2025 Kobuk 440 musher roster and preview

It's essentially the season finale of mid to long distance dog mushing! Spring has sprung in most of Alaska, but for the Northern West Coast there's still a little winter left to be found. Kotzebue hosts (and boasts) one of the longest mid-distance races in Alaska. The Kobuk 440 is known for unpredictable weather, many a race has been sidelined due to violent ground storms that blow up seemingly out of nowhere. 

The Kobuk has had some of the most exciting finishes of any race, coming down to just seconds a time or two, and is always a musher and fan favorite. The race is well known for its creative and humorous social media volunteer team that never seems to sleep during the race but always brings the fun.

This year there will be fourteen teams headed down the trail, many coming from outside of the region. Four women are in the mix, as well as an Iditarod Champion. There are mushers hoping to finish up their qualifiers ahead of the 2025-26 season, their eyes set on "the big one" in 2026. There are mushers who are hoping to finish their season on a strong note. Mushers who have more they want to prove of their team. Mushers whose motives are anyone's guess.

Many fan favorites will race in the Kobuk in April. Let's discuss who have the best chance to take home the top prize.

Who to Watch

Eddie Burke Jr - Eddie's been working hard to rebuild his kennel with a fresh set of young dogs bred at Off the Rails Kennel. He managed to run several races with his "puppy team" this season even with the lackluster winter South Central Alaska suffered. Burke even tried his hand at the Rondy Invitational where he took his long distance doggos to a sprint race. They did pretty well. Burke has been a quick study on the back of a dog sled, the 2023 Iditarod Rookie of the Year has high hopes for his team's future, and it starts here. Eddie withdrew ahead of race day.

Hugh Neff - Let's just.... put aside the controversy shall we? Neff is reportedly running a team borrowed from Iditarod Champion Dean Osmar (from the Kenai Peninsula) and where Hugh is - well, we can't count him out. Expect Neff to run an aggressive race. He is out to prove something to someone most likely and he wants to give his fans a show. He's won this race before, and he's hungry for another one.

Jessie Holmes - Jessie loves the Kobuk. Jessie just had the magic carpet ride on the Iditarod. Jessie has the team that dares you to try and beat them. Team Can't Stop is just that, a team that can't and won't stop. You'll have to out race them at every part of the race this year. Expect the reinging Kobuk champion to do everything in his power to do it again.

Rohn Buser - Rohn's race season kinda went sideways for good reasons (he's a new dad of TWO!) and he was a late entry for this year's Kobuk. He's got his sights set on Iditarod 2026 so this will be most likely a race that he uses as a "training run" for his team as he starts the work to prepare for "the big one". Buser is very capable of playing more than a spoiler in this race, and it will be interesting to see the approach he takes.

Let's also give some nods to teams that could totally blow this prediction out of the water. James Bourquin had a fantastic race last year with the Kobuk finishing 3rd. Jim could easily do it again if conditions are right. Anna Hennessy and Kristy Berington both are running teams that had phenominal success for their respective kennels. Anna is running a team made up of the dogs that Emily Ford ran in this year's Iditarod, and Kristy is running the dogs her sister Anna took down the trail. And right behind Anna Berington was Lauro Eklund who could also surprise us. It's a stacked field, let's just leave it at that.

So let's just take a look at all fourteen signed up for the race that begins April 3, shall we? (As always, once bib numbers are published this blog post will be updated with bib numbers. Currently the list is in alphabetical order.)

Musher Roster

Bib	Musher	Kennel	Link	Link	Link
1	Lauro Eklund	Skookum Expeditions	Website	Facebook	Instagram
2	Jessie Holmes	Team Can't Stop	Website	Facebook	Instagram
3	Kristy Berington	Seeing Double Racing	Website	Facebook	Instagram
4	James Bourquin	Orion Kennel		Facebook	Instagram
5	Quince Mountain	BraverMountain Kennel	Website	Facebook	BlueSky
6	Jody Potts-Joseph	Raven Clan Kennels	Website	Facebook	Instagram
7	Sam Paperman	Turning Heads Kennel	Website	Facebook	Instagram
8	Sadie Lindquist	Seavey's Ididaride	Website	Facebook	Instagram
9	Kevin Hansen	Hansen Kennel		Facebook	Instagram
10	Hugh Neff	Dean Osmar		Facebook	Instagram
11	Rohn Buser	Susitna Sled Dog Adventures	Website	Facebook	Instagram
12	Anna Hennessy	Shameless Huskies	Website	Facebook	Instagram
13	Adam Lindenmuth	Sojourn Kennels		Facebook	Instagram

Roster edited to reflect final roster and bib numbers. April 2, 2025 @7:45pm AKDT.

