"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. 

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!

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!

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.

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). 

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.

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

Holmes repeats at Copper Basin 300 champion

At just a little bit before 5pm AKST Jessie Holmes and his team of 10 dogs came across the finish line in Glennallen taking home the top prize of the 2026 Copper Basin 300. The reigning Iditarod Champion kept Cody Strathe behind him the entire last leg of the race with a distance of roughly three miles between the two teams.

The top 10 teams are all out of the final checkpoint with the next two teams (Strathe and Dave Turner) coming in within the next hour.

The finishes will be broadcast live as the race is able over on their facebook page.

Holmes leads with Strathe & Turner give chase

Jessie Holmes has a three mile lead over the closest competition as the top teams make way for the finish Monday morning. The reigning Copper Basin champion is about forty miles away from defending his title in a commanding fashion.

Close behind are the teams of Cody Strathe and Dave Turner. Strathe and Turner are about three miles behind the leader, but trackers are coming through a sketchy area where updates are random. 

Deke Naaktgeboren is somewhere close to the final checkpoint, his tracker hasn't updated in a long while.

With 40ish miles go go teams have 7-9 hours of mushing left depending on trail conditions.

2026 Copper Basin 300 race preview

Grab your fur hats and parkas, folks! The race season is finally kicking off! After last week's race getting canceled due to lack of winter, this week's race is right on track to have everything mushers and their fans want to see for a sled dog race!

Typically the Copper Basin 300 is the second major race of the race season in Alaska, but as the Knik 200 canceled its race everyone has anxiously turned their attention on the "toughest 300 miles in Alaska." The race boasted a full roster with a large waitlist soon after opening registration this fall, but with the lack of snow for most of the end of 2025 in South Central Alaska several teams withdrew due to lack of training (among other reasons).

At last check there are thirty-four teams planning to leave the starting line Saturday morning. The forecast shows that the teams should have a pleasant weekend of mushing with temps ranging from a high point of 35F at the start of the race to temps nearing zero and snowfall by the finish. As teams travel into Glennallen Thursday and Friday the weather will go from a crisp -30 and clear skies Thursday night to -7 or warmer and snow Friday with an estimated 1-3 inches of new snow acculation. The 10am start on Saturday should see clear and sunny skies. 

There is a perfect mixture of seasoned race teams as well as up-and-coming teams. Mushers who are looking to use the race as a challenging training weekend for their teams headed for bigger races like Yukon Quest Alaska and the Iditarod, and there are those teams hoping to complete the qualifications to be able to sign up for those bigger races. Some are handlers taking out the team and getting experience while they're at it. Some are in it to win, to show off their team's abilities and qualities (from breeding program to training). 

To view the whole roster, you can check out the Reitter's Block musher roster compiling links to each musher so fans can keep track of their favorites (and find new favorites) and direct links to support them! But let's take a moment and talk about the teams most likely the push for the win. (It's unclear if Fantasy Mushng will happen this year, but the roster can also be used for that should it pop up in the next day or so.)

Who to watch

Amanda Otto - Remember when she did that monster run at the end of the Yukon Quest Alaska a few years back nearly beating out the champ? Otto trained and learned from what of the best, Mr the King himself, Jeff King. Now Amanda is an "old hat" at this thing and along with her dogs that make up Team Otto one is hard pressed to think she won't at least take a stab at it if she finds herself in the mix. She's crafty and has a few tricks hidden in her parka. 

Cody Strathe - The Squids have been knocking on the door for the last few years, and they've been amazing in the Iditarod. A brief look at the race archives over the last few years show a pattern of whichever team comes in second the year before end up winning the next year. That's not a rule, though, and anything is possible... but these dogs are full of disco and can be expected to boogie on down the trail with the best of them - and maybe even disco away with a win!

Deke Naaktgeboren - It's nice to see Deke back on the runners after seeing his handler turned kennel partner Jonah Bacon race with the team.  The team lead by Bacon last year came in fifth, so it's safe to assume Deke will see similar if not better results this year. 

Jessie Holmes - The reigning Copper Basin champ is also the reining Iditarod champ. Holmes seems to still be riding high on the "perfect season" last year and it's a good bet his team is just as strong this year. Unless he's running a fully inexperienced group of dogs without any plan to be competitive expect the champ to be right up there in the mix if not leading the whole thing.

Mille Porsild - Mille is a force all her own. There's a reason why so many fans adore her: she has grit. This is the woman who ran the Iditarod while dealing with a severe bout of pancreatitis afterall. Mille has years of experience running dogs and manages to pull out some miraculous feats with her team. It should surprise no one if she manages to find herself in the lead group.

Some other names to keep an eye on as it will be interesting to see what they do are the teams of Dave Turner, Josi Shelley, and Rohn Buser. All are very competitive, but could also plan to take it easy on this first outing of the season depending on their goals for later on in the year and what their teams are capable of. Don't be surprised if one or all of them play spoiler to the top five above.

And in a last minute change of roster (as in day of race sign-in) Ryan Redington is now on the list in place of Mazzy Bailey (young musher who runs out of Ryan's kennel). It will be interesting to see if he runs a competitive race or if he takes it easy and runs closer to what Sarah Keefer's schedule looks like.

How to follow

Copper Basin has several areas where cars cant go and satellites can't find. There's a remote checkpoint that almost no instant communication comes out of. Just remember, if the trackers don't work or the news isn't instantaneous to just be patient. Part of the fun of a sled dog race is the unknown. (Seriously, don't make me come at you with "back in MY day".)

GPS Tracker
TrackLeaders.com is once again supplying all of our GPS tracking obsession needs, you can find this year's map and teams here. (The link goes live typically after the bib draw/starting order is finalized.)

Official Website
If you want to see official in and out times, the official website is the best place to find the updated timesheets. Remember, this is all done by volunteer and communication and connection can be sketchy, but if you want the latest greatest numbers use patience and follow along on the CB300 website. (The site has had a make over this year and it's fantastic! Streamlined and user friendly. It has a few new pages with quick and easy info to follow the race!)

Radio Broadcast
KCAM Radio will broadcast the start beginning at 10am (or shortly before). If you're in the area you can listen to the broadcast on AM 790, or online through this link.

Live Stream
The CB300 plans to go LIVE on Facebook at 9:30am on Saturday, a half hour before the first GO! According to the CB300 website our buddy Kale Casey will also go live to share "behind the scenes" coverage as well as videos from the checkpoints. CB300 posted on Facebook that due to "unforseen circumstances" Kale will not be at the race this year.

Social Media
Updates will most likely be posted on the race's Facebook page, and possibly their twitter account. There may even be live video feeds, but there's been no promise that systems will work for the whole start. If you are tweeting, instagramming, etc. the traditional hashtag is #CB300.

KCAM normally posts updates throughout the weekend on the race on Facebook as well. KTUU/Alaska's News Source is always good for a recap of the races.

Schedule of Events

Friday, January 9
10am-4pm Registration and Mandatory Vet Checks
5:30pm Mandatory Handler Meeting
6pm Mandatory Musher Meeting & Bib Draw
*Rookie Meeting follows directly after Bib Draw*

Saturday, January 10
10am - Race Start

Tuesday, January 13
6pm - Award Banquet

Who do YOU think are the teams to watch? The team to beat? The team to take it all? Comment below with your thoughts about this weekend's race!

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

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.