Potential unofficial (maybe official?) stall for Iditarod 54

If you were watching the live feed in White Mountain this morning on Iditarod Insider you may already know that the back of the pack is at a bit of a stand still. This isn't an official stall by Iditarod Officials, at least not to anyone's knowledge, but more of an agreed upon stall by the teams currently in White Mountain.

The Iditarod veteran musher turned commentator spoke briefly on the livefeed in White Mountain that the weather report was looking brutal out of White Mountain with winds continuing to hammer the Topkok Hills and "blowhole" with temperatures dropping to dangerous lows. Underwood reminded viewers that the trail from White Mountain to Safety is anything but a picnic on a good day where winds often blow teams sideways and have taken out a good many teams in the past (look up Jeff King's 2014 Iditarod in this section). Underwood commended the teams for deciding to wait it out, commenting that the added rest would benefit both dogs and humans with extra meals and down time to replenish the energy should they need to do battle with the wind.

As of 11am there is only one team out on the trail mushing and that is current red lantern Adam Lindenmuth who is on his way into White Mountain for his mandatory 8 hours. With the rest of the teams sticking around the checkpoint Adam may not be Mr. Lonely on his final 77 miles. It's gonna be a big ol' party when teams run to Nome.

Underwood reported that the storm may last through Friday morning, and he expects at least most of the teams to wait to go until about 5 or 6am Friday morning. Again, this is not an official stall of the race, so teams are free to leave any time after their individual 8 hour rest - though at this time none have left that can.

Currently in White Mountain are the teams for (in order of arrival): Kevin Hansen, Keaton Loebrich, Jason Mackey, Brenda Mackey, Sydnie Bahl, Sadie Lindquist, Joseph Sabin, Richie Beattie, and Sam Paperman. Hansen through Sabin are actually past their mandatory 8 and the last glance at the White Mountain camera, no team is moving. The only movement we have are the trees and mile markers waving in the wind and the occasional musher checking on and feeding their team. It's starting to look like some teams are going to be taking a second 24hour break on the Iditarod.

Lindemuth is about half way across Golovin Bay, from there it's a quickly climb up to White Mountain where the dogs can bed down out of the wind and begin their mandatory 8 (and possible change) before trucking their way to Nome and the end of Iditarod 54.

ETA: Wildthingz Mushing (Richie Beattie's Kennel) reported in their facebook post a short time ago that the race IS holding the teams in White Mountain until tomorrow morning.

Jesse Terry wins Rookie of the Year

Jesse Terry at the Ceremonial Start of Iditarod 54.
Anchorage, Alaska. March 7, 2026.

Nome welcomed a fourteenth team at 3:06am AKDST Thursday. The first of Iditarod 54's rookie class sped down the street and under the burled arch, their musher all smiles. Jesse Terry and his team looked unfazed by the wind and cold that the race threw at them over the last ten days, the musher's trademark smile didn't waver even when asked how he liked the wind in the Topkok Hills.

Terry spent much of the race running as the third highest placed rookie. While rookies Kevin Hansen and Sam Martin duked it out for the first half of the race, Jesse managed a steady pace. Most fans and analysts were counting him out. By the time the teams finished their run on the Yukon, Sam Martin was the favorite to take the prize for Rookie of the Year. 

Then the coast. Jesse hit the coast and it was like he'd been here before. Like many of the top teams, Terry and his team openned up the throttle. Terry had "built a monster" and he was unleashing it. While Martin had a sizeable lead heading into Shaktoolik, Jesse's team passed Hansen and closed the gap to just two hours behind Martin by the Norton Sound. Martin held off Terry through the run to Koyuk, but it was run to Elim where Terry really let the dogs cut loose.

Terry caught Martin and then just outside Elim he passed Martin, and from there it was nothing but open trail for the rookie. The team sped up. They crossed Golovin Bay and ran up to White Mountain and his final mandatory 8. 

The weather reports for Wednesday Night into Thursday morning had many wondering how the rookies would fare as they left the comfort of the mandatory stop. Winds in the Topkok Hills are legendary. Races have ended in spectacular fashion (with mushers recounting their race like veteran warriors share war stories) even the most trail hardened teams have been stalled on the run from White Mountain to Safety.

But Jesse and his team carried out their mission in spectacular fashion. The musher would recount that the wind caught his sled and threw him a few times in the hills, but the GPS only showed a competent team making good time through the worst winds of the race. Fans keeping track of his final 77 miles were constantly having to redo the math to guess his finish time. 

Terry was greeted in Nome by his wife Mary England who repeatedly embraced him and repeatedly told him how proud she was of him. Terry gave all praise to his team for the job they managed. He didn't know how fast they'd run the last leg as he'd misplaced his GPS (which he said was probably a good thing because he'd have been very annoying constantly looking at it). 

Jesse was one of the favorites to win Rookie of the Year and many who know or have followed his career were not surprised by his run up the coast and final placement. Terry is well liked and respected by those who have mushed with him and raced against him and Thursday morning was all cheers, well wishes, and celebration all over social media.

Rookie of the Year comes with a special trophy and a bonus $2000 on top of the prize money 14th place recieves. He does have the fastest time (so far) from Safety to Nome for this year's race, however it's likely his placement keeps him from qualifying (small field means it isn't the top twenty who are eligible, it's a math equation now). 

Sam Martin was the next rookie in at 6:59am AKDST with less than a minute to spare before veteran (and former Rookie of the Year winner) Josi Shelley finished right behind him, making it the closest race within a race for Iditarod 54 (again, so far). Kevin Hansen is currently on his 8 hour mandatory rest and will lead the next batch of rookies into the finish, but the winds are continuing to be a factor as they always are (and they always seem to wait for the rookies and back of the pack).

It's another wild day out on the Iditarod with many finishes still to come.

Twelve teams join Holmes in Nome

After Jessie Holmes' dominating second consecutive Iditarod win Tuesday night, it has been a very busy day in Nome as teams came in for much of the day. The top ten (plus one) are a whose who of the new generation of mushing with one team talking retirement after many years in The Last Great Race. From just before 2am AKDST to after 7:30pm ten teams crossed under the burled arch to take their place in another historic Iditarod.

Most teams came in with dogs looking strong, perky, and in many cases wondering why they were stopping. The mushers looked much worse for wear with deep windburn evident on their faces and any other place that skin was exposed to the elements. The wind started the first full day of the race and barely ever let up. Temps for the first half of the race saw consistent negative temps dropping to more than -40F at night (when teams do their best running). The dogs seem to thrive in these conditions, but the mushers look exhausted no matter how much rest they managed on the trail.

Travis Beals is our second place finisher this year. The musher's previous highest placement has been fifth place in 2019. Beals has had a roller coaster of a season emotionally. At the end of 2025 his mother died, and just a few weeks later his second son was born. Both events changed some plans for racing leading up to Iditarod, and some speculated what Travis would do here on the race to Nome. The musher is one of the best students of the trail, taking every race and learning something from it. He said in his burled arch interview that he learned a lot about himself and the dogs this year and was so very proud of the accomplishment. Though in earlier race interviews Beals seemed disappointed that he couldn't come up with the winning strategy, he will no doubt look back on this one with pride.

