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.

Jessie Holmes is your 2025 Iditarod Champion

Jessie Holmes at the ReStart of Iditarod 53.
March 3, 2025. Fairbanks, Alaska.

It's a long way from Alabama - the Alaskan Wilderness - but somehow Jessie Holmes was drawn to the vast and sometimes lonely space. He embraced the lifestyle of living "off grid" away from what many consider modern civilization. He created a life he found worth living. He got dogs and used them to travel where vehicles could not go.

Those dogs became more than a team and a mode of transportation. They became a part of him.

When he first came to the Iditarod in 2018, many considered him in it for the glory. It was a publicity stunt. After all, he was starring in one of those "reality shows" based in Alaska that most Alaskans make fun of while secretly binge watching with the rest of the world. He won Rookie of the Year and immediately set his sights on winning the whole thing. He bragged about his dogs, his team, his ability. Some around him rolled his eyes still considering him "the reality star." If the critisisim got to him he never let it show.

Two years ago fans wondered if Jessie would even make it to the Iditarod. After having a house collapse on top of him while he was in Golovin helping clean up after the devastation from Typhoon Merbok many wondered if his body could heal up enough to be active. He had been lucky to be alive, and yet that winter he was on the back of his sled and competiting with the top teams. He came in 5th in 2023.

Last year Jessie felt it was his time. He had a strong team. He had fast times. But like most mushers, he left that confidence in himself and his dogs and he felt he needed to push. He needed to keep a certain team behind him. And so he pushed his team early. And it caught up to him. By the coast, Holmes' team was still hardy but their speed wasn't there. He watched as that team he was trying to keep behind him went ahead of him. Then a second team passed him by. He was third, and he vowed to learn from it.

And learn he has. The musher made his plan and stuck with it. Even with the late course change. He had campaigned for a course change after seeing trail conditions from the Iron Dog. The Fairbanks route was the safer route. It was going to be, by some, to be the easier route. It didn't matter it would be longer, there'd be snow not dirt.

Then the Tanana decided to throw silt in the teams' faces. The trail wasn't as solid a trail as they thought. It was sugar snow. It was punchy. It. Was. Slow. The trail that was going to be 600 miles of "boring" river run proved to be anything but boring. It frustrated many of the top teams. But Jessie kept with it. Rarely did you hear a complaint in his interviews. It was just shrug it off and everyone has to run the same trail. 

He didn't fight to lead the whole way. He kept his cool. He kept to his schedule. Paige Drobny led into the 24. Matt Hall led to Kaltag. Jessie Holmes then made his move. He hit the loop and he kept Hall and Drobny behind him. Every run he'd gain a little more. The musher had banked so much rest by the halfway point it was clear that he was going to have to make a couple of mistakes before anyone could challenge him.

By the coast, it was all but over. He had over an hour lead and he was gaining more. No matter what Hall or Drobny pulled out of their hat, it didn't matter. Then the big runs to try and catch him happened and that gave the musher a three hour cushion. Only mother nature could stop him, and she was all too kind. He couldn't have asked for better weather to run that final 77 miles to Nome. Under a full moon, Jessie ran that "magic run" he's been working towards for seven years.

Seven years. It only took him seven years to get here. Seven years for "the reality star" to prove his team belongs here (we can argue he proved it before now).

As the team ran under the burled arch at 2:56am he fist pumped his way to victory. Nicole the checker went through the checklist, she announced him the Iditarod champion. She announced his win in ten days and change. "Those were ten quality days," the musher stated, "I got my monies worth." 

Holmes was all smiles, handshaking everyone in the crowd. He fed his team giant steaks cut specifically for them by his friend and former employer, a butcher in Fairbanks. When asked for his thoughts "I damn sure ain't tired," he quipped. Everyone watching could see the electric energy bursting from the musher who for over 10 days ran behind his team, cared for his team, asked so much of his team. 

He chose his leaders, littermates, Polar and Hercules for the yellow roses, but he could have taken all of them up there with him if they would let him. Looking over his ten teammates he mused, "It's not about this moment. It's about all those moments on the trail."

Thirty-three teams started the race. At the time of Jessie's finish, twenty-three teams were on the trail. The first one signing off the trail and collecting his spot in Iditarod history at 2:55:41am. It was what is considered the longest Iditarod race in history milewise and he did it in 10 days, 14 hours, 55 minutes, and 41 seconds.

Holmes is 77 miles to victory

Riley Dyche (l) and Jessie Holmes (r) at the
2024 Iditarod Picnic & sign ups. June 29, 2024.
Wasilla, Alaska.

Jessie Holmes left the checkpoint of White Mountain for his hero's run to Nome. The next seventy seven miles will be anything but easy as the team still has to make it out of the Topkok Hills and out of the infamous Blowhole. We've seen mushers' races go sideways on the run from White Mountain to the final checkpoint of Safety. Jeff King will tell you that a large cushion of a lead does not mean your win is certain. 