You know who's racing, but how are you going to watch if you can't get up to Kotzebue? So glad you asked!

How to Watch

Unlike what we just had with Iditarod (if you paid for Insider), the Kobuk like most of the mid-distance races relies more on social media posts and radio updates than they do video. Depending on weather and internet connection there may be live video of the start and finish, according to accuweather the thermometer is set to read just above zero though the chill in the air will make it feel like -11. A frozen feed (pun somewhat intended) is possible, though the volunteer social media crew have gotten pretty good at making videos happen even if the livefeed doesn't. Along with the video feeds there are ways to keep up with the race happenings, so let's make sure we have all of the links you need.

Official Website
You can find the rules, links to all ways of following the race, and the history of the Kobuk 440 here. Musher bios are also available. The official website may have links to live feeds, so also keep a look out for that. Click here for the link.

GPS Tracker
We're all attached to this bit of technology. If you wonder where the term "tracky boi" came from, you can thank the Kobuk 440. Their social media team were the first to coin the phrase... the phrase that sets some fans' teeth on edge, but it's becoming more endearing each year. Once again, you can follow the race thanks to TrackLeaders. Beep-boop-beep.

Radio Broadcast
Race updates throughout the weekend will be broadcast over on KOTZ-AM. They have a livestream. They may broadcast the start, but it's unclear. Click here to listen in. (If that link doesn't work, try this one.)

Social Media
This is where it's at. The most entertaining race has to be the Kobuk 440 for their amazing social media team. The volunteers know how to get and keep your attention. You can follow them on Facebook and Twitter where they are most active as well as Instagram. KOTZ-AM also has a Facebook page that should share some race info throughout the weekend.

You know HOW to watch, but let's make sure you catch all the action by giving you the days and times of what is planned.

Schedule of Events

Wednesday, April 2
10:00am - Meet the Mushers (Radio Interviews)
6:00pm - Musher Meeting/Bib Draw

Thursday, April 3
12:30pm - Race Mass Start

Monday, April 7
2:00pm - Finish Cutoff
6:00pm - Awards Ceremony

Who are you excited to follow? Thoughts on who may take home the top prize? Comment with your thoughts below!

And, as always, you can Buy me a slice of pizza to help keep the blog up and running. It's always appreciated but never expected.

Burke and Sass battling for first

Eddie Burke at the Iditarod Picnic.
June 25, 2022. Wasilla, Alaska

Nic Petit left out of the mandatory six hour layover in first early this morning, but by the time the front teams reached the Eagle Quest 2 Checkpoint Petit had given trail to Iditarod Champion Brent Sass. Burke, Petit, and Sass were the chase pack all of Saturday, so it's no surprise that coming off of time differentials they were able to leave ahead of front runners Hugh Neff and Michelle Phillips. 

Michelle Phillips and Hugh Neff left the chute Saturday morning burning on all cylinders, there wasn't a lot of brake riding on the lake and they tore up the trail on a mission. In a two hundred mile race that isn't a bad strategy, speed early doesn't always equal a bad thing (it's three hundred and above that being speedy doesn't always work). But, Neff was the second one out of the start, and Michelle was fourth, they had a longer time differential in the mandatory layover than some of the other teams (Burke is Bib 5, but held with the front runners). That gave Sass and Petit in the chase pack a small advantage as they didn't have quite the same layover.

Burke may come as a surprise to some, he's newer to the mushing game (as a musher) and is signed up as a rookie for Iditarod 51. Burke, though, has the privilege of not only learning from Aaron Burmeister, but he's running Burmeister's dog team. This is the same team that Burmeister's kennel partner Tony Browning will run in the Kusko 300 later this year, and Eddie will drive the team to Nome in the Iditarod. It's a brilliant combination that helps Eddie be right in the mix with the big guns.