Jeff Deeter was a surprise third place finish after having held his team further back early in the race. Deeter made a push on the run from Unalakleet to Koyuk, picking off teams one by one. Like Beals it seems the only thing stopping Deeter from an even higher placement was running out of real estate. The musher was all smiles as he made his way under the burled arch and his dogs were happily wagging their tails as they recognized KattiJo Deeter in the chute. Deeter came into Nome at 5:10am AKDST.

Paige Drobny finished fourth, a noble battle at the end of a race where she spent most of the time in second place. Just getting to the start line this year was a win for Paige as she has been battling "an aggressive form of breast cancer" since her diagnosis in August. Drobny and her Squids ran a beautiful race, but due to the extreme cold the musher had issues with equipment pretty much from the start. Her alarm clock died on her and she overslept on a key rest out on the trail running to the Yukon. Her phone battery died and she had no way to charge it on the trail because her USB cables snapped in the cold making her external chargers useless. She was tired. Probably more tired than she expected with the cold zapping every musher's energy quickly. But she perservered. She said in Unalakleet she believed her dogs capable of catching Jessie at that point, but that she didn't believe in pushing them to their limit to do so. Dogs first. Paige came in Wednesday at 5:38am AKDST after racing Deeter all the way.

Wade Marrs had a steep learning curve running dogs he admitted under the burled arch were a different speed than what he was used to. The team of dogs out of Mitch Seavey's kennel that he integrated with several of his own kennel weren't quite as speedy as he was used to but "they never quit". Many fans are saying Marrs had the "cutest" finish as he was met but his two young sons who excitedly yelled out "DADA" when they realized the musher in the chute was theirs. The oldest chasing his dad around wanting to be close, the younger going up to each dog and giving them big hugs. Marrs ran a style similar to that of Seavey where he held back through the half way point where he quickly picked off teams and jumped into the top ten, ending in fifth place. After a three year hiatus Marrs reminded everyone why he's one to watch.

"Lucky number seven strikes again!"

Tuesday night as crowds lined Front Street in Nome, Alaska, Jessie Holmes recreated a bit of history. The reining Iditarod Champion finished what he set out to do nine and a half days ago - he won back to back titles. The musher once better known for his stint on an Alaskan based Reality TV Show is now known to be a master at dog mushing.

As Jessie and team ran their way into Nome after coming off of their final mountain crossing the musher waved and cheered to the Iditarod Insider cameras "Lucky number seven strikes again!" referencing his first Iditarod when he wore Bib Number 7 and became Rookie of the Year. In 2026 he wore Bib Number 7 to become one of the few repeat Iditarod Champions.

Holmes and team lead for much of the race, something rarely seen in this era of dog mushing. They won every "first to the" award in this years race, sharing those honors with no one. Most races have seen those that win the early first awards lose position on the coast, but not Jessie. Holmes managed to keep at least two hours over his next closest competitor throughout the race and by the time he reached White Mountain he extended that lead to nearly four. 

Never showing the fastest average speed, it was all about strategy and team management. When things felt like they weren't going according to plan, Jessie pivoted. He wasn't feeling well himself at the beginning of the race so he held himself back. He 24ed earlier than expected in Takotna. He rested in Cripple and in Ruby. He didn't spend as much time as we normally see him camping outside of checkpoints. Holmes had time to talk with fans, volunteers, and other mushers. He put his team in their cuddle puddles and kept pace with his chores.

All the while faster teams threatened to catch him, but it didn't matter. He was playing a sort of cat and mouse game with them all. And now, in the end, he finished as the sun set over Nome, Alaska and the Bering Strait.  

"I've been chasing greatness since I got here," Jessie Holmes said in his Insider interview under the arch, "Susan and Lance... gonna try and make it three, one of them made it four."

After being signed off the trail and finishing his Insider interview Holmes went to his sled bag and pulled out steaks for each of his canine teammates. As Insider's Greg Heister exclaimed the dogs were getting ribeyes, Jessie responded, "I called my handler and told her champagne and steaks!"

When asked how he did it Holmes said he ran the race how they run things, and that he gave his team ample rest. "If you want to do great things, you gotta be an original," the now two time champ said.

Several times while talking to Insider and KNOM and KTUU in the chute, Jessie Holmes got choked up talking about his dogs. "Dogs first," Holmes told the media, "these guys deserve all the recognition and all the glory."

Zeus and Polar were the dogs chosen by the musher to sit for the champion photo. While Greg Heister acknowledged that Jessie would want all twelve dogs up there (but the platform isn't big enough) Holmes gave another round of pets and good dogs to each team member before unhooking the two that would sit with him under the arch.

Jessie's team were confident when they ran into the chute and under the burled arch, and after snacking were banging in harness and screaming wanting to continue on (considering it's over 100 miles shorter than what they ran last year they no doubt thought they weren't done!)

"It's unimaginable how attached I am to these dogs right now. I'm attached all year long, but after what we went through on that trail..." Holmes choked out with Greg Heister as he watched his handlers run his team down to the dog lot while Holmes stayed behind to be awarded his check. The 2026 winners check came to $80,000 to which Jessie yelled out, "DOG FOOD! DOG BOOTIES!" before thanking all of the sponsors for the prize money.

"We'll be back," he told them, "and I hope you will be, too."

Jessie Holmes came into the finish in 9 days, 7 hours, 32 minutes, and 51 seconds. The two-time Iditarod Champion says they're going for three in 2027. There are twenty-nine teams still out on the trail. 

Grayson Bruton scratches from Iditarod 54

Grayson Bruton at the start of Iditarod 54.
March 7, 2026. Anchorage, Alaska.

Iditarod released a statement Tuesday night that Iditarod Veteran Grayson Bruton's race has ended in the checkpoint of Unalakleet. Bruton had ten dogs on his team when the decision was made.

"Veteran Iditarod musher Grayson Bruton (bib #37) of Tok, Alaska," wrote Iditarod, "scratched at the Unalakleet checkpoint at 6:16 p.m. today, in the best interest of his team.  Bruton had 10 dogs in harness when he arrived at the checkpoint. The Iditarod Trail Committee commends Bruton for his determination, dedication, and exemplary sportsmanship throughout this year’s race, and looks forward to welcoming him back to the Trail in the future."

Grayson ran the race out of the gate in the back of the pack, running mostly with Jody Potts-Joseph through the middle of the race. There is no information coming from Bruton's kennel to give more detail on the reason behind the scratch, but it is always a very difficult decision for any musher - even when the answer is clear.

Bruton's scratch is the third one on the day, and fourth in the entire race. The Red Lantern position now belongs to Iditarod Rookie Adam Lindemuth who is currently on his way to Shaktoolik.

Mille Porsild scratches from Iditarod 54

Mille Porsild at the Ceremonial Start
of Iditarod 54. March 7, 2026.
Anchorage, Alaska

Iditarod released a brief statement Tuesday afternoon of Iditarod Veteran and fan favorite Mille Porsild scratching in Elim earlier in the day. The release was short with no additional information.

