iditarod. Granted, the door is wide open for those that fans know and recognize to make that next move, but there seems to be a great shake up going on within the Iditarod. With half of the field made up of rookies, anything is possible this year. Of the 16 rookies, 12 are eligible for Rookie of the Year (must be first year rookies, those that have attempted previously cannot win ROTY).

Only two returning champions are on the roster. Three-time Champion Mitch Seavey last won in 2017 and last ran the Iditarod in 2022 where he placed 16th (the first time he'd been out of the top ten since 2003 - not counting the year he was WD due to a severed finger in Ophir). 2023 Iditarod Champion Ryan Redington is also back for another try at a win. Redington has taken it "easy" this season, often letting his handler team take top positions while he rode further back in the pack of the mid-distance races, last year Ryan placed 14th in a very competitive Iditarod.

While we won't know which junior musher will start the run off down 4th Avenue in Anchorage until after the completion of the Junior Iditarod scheduled for February 22-23, we do know who the honorary musher will be. Each year the race chooses a person to be the honorary musher "wearing" bib number one. In the early days of the race, the Iditarod chose to honor the mushers of the Serum Run, but now includes a host of names celebrating men and women who helped make the Iditarod what it is today. Mushers, volunteers, and community members have all been honored over the last 50 years. This year the race has chosen Dr. Stu Nelson as the Honorary Musher.

Dr. Stu Nelson was Iditarod's Chief Veterinarian from 1995 until 2024. In the nearly thirty years in his role Nelson championed greater veterinary care on the trail and in kennels. He studied tirelessly to figure out the causes of dog expiration, and was brought to tears many times when speaking of how hard he and all of the vets worked to create a safe event for all canine participants. Stu could be seen not just at the starts and finish of each race checking out the dogs, but he also spot checked most of the checkpoints. He was available to mushers during the race and year round. Because of Dr. Stu Nelson sled dog care and health has never been better - and by association many of our pet dogs have benefited as studies on Iditarod dogs helped in the fields of canine nutrition and medical care.

Dr. Stu Nelson unexpectedly passed away in September of 2024 while out on his usual run. He was known by mushers, volunteers, and fans alike as being a kind, compassionate, friendly persona. His passing shocked the Iditarod and Mushing community. Nelson's work will live on with the race. Read the full press release on Dr. Nelson being chosen as this year's honorary musher here.

With nearly two weeks until the Ceremonial Start, the roster may change. There are several unknowns about the trail and that has some mushers extremely concerned and contemplating a late withdrawal. All eyes have been on the Iron Dog as they traverse over a lot of the same trail dog teams are set to run on. The Burn especially is the focus of many musher fears, some are hoping for a last minute change to running the Fairbanks route (which would pair well with this being the 100th anniversary of the fame Serum Run that much of the Fairbanks route would follow the same trail). **Edited to add: Iditarod has officially changed the race from the traditional Southern Route to a route leading out of Fairbanks and looping on the Yukon River before heading to Nome. It will be roughly 1128 miles total, which is said to be the longest trail in race history.)

Bib #1 is set, however the rest of the teams won't have their number until the Musher Banquet on February 27. As such, the roster below is listed as it stands now on the Iditarod website - in order of sign up. This post will be edited with the final roster and bib numbers after the banquet in just 11 days. 

Musher Roster

Bib	Musher	Kennel	Link	Link	Link	Link
2	Jason Mackey	Mackey's Top Notch Racing Kennel	Bio	Website	Facebook
3	Samantha LaLonde	Dallas Seavey Racing Kennel	Bio		Facebook	Instagram
4	Matt Hall	Silver Ace Sled Dogs	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
5	Ebbe Pedersen	Turning Heads Kennel	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
6	Travis Beals	Turning Heads Kennel	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
7	Nicolas Petit	Nic Petit Racing	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
8	Sydnie Bahl	Dream a Dream Kennel	Bio	Website	Facebook
9	Brenda Mackey	Mackey's Alaskan Distance Dogs	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
10	Jenny Roddewig	Sage Mountain Kennel	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
11	Mike Parker	Northern Whites Kennel	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
12	Anna Berington	Seeing Double Racing	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
13	Keaton Loebrich	Star Gazer Racing	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
14	Michelle Phillips	Tagish Lake Kennel	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
15	Jessie Holmes	Team Can't Stop	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
16	Ryan Redington	Redington Mushing	Bio	Website	Facebook
17	Riley Dyche	Dark Horse Kennel	Bio	Website
18	Mille Porsild	Mille & Co	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
19	Daniel Klein	Redington Mushing	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
20	Gabe Dunham	Evermore Adventures	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
21	Dane Baker	Alaskan Husky Adventures	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
22	Bailey Vitello	Team Bailey	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
23	Lauro Eklund	Skookum Expeditions	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
24	Bryce Mumford	Mushing Mumfords	Bio	Website		Instagram
25	Calvin Daugherty	Seavey's Ididaride	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
26	Paige Drobny	Squid Acres	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
27	Quince Mountain	BraverMountain Kennel	Bio	Website	Facebook	BlueSky
28	Connor McMahon	Feral Racing	Bio		Facebook	Instagram
29	Justin Olnes	ReRun Kennel	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
30	Charmayne Morrison	Morrison Racing Kennel	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
31	Matthew Failor	17th Dog/Alaskan Husky Adventures	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
32	Mitch Seavey	Seavey's Ididaride	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
33	Jeff Deeter	Black Spruce Kennel	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
34	Emily Ford	Shameless Huskies	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram

*Bold indicates past Iditarod Champion
**Roster as of February 16 @ 12pm AKST. 

Who are YOU cheering for? Do you think Ryan or Mitch will run away with another win? Do you have a story about Dr. Stu Nelson? Comment below with your thoughts and stories!

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