Judging by the trackers at around 8:15am Sunday morning, Burke appears to be in the lead just about half a mile ahead of the reigning Iditarod champion. The trackers have been fickle for all of this race, most likely due to the cold teams have experienced all weekend, so we won't know for sure who's in the lead until they cross the finishline in about two and a half hours.

That's right, we're expecting a finish between 10:30am and 11am. Looking at times into Knik Lake last night plus speeds of the teams at the moment, the front runners have about two and a half hours left on the runners. This race is far from over, and no one has shot out ahead of everyone, so it's promising to be an exciting morning.

The red lantern is currently Kaiden Foster who is running dogs out of Nic Petit's kennel and is going at a very slow pace in comparison to the Kennel owner's style. We've had one scratch with Casey Ann Randall of Rock On Racing. No report yet on why she chose to end her race early, but I am sure Randall will give us a run down when the time is right.

Stay tuned, folks, it's another great day of racing ahead!

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Neff, Phillips lead the Knik 200

With a little more than a quarter of the race out of the day, the race for first is between two mushers known by mans worldwide. Hugh Neff left second out of the chute and quickly took the lead, with Michelle Phillips heading out just as fast out of Knik Lake and catching up with him. 

Watching the trackers the two blips have been playing leap frog, though it is more likely that Neff has been leading the entire way. Both teams came in hot to the Eagle Quest Lodge as the first checkpoint. Neff left a dog in the hands of handlers and continued on, Phillips took the corner into the checkpoint too tight and dumped her sled but was righted quickly and she left soon after. 

The chase pack is led by Eddie Burke from Wildstyle Racing. Burke will be a rookie in this year's Iditarod, and is running this race as a training run for himself and his team. Wildstyle racing is Aaron Burmeister's kennel and while Burmeister is stepping away from Iditarod to focus on family and his business, he's handed off the A-team to Burke. He has the team to challenge the more veteran teams.

Kale Casey just reported that it is now eight below at Eagle Quest Lodge, and as the sun sets it will continue to get colder. Frosty dogs are happy dogs, but the mushers will be happy to make it back to Knik Lake for their mandatory rest and warm up. 

Neff speaks to fans about Iditarod decision

Never one to let things go, Hugh Neff hasn't stayed quiet after he announced yesterday the Iditarod Review Board denied his application for the 2023 race. The former Yukon Quest Champion posted more details to his Facebook account citing how he and Jim Lanier knew that Iditarod would not let him run months ago. Neff planned to run dogs from Lanier's kennel again this year, and used their win in the Kobuk 440 as proof that his "forced scratch" from Iditarod 2022 was a farce. 

To hear Hugh's side of things is to hear one conspiracy after the other for the last decade or so. The Quest was out to get him. The Iditarod was out to get him (and in one race he suggested that Iditarod wanted to kill him when they wouldn't send a rescue team out in the middle of a storm out onto the Norton Sound to find the wayward musher). Different mushing clubs/associations who chose to deny him membership due to the Quest's decision to bar him from the 2019 race because of his dog's death in 2018 was found to be caused by musher negligence. So then the vet teams of races were out to get him. Mark Nordman, the musher's hinted, dislikes him and is jealous of him. And don't get him started on all of those fake mushers with tv deals (Seavey? Redington? Holmes?) he's following in the traditions of Alaska and real mushers whereas they're just about money. 

Neff's statement last night cited mushers by description and not name siding with him, stating they won't speak publicly for fear of retribution. In an odd sort of twist it seems Neff is trying to take a few pages out of Dallas Seavey's book after Seavey had to deal with the fall out of the Musher X scandal, with a big difference being mushers spoke out publicly for the musher. Even rivals who had not great things to say about the youngest Iditarod Champion wrote letters of support for Dallas. So far, if Hugh does have supporters in the community, they aren't coming forward.

In his statement on facebook the musher promised he is not going anywhere and plans to continue mushing in "Alaska's Greatland". A quick scan of mid distance race rosters does not show Hugh with any future races lined up.

Neff denied Iditarod entry

Hugh Neff navigates a turn in
Anchorage during the ceremonial 
start of Iditarod 50. March 6, 2022.

In a series of Facebook posts Friday night, Yukon Quest Champion Hugh Neff reported that his Iditarod Registration was rejected by the Race Board. The musher did not mince words and hinted at conspiracy against him as well as the kennel he plans to runs dogs out of - Jim Lanier's Northern Whites Kennel.