"Veteran Musher Mille Porsild (bib #15) of Denmark, scratched Tuesday, March 17 at 11:43 a.m.  at the Elim checkpoint pursuant to Rule 42," the statement reads. "Porsild had 13 dogs in harness when she scratched."

Rule 42 is the expired dog rule. The race takes all dog deaths seriously and, as part of rule 42, will perform testing and necropsy to try to determine the cause of death. Rule 42 gives the musher the option to scratch or be withdrawn from the race when a dog expires.

Porsild was running in sixth position when she scratched.

Iditarod 54 has its second official scratch

Jody Potts-Joseph and team at the Ceremonial Start
of Iditarod 54. March 7, 2026. Anchorage, Alaska.

Iditarod released a statement Tuesday that a second team has scratched from Iditarod 54. Rookie Jody Potts-Joseph and her team of ten dogs have ended their race ahead of reaching Nome. The musher had many fans concerned as she sat for many hours at the Tripod Cabin area allowing Grayson Bruton, the red lantern, to catch her and pass her. 

While Jody's team back at home posted on her social media early Tuesday morning that musher and team were well and that Jody was just giving them a little more rest, fans still found themselves wondering what was really happening.

"Rookie Iditarod musher Jody Potts-Joseph (bib #32) of Eagle Village, Alaska, scratched from the 2026 Iditarod at 11:19 a.m. today at the Tripod Flats Cabin, located between Kaltag and Unalakleet, in the best interest of her team," Iditarod wrote.

"Potts-Joseph communicated her decision to ITC Race Officials via two-way communication, and ITC personnel are assisting her with the safe transport of her 10-dog team to Unalakleet via snow machine.

The Iditarod Trail Committee recognizes Potts-Joseph’s determination, dedication, and sportsmanship throughout this year’s race and looks forward to seeing her back on the Trail in the future."

After the press release was posted, Jody's social media team posted an update from the musher giving a little more insight into her decision. Potts-Joseph's team was showing signs of kennel cough and she was concerned for their well being. A musher's number one goal is to keep the trust with their canine team-mates, and so with the love and care any musher would give Jody did the wise thing and ended her race.

"To the dogs that traveled the course with her, we send our utmost thanks and praise," her team wrote on Facebook. "To Stoller, Blaze, Anna, Stormy, Coconut, and Freya, who are all waiting for their team back in Talkeetna. To Coki, Sunny, Ninjuu, Natrah, Lebowski, Kobuk, Loki, Revna, Bodil, and Ginger, who remained with her til the end of the run—we lift you up for safe travels back home."

On Iditarod's official release on Facebook about Potts-Joseph's scratch, 6-time Champion Dallas Seavey sent out a message of support. "So bummed to see this," Seavey wrote. "I was having a blast watching her and the team on the trail. Recover well, and hope to see you on the trail again soon!"

With Jody officially out of the race, Iditarod Veteran Grayson Bruton is now Iditarod's current Red Lantern. Jody's scratch is the second official scratch of this year's Iditarod.

Iditarod champion should finish tonight

Jessie Holmes at the Ceremonial Start of Iditarod 54.
March 7, 2026. Anchorage, Alaska.

Jessie Holmes and his team of twelve dogs rolled into White Mountain at 3:10am AKDST Tuesday for their final 8 hour mandatory break. As stated in previous posts, Jessie Holmes and his team of dogs have dominated the race almost from the get go. The musher felt the pressure to defend his title and made that the only real goal for this season. Should he succeed, he will only be the third musher in race history to defend his title after winning his first one (other mushers have won more, but not consecutively after their first win). He will join his name with legends Susan Butcher and Lance Mackey if all things go according to plan today.

With Jessie coming in at 3:10am he will be able to leave as soon as 11:10am. The team has a four hour cushion (give or take a few minutes) on the next team (and currently only other team) in White Mountain. Travis Beals and his team of eleven came into White Mountain at 7:07am AKDST. The musher ran a solid race and managed his team well to have the ability to pick off quite a few teams that ran the race ahead of him. Beals mentioned to Insider that he felt that his team should be the champion team and that he was just running out of miles to catch Holmes. That seems to be the case with the nearly four hour lead Holmes has. Still, as we learned in 2014, solid leads mean nothing if Mother Nature wants to have her say. Beals will be able to leave White Mountain at 3:07pm AKDST.

The chase pack of positions third through fifth is where the real race is. Not knocking the top two, it's just that there is no clear cut winner for those placements between the trio of Jeff Deeter, Wade Marrs, and Paige Drobny. Drobny, of course, spent much of this race playing cat and mouse with Jessie Holmes sticking with him until the Kaltag Portage where Holmes managed to surge ahead from his already 1.5-2hour lead over the Squids. Marrs, much like Beals, sat back away from the leaders on his run to the coast choosing to bank rest so that his team would be ready to push on the coast. And, in somewhat of a surprise to fans Monday, Jeff Deeter made a huge move on the coast and finds himself in prime position to match or exceed his last finishing placement (4th in 2024 - Deeter did not finish in 2025.)

In a year where many fan favorite mushers spoke to Insider hinting that they were winding down their Iditarod racing careers (Michelle Phillips saying this is her last one as a musher but hopes to be a race judge in the future, Jessie Royer hinting she doesn't have many Iditarods left, and even Jason Mackey hedging on how long he'll keep running the race), the top five give hope that the next generation of Iditarod is in very capable hands. (Honestly, the current top 10 all should stick around a while. - excluding Phillips.)

The back of the pack saw a flip flop over night. When last we spoke Grayson Bruton was the race's red lantern winner, but how that is back to being Jody Potts-Joseph who has a worrisome long campout going on near Old Woman's(?) Cabin. With the champion finish closing in, the back of the pack may need to pick up their pace a smidge - though with Dan Carter being first time race marshall we have yet to know how he will handle that rule of being "non-competitive" at this point. Unalakleet is a major hub and an easy spot to move teams off the trail, so it's the "best bet" for where teams will be WD in this portion of the race. No guarantee that is what will happen here, however.

With Jessie Holmes being able to leave at 11:10am AKDST today, and a 70-77mile jaunt left for his team (mileage depends on who you talk to) there's still plenty of room for a race to go sideways. Most top teams make the run from White Mountain to Nome between ten and eleven hours so start looking for Holmes to finish between 9pm and 10pm AKDST Tuesday night (but watch those trackers sometimes team surprise us with a burst of speed and others surprise us by being blown off course - looking again at you, 2014!).

How do you think those last 70+ miles will shake out for the champ? What races within a race are you excited for? Comment with your thoughts below!

Clipboard Nicolle changing things up

Fans of the Iditarod in the last few years have become smitten with Iditarod's finisher announcer. "Clipboard Nicolle" as she's lovingly referred welcomes each team to Nome, announcing over the loud speakers the musher's bio and stats as they run up Front Street. She greets each team with a smile, a congratulations, and then goes to work checking for mandatory gear before asking the musher to sign themselves off the trail.

Nicolle welcomes every team to the finishline no matter the weather or time of day. Fans get absolutely giddy to see her in her purple parka. You know the team is near when Nicolle walks into camera view with mic in hand. 

Only this year... this year she won't be in purple. The Iditarod volunteer posted to her socials earlier in March that it was time to retire her beloved parka. It was showing its age, and wasn't exactly promising to keep things warm and dry. Nicolle asked her friends and followers to help her decide what she should do.

Just before the start Nicolle dropped into this blogger's messages to share that she'd decided on a new look. Instead of purple Clipboard Nicolle will walk out to the burled arch in what she calls a mustard yellow coat. 

So, heads up, Iditafans. Nicolle won't be purple this year, but she's still your beloved Clipboard Nicolle. 

Teams running out of real estate to catch Holmes

Travis Beals and team at the Ceremonial Start of Iditarod 54.
Anchorage, Alaska. March 7, 2026.

Jessie Holmes continues to dominate the trail of Iditarod 54. The reigning Iditarod Champion has led for much of the race and sits with a nice cushion of over 2 hours ahead of the next team. The musher has been very candid throughout the race that he had a goal of joining two other legendary mushers to repeat his win on his first win.

While there are a handful of mushers who have won multiple Iditarods and some winning back to back, only two mushers in the last 53 runnings have defended their first win. Susan Butcher was first to do it when she won in 1986 and then again in 1987. It wouldn't be until 2007 and 2008 when Lance Mackey won the first two of four consecutive wins that a first time champ would repeat back to back.

Now Holmes is poised to be the third. 

Jessie Holmes and his Team Can't Stop dogs have just left Elim after a little over three hours in the checkpoint. Travis Beals and Wade Marrs have attempted to make a charge up the coast to catch the champ. Beals told Insider he felt like his team should be the winning team, Wade Marrs told Insider he had to just keep running the race he had planned and wait for someone to slow up (or mess up) so he could possibly take advantage. Beals rested nearly five and a half hours in Koyuk, Marrs stayed mere minutes. Both will most likely need to break up the run from Koyuk to White Mountain.

Paige Drobny who kept pace with Holmes for much of the middle of the race has seemingly conceded first, and is now in the battle for second place. Drobny is still running a similar schedule to that of Holmes which is opposite in many ways of Beals and Marrs.  The Squids are now facing a battle for fourth against Jeff Deeter who has made a huge leap along the coast to get into the mix.

Travis Beals is currently nine miles behind Holmes, he's rested 5.5 hours to Jessie's 3(ish) hours but Beals has been running several hours and will have to take a break sooner rather than later. Beals is quickly running out of real estate to make a move on Holmes. Barring any random storm popping up out of nowhere (there's nothing really dramatic forecasted for the front runners at this time) that can slow a team up, it may be too late to catch Holmes.

Further back the race for Rookie of the Year continues to be an interesting one. Sam Martin has seemingly pulled ahead to have a strong lead in the RotY department. Kevin Hansen and Martin have been duking it out for much of the race, but the team from Kotzebue is the third ranked rookie leaving Unalakleet Monday. Sandwiched between the two - and currently running two miles ahead of Hansen. Terry's run fairly conservatively to this point and it will be interesting to see how he races on the coast - a very different terrain from the races he's used to running.

Our red lantern has changed hands on the run from Kaltag to the coast. Currently Grayson Bruton is the final musher with Jody Potts-Joseph having leaped-frog (leap-frogged?) over the veteran musher after coming off the Yukon Monday.

Holmes has 43ish miles to go until he hits White Mountain and his final eight hour mandatory rest. He averaged a speed of 8mph on the run from Koyuk to Elim. It's less likely he'll stop now before White Mountain and so if he maintains that average he could be into White Mountain as early as 1:15am (give or take). That would put Holmes with a leave time of 9:15am and a ten to eleven-ish hour jaunt into the finish line from there. Puts him into Nome by dark Tuesday night. We'll know more once he has his official into time in White Mountain.

Do you think Holmes has this in the bag? Can Beals keep second place? Do you think Travis can catch Jessie? Comment below with your thoughts!

(and has this blogger mentioned math and she are not friends?)

Jessie Holmes reaches the coast

Jessie Holmes at the Ceremonial Start of Iditarod 54.
March 7, 2026. Anchorage, Alaska.

The Western Alaskan village of Unalakleet welcomed its first competitive musher this morning at 9:27am AKDST Sunday when reigning Iditarod Champion Jessie Holmes reached the checkpoint. The musher made the trek across the Kaltag Portage Saturday Night into early Sunday morning electing to camp along the trail ahead of his competitors. Upon reaching the checkpoint of Unalakleet the musher formed his famed cuddle puddle of dogs bedding them down for a well deserved rest.

Jessie Holmes has led the majority of the race in the 54th running of Iditarod, even while battling illness himself early on in the race and electing to do his mandatory rest well before he had planned back in Takotna. The musher again elected an early mandatory 8 hour rest on the Yukon choosing the first stop in Ruby. Through it all his spirits have remained high as he focuses on his race in front of him and not the ones around him.

Behind Jessie are Paige Drobny and Travis Beals who are leapfrogging across the Portage. Currently the GPS Tracker shows Beals resting while Drobny is now up and moving and is about 18 miles away from Unalakleet. 16 miles behind Travis are Mille Porsild and Riley Dyche both of whom may join Beals for a bit of trail camping when they reach his spot. 

Currently rounding out the top ten are Wade Marrs, Michelle Phillips, Jeff Deeter, Matt Hall, and Ryan Redington (respectfully, according to current GPS Tracker placement). Lauro Eklund is the eleventh musher off the Yukon and into the Kaltag Portage. Several teams have elected to rest in Kaltag before heading across what can be a very challenging crossing to the coast. 

The trail from Kaltag to Unalakleet is often a bumpy ride with a trail full of moguls. There's also much of the time wind directly in the team's face. Iditarod is not for the faint of heart and even the most prepared teams falter on their way to the final stretch of race.

Even expedition teams are having a difficult time on the Iditarod with the first Expedition Musher reportedly cutting his run short. Steve Curtis, the last minute expedition entry, has elected to cut his expedition short and announced this morning he was coming off the trail in McGrath. Fans wondered much of Saturday if this was his fate as he spent several days in the checkpoint. One more reminder that Iditarod is anything but easy - even when you have a support team and the ability to swap out dogs and camp in style.

At the back of the pack, the teams have made their way to Galena - all but Jody Potts-Joseph who is about 10 miles back - with only Jody having taken her mandatory Yukon 8 in Ruby. It's probably a good guess that these teams are looking at taking their 8 in Galena as the sun rises and sets up the heat of the day. Sadie appears to have been in Galena almost seven hours at this point, and should be expected to leave in another hour or so. Grayson came in a little after seven this morning and if he takes his eight hours here should be ready to leave after 3pm Sunday giving Jody time to get into Galena and settled for a rest if she chooses and able to continue traveling with "the back of the pack."

It's reportedly not windy (what?!) in Unalakleet this morning, which no doubt makes the teams running into the checkpoint very thankful.

We have officially entered the race part of the race. All bets are off as the foot comes off the brake and it's pedal to the medal! Hold onto your hats and glasses, folks, cuz this here's the wildest ride in the wilderness! (Couldn't help it!)