All entries for the Iditarod are reviewed by a committee which determines if a team meets the requirements - regardless of past experience on the trail. These decisions are not typically made public by the race other than approvals being posted to the roster. The committee takes in consideration kennel conditions, current races, as well as past Iditarods (when applicable).

Neff has had a string of concerns in the last few years stemming from the Yukon Quest barring him from racing the thousand mile race until he could requalify after they found him negligent in the death of his dog Boppy in the 2018 race. Other races, including Iditarod, followed suit in denying Hugh's entries in the 2019 season. 

Neff ran in the 2022 Iditarod but had to scratch in Ruby due to concern for his dogs. Controversy surrounded his scratch as the musher and the race differ on what happened with Neff accusing Mark Nordman of having a vendetta against him. 

This is a developing story.

2022 Knik 200 Race Preview

Happy New Year, race fans! 2022 is just a day away and with that comes the first "major" race of the season! In an almost Christmas Miracle like fashion, the Knik 200 is set to run for the first time in several years. Plagued with both bad weather making trails impossible and then of course pandemics, the Knik 200 was all but considered a dead race. Last year the board disbanded and handed over control to the race's future to the Knik Trail Blazers who were not ready to give up on the sled dog race meant to tribute the Father of the Iditarod. Everyone held their breath throughout December as temps dipped low and snow accumulated (what a roller coaster of temps). Then over Christmas Chinook Winds came in and melted quite a bit of snow, but it wasn't enough to derail the rejuvenated season opener. 

The roster at one point was over 20 teams for the 200 (the 100 also has a healthy roster with well known names), however storms and other issues saw several names withdraw late - but completely understandable. Still, 18 teams plan to hit the trails tomorrow. So let's look at some of the key players in this weekend's race.

Who to Watch

Aaron Burmeister - the runner up in the 2021 Iditarod, Burmeister has announced this is his final competitive season (at least where Iditarod is concerned). Family has always been Aaron's main focus and as his kids get older he wants to be present for all of their accomplishments. Stand up guy, and a great dog man. Burmeister ended his Iditarod run heated and wanting to do more. I expect Aaron to have a solid race season, with the main focus finally bringing that Iditarod win home to Nome. All races/runs will be with that focus in mind (I'm totally guessing as I don't know what his plans really are). 

Dave Turner - Dave has become a name to watch in mid-distance races. His team is fast and he is a quick study. Expect him to make a run for the win here, and don't be surprised if he does. Turner was the final Tustumena 200 champion, but that was a few years ago now, but ever since that win I'm hard pressed to keep him off the "who to watch" lists. Turner has withdrawn from the race. 

Matt Failor - Failor is one of many of his generation of musher on the "upswing". The 2019 Kuskokwim Champion has really come into his own (he freaking ran the Iditarod while hobbling along on a bum hip! WHAT?!) and there's no sign that he is slowing down yet. Expect Matt to be right there in the mix for the win. 

Nicolas Petit - I keep crowning him the king of the mid-distance race, but it really is where Petit's team seems to thrive. I'm more apt to declare him the favorite to win a mid-distance than I am to declare him a shoo-in for a long distance championship. Expect Petit to take the lead early and do everything to keep it. But ALSO expect that he just is entering this for fun and will sit back. One can never be sure which Nic will show up.

Travis Beals - another "young" musher who makes a statement in most races. Beals is also focused on Iditarod and uses races to prepare for the big one. He could easily find himself in the top teams in this race as his team IS a top team.

**Hugh Neff - Neff proved himself last season after running the Summit Quest last year. Having fulfilled his requirements of reinstatement from the Yukon Quest after being suspended for having questionable dog care during the race several years ago, Neff has returned to regularly scheduled programming. I have him as an "honorable mention" because some personal life upheaval had Neff making the move from the interior to south central Alaska and he's now running dogs out of Jim Lanier's kennel. Hugh could be very competitive here, or he could be middle of the pack. Not knowing what the plan is, I didn't want to list him as a shoo-in for a top placement. 

How to Watch

With the restructuring, most of the info has been hard to find. It could be that come race day I'll be on the fly giving info, but here's what we know so far:

Official Website
The race does not have an official website, but they are active on Facebook. Expect most information and updates to be posted there, though it may take a while. 