Do you think Jessie still has this in the bag? Is he having that magic ride? Did you know only three mushers in race history have defended their first Iditarod win? Comment below with your thoughts about the race so far and who you're cheering for!

Holmes, Drobny off the Yukon

Paige Drobny at the Ceremonial Start of Iditarod 54.
March 7, 2026. Anchorage, Alaska

It's a race to the coast for the two teams that have led the majority of the 54th running of the Iditarod. At 4:23pm AKDST Jessie Holmes made his way off of the Yukon River and into the checkpoint of Kaltag. The reigning Iditarod Champion stayed long enough to collect his prize from the sponsors - Bristol Bay Salmon as part of the "Fish First Award" for the first team in Kaltag - and then he headed across the way to Unalakleet.

Paige Drobny made it to Kaltag at 7:31pm AKDST and she too quickly left the checkpoint. Holmes elected to take a rest on the run to Kaltag, Drobny ran straight through. Both runs (when you factor out Holmes rest time) ran the run at about the same speed from Nulato to Kaltag. Drobny will have to stop soon to rest her team, and it's most likely she's headed for Tripod Cabin. Holmes is showing slower speeds on this run out of Kaltag, but he'll most likely run until he reaches Old Woman Cabin.

With what appears to be three hours between the two it feels like this race is solidly Jessie's - as long as he doesn't make a mistake or a giant storm blows him out to sea. However, Iditarod fans can remember a handful of times when a musher with a significant cushion had their race go sideways on the coast, so as long as Paige plays it smart, makes her move at the right time, and she keeps chipping away at Holmes' lead we could have ourselves a dog race by White Mountain.

The chase pack of Riley Dyche, Travis Beals, and Mille Porsild are on their way to Kaltag with Mille looking to come into the checkpoint in the next hour. Behind them are the rest of the top ten continually leap frogging over one another. Ryan Redington reported at the beginning of the race that he was dealing with a severe Gastrointestinal illness, but by the 24 hour layover he was over the worst of it. Fans earlier Saturday were concerned when Jessie Royer stayed well beyond her mandatory 8 in Galenda, spending nearly fifteen hours in the checkpoint. It's been said Royer is now feeling poorly and needed the extra rest for herself.

The Rookie of the Year race is heating up between Kevin Hansen and Sam Martin. The two have traded spots for the highest ranked first year rookie all race long, with Martin currently running between Galena and Nulato as Hansen sits in Galena. Neither musher has taken their mandatory 8 on the Yukon, but it looks like that may be what Hansen is doing now. Expect them to leap frog each other again before they make it to Kaltag. Jesse Terry is also in the hunt for ROTY and is within reach should the other two falter in the final leg.

The back of the pack is still going strong, with everyone into the checkpoint of Ruby as of 4:51pm AKDST. Will they continue to all stick together, or will we see some of them break away on the Yukon? Time will tell. Jody Potts-Joseph is the current red lantern in the race.

Holmes is showing as resting on the trail now and Drobny is 19 miles behind him, still running. Is Paige making her move here on the run to Unalakleet or will she shut it down for a rest here in the next few minutes? Time will tell.

Do you think Jessie Holmes has this in the bag? Will Paige be able to catch him? Will neither one be the 2026 champ? Comment with your thoughts below!

Mushing Alaska

I have the privelege of talking Iditarod with Brendan Underwood and the 1985 Iditarod Champion Libby Riddles today at 2pm AKDST. This is a LIVE broadcast where we will be talking about the race and answering viewer/listener questions. Feel free to jump on during the LIVE to ask away!

(6 year old me is FANGIRLING SO HARD to be meeting/talking with Libby Riddles. My mind is blown.)

Comment below if you are planning to watch LIVE or if you listened what you thought!

The Iditarod is on the Yukon

Jessie Holmes at the Ceremonial Start of Iditarod 54.
March 7, 2026. Anchorage, Alaska. 

For a race that started off a little on the slow side, it's picking up speed as we enter the second leg of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race. Teams are now into Ruby with the top two teams currently running toward Galena on the mighty Yukon.

Jessie Holmes was first to the Yukon and the checkpoint of Ruby at 4:55am AKDST Friday, winning the First to the Yukon award of a five course meal that he shared with Ruby elder Billy Honea as well as offered part of the meal with Paige Drobny who came into the checkpoint a little over two hours behind Holmes.

Drobny and Holmes have been playing leapfrog since coming off of their 24 hour rest, but Drobny has reported she's having a bit of trouble that has cost her time. "Everything is breaking," the musher told Insider early Friday morning in Ruby. Her alarm clock, she said, isn't working and her phone has died because both of her chargers have snapped due to the extreme temps the teams have faced for nearly a week now. Paige said she had no way to tell time until Ryan Redington who was camped near her on the run into Ruby offered her a watch. She rested thirty minutes longer on the trail than she had planned and is now trying to figure out how to catch up to the current race leader.

Both Holmes and Drobny had not originally planned to take their mandatory 8 hour rest on the Yukon in Ruby, but Holmes carried a 70lbs dog all the way from Cripple and decided the dogs needed the longer rest. Drobny decided to take her 8, she said, because she needed to get back on track to running at night and not during the heat of the day. Holmes left at 12:55pm AKDST Friday, Drobny gave chase at 3:01pm.

As the chase pack continue to make their way to Ruby, the back of the pack are closing in on Cripple. The big talk of this year's race is how big the teams are this far into the race. The colder temps have kept the trail quite nicely for the teams and things are going well for most everyone.

The pace should speed up as teams hit the Yukon. Think of it like a mushing freeway as they run on a solid flat stretch for the next day or so before making the portage from Kaltag to Unalakleet where the race will really shake out and we'll have a really good idea of which teams have the gas left in the tank to make the push for the win.

Shhh, Iditarod is napping.

It's been a quiet day on the Iditarod trail this sunny but cold Wednesday as teams are mostly resting in checkpoints taking their first Mandatory break of the Last Great Race. Teams have been jockeying for position as they "race to their 24" since Sunday and now it's time for them to settle in and get it done.

Teams made their way into the popular rest stop checkpoints of McGrath, Takotna and Ophir Tuesday night and all day Wednesday with the back of the pack hitting McGrath Wednesday night leaving Richie Beattie in Nikolai as the final musher. Beattie, according to his kennel page on Facebook, is taking his mandatory 24+differential hour layover.

Jessie Holmes ran through to Takotna, coming in around 10:30pm Tuesday night. The Champion musher bedded his team and declared his 24 citing his not feeling well and hoping a good break would be just what he needed to be able to clear up whatever he is fighting to compete in the second half. 

Riley Dyche and Matt Hall elected to continue on past Takotna and they (along with Lauro Eklund and a couple other teams) are 24ing in Ophir.

Back with Holmes are Paige Drobny, Peter Kaiser, Jessie Royer, Ryan Redington and Travis Beals (to name a few). Holmes will be the first to come off his 24 and can leave Takotna on his way to Ophir at 11:30pm AKDST. He'll have just over an hour before Paige will be hot on his heels. 