GPS Tracker
The race WILL have trackers for both the 200 and 100 race, but the link has not been posted by trackleaders yet. You'll find the map with the trackers here.

Social Media
As I said above, they are active on Facebook. The race has not been active on Twitter in years. There's also no Instagram. However, with the Knik Trail Blazers being in charge they may also post to their Facebook. We'll see what we get. It's a reorganizing/rebuilding year, we'll take what we can get. 

Schedule of Events

Friday, December 31, 2021
3:00pm-5:00pm Musher's Dinner and Bib Draw

Saturday, January 1, 2022
8:00am Knik 200 Mandatory Vet Check
10:00am Knik 200 Start
12:00pm Knik 100 Mandatory Vet Check
2:00pm Knik 100 Start

Sunday, January 2, 2022
6:00pm Award Banquet

Which team do you think will win? Who are you cheering for? Comment below!

Edited 12/31/21 to note Dave Turner's withdrawal and adding the link to the trackers.

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Dan Kaduce wins the Summit Quest

At 7:02pm Alaska time, Dan Kaduce of Dew Claw Kennel crossed the finish line in Central as the 2021 Summit Quest 300 Champion. 24 minutes later Deke Naaktgeboren crossed the finish line in second. For most of the race, Hugh Neff seemed destined to win as he managed to stay near the front of the back from the get go (drawing bib #2 helped). In fact, the first 24 hours or so Neff traveled closely with Jodi Bailey - Dan Kaduce's wife - out on the trail. 

Kaduce kept close, and managed to pull ahead by day two. Kaduce and Neff would play cat and mouse for most of Sunday with Naaktgeboren catching up and keeping pace. Though Deke was third for most of the race, he stayed close enough to Neff that one of the key factors in how he turned in a second place performance was his rest schedule. When the top three pulled into the final Checkpoint of Circle, Deke had the least amount of time left to take (five hours). Kaduce needed 5.5, and Neff 6. 

Kaduce along with his wife Jodi Bailey has mushed for over twenty years. The duo have raced mid-distance and long distance races for many years and are fan favorites. The next major race for Dan will be the Iditarod.

Kaduce and Naaktgeboren race to the finish, Neff gives chase

 

The Summit Quest should see its champion crowned tonight. Dan Kaduce of Dew Claw Kennel lead the charge out of the final checkpoint of Circle at 10:34am. Deke Naaktgeboren of Nautique Sky Kennel followed at 10:50. With needing an hour more than Deke, and half an hour more than Dan, of mandatory rest left on his plate, Hugh Neff (of who knows which kennel he is using these days he has so many different ones on social media) was third to leave Circle at 11:21am. 

The teams will now run back down the trail to finish in Central. Of the top three's runs INTO Circle, Dan was fastest at 8hr40m, next fastest was Hugh at 9hr5m but Deke is right there with him at 9hr 7m. If they keep their current speeds Kaduce looks to have this one in the bag and it will be a photo finish for second. Still, so much can happen in the switchbacks, and there's still a lot of trail left. Any one of these top three could end up pulling off a win.

Should Neff manage to catch and surpass both of the front runners, this will be the first significant win in his return to the Quest. The musher was suspended from the race in 2019 following the death of his dog Boppy. Neff's application to run in the 2019 Iditarod was denied by their Qualifying Review Board citing concerns over dog care in the 2018 Quest. As part of his censure, Neff has to complete the Yukon Quest 300 (this year called the Summit Quest) before he can apply to run the full thousand mile race again. Neff's wife, Olivia Webster (Shank) was allowed to enter in both the 2019 and 2020 races - she completed her first Yukon Quest last year. 

Should the teams keep pace with their outbound time start paying attention around 6:30 to see how close teams are. We could have a champion just a little after 7pm tonight (Alaska Time).

Forty mushers sign up for the Yukon Quest events

As predicted by insiders, the Yukon Quest rosters are healthy ones. 22 teams, including seven rookies, signed up on the first day for the 1,000 mile race. 18 teams, half of them rookies, signed up for the 300 mile mid-distance race. Familiar faces in both. Names like Aliy Zirkle and Hans Gatt are among the top names in the YQ 300. Over on the thousand miler side, Allen Moore looks to go for another title, and Brent Sass has returned to racing choosing the race he's previously won.

Not on the list, of course, is Hugh Neff. Neff has been suspended from racing either Quest race this year due to the findings of the necropsy of a dog that died on his team this year in the race. Hugh appealed the decision, but it was upheld in June. Neff must sit out this year's race, and must run the 300 to re-qualify for the 1,000 mile Quest. His dogs will run in 2019, however, as his wife Olivia has signed up for the 1,000 mile race. Olivia's grandfather helped create the Yukon Quest, and she has worked hard to be able to run her "family's race". (She is shown as Olivia Webster on her roster as that is her maiden name - per FBNMQuest on Twitter - and that is what is on her passport used to cross the Al-Can border. Who knew?!)

Considering the dismal number of sign ups currently on the Iditarod roster, one can't help but wonder if those names on the Quest's list that haven't signed up for Iditarod are in silent protest over the past year's drama. While some mushers like Quest and Iditarod veteran Rob Cooke have been vocal about not planning on running both races (he lives in Whitehorse and prefers the Quest), others have not given a reason for why their name does not appear on both like in year's past. That being said some are signed up for both. Aliy Zirkle and Matt Hall the most notable to date. The Iditarod sign up window does not close until December, time will tell if their roster of 30 grows any larger.

Mushers have until January 4, 2019 to sign up for the 2019 Yukon Quest races.

Iditarod 44: My Top 10

We are at 11 days until the Ceremonial Start of Iditarod 44 kicks off in Anchorage, Alaska. Of course, looking out the window of South Central Alaska would suggest we're well past Iditarod time - what with the lack of snow and the rain... but it's still THAT time of year. The time where I try to guess the top teams in Iditarod with lack of races, training on snow, and well... just lack of participation by some of the top names in the sport. 

 But, I have to keep with tradition, and I didn't do TOO terribly last year. So here are my top 10 in ALPHABETICAL order. Yes, I'm trying to seem organized this year. We'll see how long that lasts.

Aliy Zirkle - She had a dip in the standings last year, but I don't expect her to have the same issue this year. Allen Moore came in third with their main team of dogs in the Yukon Quest, and this strategy has worked well for them these last few years with Aliy narrowly losing the top prize in Iditarod (each time to a Seavey, keep in mind). Aliy is a savvy dog driver who is anxious to snag the win, but also knows how to get the most of her dogs. The real "weak link" in my mind is her own limitations. Her dogs feed off her "energy", and by the time Aliy gets tired, they seem to. She was tired early in the race last year it seemed. I don't expect that problem this year.

 

Brent Sass - He was on the fast track to a possible first place finish in last year's race, but a lapse in judgement or attention cost him. Brent was using a type of iPod that was not allowed by Iditarod (but is by Yukon Quest). Not thinking that things would be different, Brent did not pay close enough attention to the list of accepted equipment. He was disqualified. It was heart breaking, but Brent took it like a champ. He came in second in this year's Yukon Quest, and it's been a difficult season what with his home and kennel threatened by wild fire last summer, and the sudden loss of Kennel Superstar Basin at the beginning of the race season. Don't count Sass out. He's becoming a force on the trail.
 

Dallas Seavey - Is, once again, the reigning champion. This year he came up with a summer training treadmill that's run out of a large freezer. Keeps the dogs cool even at the height of summer temperatures. It's an interesting study, and could revolutionize how sled dogs are trained - IF it works. It's a big experiment. No one seems to know dogs and their limits like a Seavey, but how they deliver on the Iditarod this season remains to be seen. Of all the former champions in this year's race, Dallas is the most interesting with his latest innovations in dog training. It's like the 80s and early 90s all over again.
 

Hugh Neff - He just won his second Yukon Quest, and it was a long time coming. Hugh is known for his upbeat personality, and the Cat in the Hat... well... hat coming down the trail. He's fun loving, and sees the races more as just an adventure that may or may not end in a win. He doesn't do as well with the Iditarod as he does with the Quest, and he's been very opinionated as to which organization is better (that'd be The Quest), but he's on the upswing after his well run race. You'd be hard pressed not to put him on your list, but I'd consider him a dark horse. He could take his first title, or he could implode. But either way it'll be a heck of a ride.
 