If this blogger's math is to be believed (and let's face it, it probably isn't) then Riley Dyche can be first to leave Ophir at 5:54am Thursday. Jessie will most likely be well ahead of Dyche by the time the team starts up again, but will have several hours of running on them with Dyche having fresh legs. While Holmes has control of the race - for now - he is by no means running away with the competition just yet.

It's quiet right now. All trackers are showing teams at rest. The insider live feeds have lots of happy sleeping dogs, a few locals wandering about, but everything is quiet and at peace. Fans should take the opportunity to shower, clean house, catch up on insider interviews, or just go to sleep. We have several hours before things get moving again.

Drobny, Redington chase Holmes out of McGrath

Paige Drobny and team at the Ceremonial Start of
Iditarod 54. March 7, 2026. Anchorage, Alaska.

Jessie Holmes has about an hour and a half lead over the next two teams out of the checkpoint of McGrath Tuesday night. The reigning Champion has commanded much of the first leg of the 54th running of Iditarod, steadily gaining time on the competition. 

Holmes was first to McGrath at 8:03pm AKDST. The champion spent just moments in the checkpoint gathering supplies from his drop bag and accepting the First to McGrath award before continuing on. Holmes was seen carrying a large bale of straw on the back of his sled as he took off.

At a little after 9:30pm AKDST Paige Drobny and her team of Squids entered McGrath. The musher wasted no time allowing vets to do a quick once over of her team before leaving - without grabbing anything from her drop bags. Iditarod Insider commentator Jodi Bailey said it was no big surprise to see Paige not grab supplies as Drobny and her team are experienced back country living and carry large loads all year long. Ryan Redington was just minutes behind Drobny and spent a quick few minutes to gather items from his drop bags before taking off in chase.

As of 9:45pm AKDST Mille has checked into McGrath and is surrounded by fans and volunteers. It remains to be seen what she plans to do here in McGrath. It's about to get busy as the front runners continue to jockey for placement heading into their 24 hour mandatory rests. 

It's anyone's guess what Jessie Holmes has planned as it appears with the straw bale he will camp on the trail which may mean he is planning a push to Cripple. A ballsy move, but one that could pay off if his team is ready for it.

He'll have several other checkpoints to stop in between McGrath and Cripple should he so choose.

Hang onto your hats, Iditafans! The race is getting ready to go into nap mode (so we'll all be able to catch up on work while the mushers try to catch up on sleep). 

Foucher scratches in Rainy Pass

In a press release early Tuesday morning, Iditarod announced that 2026 rookie Jaye Foucher made the difficult decision to scratch from the race. 

Foucher reported Monday via her team back home that she had encountered some difficult trail and had managed to break her sled on the first portion of the race (Sunday into Monday) and that she was unsure of how she could continue. After some work in the checkpoint she managed to continue on down the trail but according to her kennel page things did not get easier and a series of more crashes on the trail led to an even more broken sled and some lost mandatory gear. Report of the team is that all dogs are doing well.

A scratch by any musher is a difficult decision - and sometimes they cannot bring themselves to officially do so and ask for an official to withdraw then instead - and it is always made with the best interest of the team. Officials and other mushers often come alongside the musher and encourage them to sleep on it before pulling the plug on their race. In the case of losing mandatory gear, however, if you haven't sent out replacements in your drop bags it isn't always feasible to replace that gear in the checkpoint (with race judge approval). 

"We appreciate the determination and sportsmanship Foucher has shown during this year’s race," Iditarod wrote in its release, "and hope to see her return to the Iditarod Trail in the future."

Jaye Foucher had fifteen dogs in harness and in good health at the time of her decision.

To send encouragement to the musher please be sure to visit her website, Facebook, and Instagram.

Iditarod 54 rookie class

As with every Iditarod, there is a class of musher that can be the most exciting and inspirational. The Rookie Class is filled with teams of all different goals and backgrounds. Some are looking to start on the professional mushing journey, others want to fulfill that childhood dream, there are some that just want to make it to Nome. All carry with them the well wishes of those watching who earnestly hope they all reach the finish and receive the coveted finisher's buckle.

This year the race technically has thirteen rookies headed down the trail, but one of those rookies is the musher in the inaugural Expedition Class of the race and so for our purposes we'll focus on the other twelve who had to qualify for the race as well as have to stay competitive in order to finish. No easy task as we've seen in recent years as the race grows increasingly faster and the gaps widen considerably. 

Of the twelve racing rookies, three are returning rookies - meaning they will not be eligible for the Rookie of the Year award. (Though at this point getting that buckle may be what they care about more.) Four of the rookies are women. All in all a healthy roster of rookies.

With that in mind, let's get to the task of familiarizing ourselves with the new crop and make sure we know how we can follow them to learn more.

Idita-Class of 2026

Adam Lindenmuth - Adam began mushing in 2017 learning from other mushers before creating his own kennel in 2021. He ran races prior to his opening his own kennel, and spent the last two years qualifying for the Iditarod using his own dogs. Adam has seen success in the races he's run, winning several along the way. Adam said in his bio that "the pups are old enough so here we are!" ahead of the Iditarod. It will be interesting to see if he tries for Rookie of the Year.You can learn more about Adam and follow his journey from his Iditarod Bio, Website, Facebook, and Instagram.

Brenda Mackey - They say third time's the charm, and that's what Brenda is hoping for. Brenda comes from one of those "legacy" mushing families and is incredibly capable - it's just the last two tries she's ended up with sick dogs that called the race for her. Her true rookie run was in 2021 on the "Gold Loop Trail", the modified trail during Covid. Mackey, like many teams that year, ended up scratching due to dogs getting a very bad bug. Brenda returned last year feeling good about her chances, but after an emergency situation and confusion with the SOS button early on in the race Brenda was out again. Both times she did right by her dogs and that's all one can hope a musher does. Brenda says this year she's looking forward to seeing more than the first 300 miles of the Iditarod. Learn more about the musher from her Iditarod Bio, Website, Facebook, and Instagram.

Jaye Foucher - Jaye is finally going to be on the trail! After having her dreams dashed well before the race in 2022 after a training run turned into a nightmare when on a road crossing a car didn't see Jaye's team and hit the team. Foucher was emotionally and physically not ready to run the race after that and chose to withdraw and head back home to the Lower 48. Jaye will be the only team to have a mix of Siberians and Alaskan Huskies. It will no doubt be an emotional moment to see her take off from the start line. You can learn more about Jaye from her Iditarod Bio, Website, Facebook, and Instagram.

Jesse Terry - Jesse is coming off of a win at the Canadian Challenge just last week and is on the road (probably already made it by the time this is posted) to Alaska. Terry is a member of the Lac Seul First Nation and has run dogs most of his life. He began racing in 2012 and boasts an impressive record of top placements and Vet and Sportsmanship awards. He also recently took over Hans Gatt's sled building business, proving he is exceptionally good at what he does. If we were playing the Oregon Trail, he'd be the one that cost the post to choose as your player - he's got all the skills. You can learn more about the musher by going to his Iditarod Bio, Website, Facebook, and Instagram.