Jeff King - He's a four time champion still looking to be the first to tie Rick Swenson's record five wins. Jeff took a brief hiatus from mushing to travel and do other things, and then came back to the sport. He's had a rough come back - teams stalling, big storm that led to another stall out when he was *this close* to his 5th win. All of which hasn't seemed to rattle the veteran musher. Once deemed the "winningest musher" (though I think that may have been self-awarded), Jeff is now one of the old dogs trying to keep up with the new tricks. But he's still more than capable of taking the top prize. It all depends on the dogs.





 

Jessie Royer - Jessie had the best run of her career last season when she came in the top 5. She's steadily climbed the ranks, and is poised to take it all. It's exciting to see two top teams being led by women. We haven't really had that in decades, and it only helps promote the sport. Where else can Women kick butt on a level playing field? No handicaps, no segregation of sexes. Nope. It's all about who the best dog driver is - and Jessie is proving herself to be one of the best of the field.


 

Joar Leifseth Ulsom - He came on the scene three years ago with a bang, placing 7th his rookie year. The next year he was top 5. He slid to 6th last year, but Joar has proven he's capable of consistently placing in the top 10 (well, he's never placed OUT of it). I don't know what his secret is, but it would seem insane to count the man out. It will be interesting to see how he places in his fourth run on the Iditarod.
 

Mitch Seavey - Another consistent top 10 finisher and 2 time Champion, Mitch Seavey should easily keep his record this year. While training conditions in and around his home have not been ideal (I live in the area, too, it's sucked), he has put many hours in on other trails. Again, Seavey teams are some of the best trained - and their mushers understand their behavior. A Seavey has won the last four Iditarods (Dallas 3, Mitch 1). I don't expect Mitch to win this year, I won't say that he can't - because I firmly believe he can - but sometimes his strategy gets in the way of gut instinct. Or so it seems. Hopefully none of Team Seavey reads my blog these days. Ha!

 

Pete Kaiser - Pete is a successful West Coast Alaska team, he's won the Kusko the last two years, and while he isn't always in the top 10 that doesn't mean he can't be. He is a solid dog driver, and as long as his team can handle the warmer temps at the beginning of the race, he should find himself in the top 10 or close to it. He's a very outside chance to win it, but this is Iditarod where ANYTHING can happen.

 





Robert Sorlie - Typically I choose one that just doesn't seem to make sense even in my mind. It's SO HARD with so many good teams to choose the top 10 and not leave a few out. However, for some reason I just have to have Robert on this year's list. I don't know if it's gut instinct, or just the fact that he's a two time Iditarod Champion and I have faith he can crack the top 10 again. I don't know. All I know is for some reason I want him in my top 10. Maybe it's so I will remember to get a photo of his face this year and not just his dogs. Maybe it's because my gut knows something my brain doesn't.


A few honorable mentions:

Travis Beals - Travis is a young musher who is determined to climb the ranks and hit the mark. He's strong willed out on the trail, and is smart, too. He trains out of Seward, so he had to travel quite a bit to find good snow and trail for the team this winter. I'd look for him to continue to improve in his rankings. He could crack the top 10 this year, I mean, he was just 1 place shy of doing so last year.

Martin Buser - He's normally in my top 10, but honestly I'm not sure he can keep up with the teams of today like he was able to in decades past. However, I would be remiss to leave him off the list as he will be running what is likely an incredibly emotional race. Buser has been in Seattle for the past month being ever vigilant at his son Nikolai's bedside. Nikolai was in a car accident that very nearly cost him his life. He's going to have a long recovery, though prognosis seems to be very good by all reports. Martin felt he had improved enough, and was out of the woods, so he flew back home today. Rohn Buser has withdrawn from the race to go down and help his mother and brother. 

DeeDee Jonrowe - Another fan favorite who's had a difficult year is DeeDee. She lost EVERYTHING but her dogs and one building in the Willow forest fire this summer. Her mother passed away from her battle with cancer. She's had a pretty traumatic 12 months (less than 12 really), and is still finding her bearings. To add to the stress, due to the recent oil production issues (no thanks to government but that's a rant for a different day) her main sponsor Shell pulled out of Alaska... and pulled their sponsorship of her racing team. Still, she's determined to run the Iditarod and make it to Nome. She's always been a determined woman, so I have no doubt she'll make it. Just probably not top 10 (but what a story if she does!).





So tell me what you think - who would be in your top 10? Give me your list in the comments below, and be sure to follow me on Twitter as we get ready for the 44th Iditarod!