Jody Potts-Joseph - Jody is Han Gwich’in from Eagle Village, Alaska and a citizen of the Native Village of Eagle and Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation in Dawson City, Canada. She raises her family and her kennel "on the land of her ancestors". Mushing is not just something to do, it is a part of her. Jody wrote recently, "For me, the Iditarod is more than a race. It continues the way my ancestors traveled the land, cared for their dogs, and sustained life along the Yukon River. In the race’s 50-year history, only a small number of Alaska Native women have stood on this trail." Just last year we watched this woman wade through several miles of overflow getting her team down the trail of the Yukon Quest. She's no doubt got the heart and strength for Iditarod. Learn more about this amazing woman and musher from her Iditarod Bio, Website, Facebook, and Instagram.

Joseph Sabin - From sled dog tour guide to kennel owner. Joseph has learned from some of the leading kennels how to train dogs and now it's his turn to go down the trail. Originally from the Lower 48 he would travel to Alaska during tourist season to run tour operations for other mushers. That wasn't enough for Sabin and around 2020 he decided he needed to start his own team. He still manages tours in the summer for another kennel, but he's taking a team of dogs he bred, raised, trained and raced to the start of the Iditarod. He moved to Alaska about three years ago and settled in Fairbanks where he and his partner Willoe Maynard run and train their dogs. You can learn more about Joseph from his Iditarod Bio, Website, Facebook, and Instagram.

Kevin Hansen - Another rookie who embodies Joe Redington Sr.'s original vision for the Iditarod, Hansen hails from the West Coast of Alaska in Kotzebue. The Physical Therapist by trade, but musher at heart has been training and racing dogs for much of his life with the dream of Iditarod always in the back of his mind. Fans may recognize him most from the Kobuk 440 a springtime race run out of Kotzebue each year as Hansen has in most recent years stuck with the top teams having consistent top placements. Just getting to the starting line makes him a winner with the added expenses (to an already insanely huge expense just to run the race) with living in remote Alaska off the road system so he has to fly his dogs to Anchorage so that he can mush them back to the West Coast. You can learn more about Kevin from his Iditarod Bio, Facebook, and Instagram.

Richie Beattie - Okay. So. This one's tricky. Not the musher's fault. It's a technicality really. Many fans may remember Beattie has run the Iditarod before and he did make it all the way to Nome. Richie technically completed the race in 2019 but the Iditarod still lists him as a Rookie. This has thrown a lot of people, but a quick look at his race history shows a "WD" designation next to his Nome "checkpoint". This was due to them having to envoke that year's Rule 42. (It needs to be said that Iditarod's necropsy and investigation never lead to any wrong doing from Beattie and he was not sanctioned.) So technically he's finished, but he's also technically a rookie. Clear as... mud? You can learn more about Richie and his team of Wildthingz from his Iditarod Bio, Website, Facebook, and Instagram.

Sadie Lindquist - She'll be running Mitch Seavey's puppy team, so don't expect her to break any records. Her job - as with all Seavey puppy teams - is to get the young pups to Nome in the most fun way possible. No stress, just fun! And that's kinda how Sadie is in general. Guests to the Seavey Kennel in Seward will likely recognize her as she's one of the familiar faces giving demonstrations, talks, and tours of the Ididaride Kennel. She's a life long Alaskan who has been connected with these dogs pretty much their entire lives. Expect her to make it to Nome beaming that Sadie smile the whole way. You can learn more about Sadie by going to her Iditarod Bio, Website, Facebook, and Instagram.

Sam Martin - Ten years ago there was this kid straight outta high school looking for adventure and found it on the Panhandle of Alaska. Like many, his start was giving tours on a glacier for hundreds of cruise ship passengers wanting to experience Alaska. Sam says one summer was all it took, he was hooked and soon found his way to Matt Failor's kennel where he has helped run and train dogs. Martin has run his qualifiers at a conservative "finish with everyone happy and ready for more" type pace and it may be how he takes on the much larger beast known as Iditarod. You can learn more about Martin from his Iditarod Bio, GoFundMe, and Facebook.

Sam Paperman - Sam's one job is to get the Turning Heads Kennel puppy team to Nome. With, you know, happy dogs ready to do it again. Paperman has been with THK since he was 14 years old working his way up from kennel hand to dog trainer and now racer. He's also a volunteer EMT for their local emergency services (fans may remember he helped save a man's life when a boulder fell on him while hiking). When Sam is racing his dad is often keeping folks updated on how it's going for the young musher (the proud dad posts are fantastic and informative). Don't expect Sam to take away any top prizes, but it's a good bet this guy will get them to Nome. You can learn more about the musher by going to his Iditarod Bio, Facebook, and Instagram.

Sydnie Bahl - Sydnie is another one of the rookies returning for a second try at this finishing thing. Bahl ran last year and was one of the heartbreaking scratches/withdrawals from the race. Sydnie was having quite a good run up to when her race ended and many felt she should have continued on. That's water under the bridge as of now, though, because she's on her way to try number two. The trail is the normal one, there are no extra miles, no back and forths, no millions of miles of river (well except for the normal amount). Bahl runs a team out of Vern Halter's kennel and he does his best to create a schedule that sets his musher/team up for success. To learn more about Sydnie you can visit her Iditarod Bio, Website, and Facebook.

The Iditarod kicks off Saturday, March 7 with the Ceremonial Start in Anchorage, Alaska. 

What do you think of this year's rookie class? Who do you have for Rookie of the Year? Comment below with your thoughts and predictions!

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Iditarod 54 top ten

We are in the new era of Iditarod mushing. The roster has slowly grown in the last couple of years and while still not the numbers from the twenty-aughts and twenty-teens we no longer wonder if there will be much of a roster at all. With nearly forty teams set to head towards Nome in just under two weeks from now, a strong group of "new" potential champions are poised to take their team to the next level.

Sure, their names have been in the "waiting in the wings" status. The "potential to win" status. The "future champion" status. But there were still those teams that just had that much more experience to get the job done again and again. This year's roster is full of those teams that have been "waiting in the wings". They've won the other races. They've been in the top ten for years. They all have the experience and the ability to run a race that is a winning race.

But there are a lot of them. This roster is stacked with talented dogs and mushers. Of the four returning champions, three will be gunning for that top position. 2020 Champ Thomas Waerner is the only musher not focused on winning - his job this year will be to guide the inaugural "expedition class" musher to the finish line. Our three remaining return champs are the exciting trio of Holmes, Kaiser, and Redington. 

So as you prepare to choose your Fantasy Mushing Iditarod 54 team, let's take a look at the highest potential teams in this year's race (that will probably be the higher priced teams in FM.)

Jessie Holmes - The reining Iditarod Champion. The Team Can't Stop musher was all smiles and positive energy at race sign-ups this past June. Holmes entered the Iditarod in his rookie year with the full intent of immediately being competitive. And, he was. Winning Rookie of the Year, Holmes went on to continually contend for a top placement. And, then, in 2025 it happened. Holmes took a very similar approach this season as last. He was very choosey of which races his team would enter, deciding on the Copper Basin and... that's it until after Iditarod. It worked last year, let's see how it plays out this year.

Jessie Royer - One of the top female mushers for well over two decades now, Royer is no stranger to the top ten of Iditarod. Unfortunately for Royer her schedule was a little different this season as her stomping grounds in the Lower 48 saw a winter similar to what Alaska faced in 2025. Several mid-distance races were canceled, including Montana's Race to the Sky a race that Team J dominates. This should not in any way make this year's Iditarod more challenging. Royer spends a lot of time in the winter in Alaska and in any situation extremely adaptable. She's a sure bet to get you those fantasy points.

Josi Shelley - This may be a risky choice for top ten, but the 2024 Rookie of the Year just had a hell of a race on the Yukon Quest Alaska 750. She didn't just win that race, she dominated having a Libby Riddles like run where she lead by hours staying ahead of the bulk of the massive winter storm that hit during the race. She could absolutely make waves in the top ten this year if she plays her cards right and her team is bounced back from their historic win last week. We've seen other teams run both races back to back (and, yeah, the Quest is shorter now) and it's only seen one team win both in the same year. Could Josi repeat that feat?

Matt Hall - Is Matt going to be the next musher to ride the "always the bridesmaid, never the bride" roller coaster? We've seen him come in second now a couple of times. In the last two years he's come in second. Last year he changed up his training program by doing more human training year round as well as focusing on just running Iditarod and not running many if any races in the months before. He said he was taking a page out of Dallas Seavey's book. Marathons for Hall in the summer, training dogs in the winter with the prize a long adventure on the Iditarod trail. He's nearly there, will it happen for him in 2026? That's what we're all watching.

Michelle Phillips - She was fourth last year. Her first in the top ten. She's consistently in the top twenty when she runs the race. She just won the Two Rivers 200 race, another dominate win by one of the mushers on this list. She's won the Canadian Quest several times in their different long lengths. She'd no doubt have been in this year's race had they been able to put one on. Last year's race was the longest and for many the hardest in modern Iditarod history and Michelle managed her best finish - by far. She's one of the toughest out there and it will be exciting to see how she slingshots off last year's result.

Mille Porsild - She's been crowned by many to be "the next". We've had several "the next" since Susan Butcher hung it up in the 90s. Porsild's friend and mentor DeeDee Jonrowe knows the pressure of being labeled "the next" better than anyone. Jonrowe raced against Butcher and after Susan's retirement was expected to take the legend's place as dominating the men on the trail. Jonrowe came close, but never took it all the way. Since Porsild's rookie year in 2020, the musher has yet to be out of the top 15, with only two years finding her team out of the top 10. She's as tough as they come, and as fast as they come, with experience to boot. 

 

Paige Drobny - The Squids lit up the race scene this winter and are now pointed towards Nome. While Drobny's husband took the team out for most of the race season, Paige is set to take another shot at the top placement of the Last Great Race. While always a fan favorite and certainly a consistent top twenty team, Drobny and the Squids made a huge jump in 2024 running down many of the top teams in the final leg of the race to come in fifth place - without pushing her young team. Drobny improved on that placement last year coming in third. If she and her team - now in its prime racing experience age - manage to follow this pattern.... just sayin'.

Pete Kaiser - Talk about coming in right under the wire. Kaiser's name wasn't even on the roster until Monday. Like drop bag Monday. Like just under three weeks from the Ceremonial Start Monday. The 2019 Champion's team looked incredible on the Kusko. They always do, but there was something about this year's team that had lots of comments on just HOW good they looked. Strong, powerful, energetic. As Pete made his historic tenth Kusko win the media immediately asked if he was sure he wasn't going to run the Iditarod and he musher played coy. Hope dwindled as food drop deadline approached and then the announcement was made. 

Riley Dyche - Speaking of the Kusko, Dyche once again came in second, gaining one minute on the champ from last year's race. Dyche said post race that in about 20 years he'll catch Kaiser. Hopefully it doesn't actually take that long, but Dyche is one of those spreadsheet mushers. Like many mushers of the newer generation, Dyche uses race archives to prepare his "thesis" for the master class of Iditarod. He studies race times, strategies, training habits. Everything. He and his wife have quietly built their kennel and their team to become one of the top kennels, choosing to lay low and out of the internet spotlight. He's truly the dark horse of mushing that way and time will tell how it works out for him, but don't be surprised to see him in the mix.

Travis Beals - Another solid bet for a top ten finish for Fantasy Mushing teams, Beals has come sixth the last two Iditarods. Two years ago he lead for a good portion of the race before realizing he punched the gas a little too soon on the Yukon (and he ended up with an eye injury that didn't help). Last year in the longest and some say toughest Iditarod in modern race history he once again ended up six after a strong race. Those added miles to the total may have played a part. With the race going back to a trail far more familiar with weather far more usual forecasted for the race, Travis should be right on track to stay in the mix and improve on his already impressive track record.

What?! Have we done it?! We've stuck to ten?! 

Ha! If you've read this blog before you know it's not possible to start at ten. These days there are just too many teams with the potential to ruin this perfectly, professionally, punctuatedly list of ten. No, no. We have some honorable mentions with not just an outside chance of spoiling the whole thing, but a very real chance of doing so. 

Honorable mentions like Rohn Buser who is returning to Iditarod after a life hiatus. He went out and did other things, met and married his wife who is very much equal kennel and business partner, he's a two time dad. Last year was supposed to be when Buser returned to Iditarod but his daughter had other plans and he withdrew so he could be dad to his newborn daughter. He's currently running the Su Dog 300 as a final training run. He's used most of the races this season to get the miles and exeperience focusing on a positive race for all. It's anyone's guess how much he pushes in this first Iditarod back. 

Jeff Deeter this past summer had noted that he wasn't fully planning on a bid at the Iditarod this year always hedging with it would depend on how the team looked, but when sign ups came around his name found its way on the list. So he must have seen something in the team that suggested they were gonna go for it. Deeter ran a conservative Kusko, and had to scratch from the Yukon Quest Alaska as the trail disappeared during the storms needing to preserve the team for the big one. 

Wade Marrs made the move back to Alaska after several years in the Upper Midwest of the US. Partially due to his spending his summers in Alaska managing a touring operation, but also just to get back to Iditarod - and that feeling of home. It should be expected for Marrs to remind people why he was so exciting to follow when he last ran Iditarod. 

Ryan Redington won the whole thing just three years ago. He's seemingly in the last season or so taken a backseat in the mid-distance races, using them to build up a his team for Iditarod. Perhaps he's playing a mental game and he'll surprise everyone in the Iditarod. Maybe this will be more of a training run. We'll know by the time he reaches Nome. (Blogger note: Ryan let me know today that he's not playing a mental game and is always working to build a better team. He's all in with a strong team.)

Bailey Vitello was just supposed to run the Iditarod to check it off the musher bucketlist. Then he did it, and he got bitten by that bug. The one they all talk about. The one that they all say they're done in Nome and then at the last Saturday in June they show up and ask "what is wrong with us?" And Bailey's stayed, trained, raced, and is now one of the up and coming stars. In three races he's jumped from a twenty-seventh place rookie run finish to fifth last year.

The race kicks off with the Ceremonial Start in Anchorage, Alaska on March 7, 2026 at 10am with the restart in Willow, Alaska on March 8 at 2pm. 

Who do you think should be on the list? Comment below with your thoughts.

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