Holmes seems prepared and confident. Leaving White Mountain the Life Below Zero star chose to stay an extra fifteen minutes past his mandatory 8 hour rest acknowledging he had a large enough lead over Matt Hall that he could afford to stick around. At 8 hours and 15 minutes, Jessie Holmes took his lead dogs' faces into his hands as he calmly said over and over "good boys, such good boys". After a couple of pats on their back the musher gently commanded "haw" and the team began to march out of the checkpoint.

The dogs all dressed in their coats to help combat the wind and conserve energy pointed their noses towards the trail and as volunteers and onlookers cheered on Jessie Holmes shouted a thank you to everyone before letting off a "Woo Hoo!" and took off down the trail.

The winds have picked up on the coast, though reports for the Topkok Hills and Blowhole are few and far between and just basically say "there's always wind". In a blink of an eye the always wind can become harrowing. Holmes has run several Iditarods where the winds played a role in how the end of the race played out. He will no doubt prepare as best he can for anything. He has 10 canine friends in front of him he is responsible for - he has their needs before he can win.

From the Blowhole will be the checkpoint of Safety, a little roadhouse that will no doubt have fans and friends sitting and waiting to catch a glimpse of the soon to be champion. He'll get his final back slaps and instruction before he takes off for the final 22 miles. 

Those 22 miles is when many a champion says it sinks in. They'll have one more mountain to climb, Cape Nome will be the final test. From there it's a run along the Nome River and beach until they finally climb up onto Front Street. It's that run, though, from the river that gets the musher in the feels. The dream realized. Just several miles away from victory. The first one is always so hard and so rewarding. The musher will stop and thank his dogs, he'll make sure the bib is on straight, he'll look towards Nome.

Holmes is running now along those final 77 miles. The hills, the wind, the mountains, the ice. It won't be what he deals with for much longer. 77 miles until victory.

Judging by Jessie's out time and the average number of hours it takes for a finish - he should finish around 2:30am AKST. Make sure to check in well before that as teams sometimes come in a heck of a lot faster than they're supposed to (and sometimes things go to heck and nothing makes sense *eyes 2014*).

Jessie Holmes on his way to White Mountain

Iditarod fans woke up to a surprise to see Jessie Holmes not already in White Mountain. With the lead the musher has over the next closest teams, Holmes chose to rest in Elim for three and a half hours before heading towards the mountains and the village of White Mountain. Holmes left the checkpoint several minutes before Matt Hall arrived.

Jessie Holmes has lead for most of the second half of the Iditarod, having what many consider to be the "magic ride". Even when things went apparently sideways for the musher, Jessie perservered and stayed with his plan and ran a seemingly flawless race. With about 80 miles left to go, it's still possible for Mother Nature to throw one or two more curveballs at Team Can't Stop, but for now it looks like Jessie is solidly taking home the title of Iditarod Champion.

Matt Hall is about twenty four miles behind the leader, and has also run an impressive race. Behind Hall, Paige Drobny is resting in Elim. Depending on when Paige and team leave the checkpoint, second place could be an exciting battle.

In the back of the pack current red lantern is now Jenny Roddewig mileage wise, she is the only team not in Kaltag. Calvin Daugherty had to take his mandatory rest in Kaltag and should be leaving in a few minutes with a well rested team. 

If Jessie makes it to White Mountain around 8:45am he will be able to leave by 4:45pm. It's a 77 mile jaunt to Nome from White Mountain and is normally run in 10-11 hours, so we could see a champion around 2am Friday morning. We'll know more once Holmes' team gets into the checkpoint.

Jessie Holmes first into Unalakleet

Tuesday evening the village of Unalakleet welcomed the first of many Iditarod to the coast of Western Alaska. Jessie Holmes and his team of eleven dogs loped into the checkpoint of Unalakleet just a little after 7pm. The musher was all fist pumps and smiles as his team expertly weaved through the crowd to get their check by the vets and the musher given his award and handshakes.

The first team to the coast is awarded gold nuggest and other swag from the village and the award sponsor. The musher and his team was surrounded by fans and villagers crowding in congratulating him as he accepted the award. The presenter will re-present the award at the finishers banquet in Nome on Sunday.

Jessie Holmes stayed in the checkpoint long enough to grab his supplies, accept the award, and pack another bale of straw before heading back out onto the trail. The musher remains running eleven dogs as he begins his final leg of Iditarod 53, bu has ditched his trailer behind his sled. It's all about efficency and light weight from here on out for these teams.

Jessie previously told Insider that he plans to camp on the trail and not stay in checkpoints for the rest of the race (except White Mountain, of course). Jessie and team will run over land, across the Blueberry Hills, and down onto a little spit of land into Shaktoolik. As always the wind will play a huge part in the next two days for the teams. Often teams who do not stop in Unalakleet will rest between the checkpoints and then begin their journey across the Norton Sound.

Behind Holmes are Matt Hall and Paige Drobny. Both mushers camped on the run from Kaltag and Hall is now about 8 miles from Unalakleet. Matt is within distance of catching Holmes - if Holmes makes a mistake or the wheels start to come off. Drobny, too, has a very good chance of catching both, but she is currently resting 10 miles away from Unalakleet. Both mushers are about to quickly run out of miles to catch and pass the leader, but it's doable.

In past year's we've seen what was believed to be a solid time falter on the crossing of the Norton Sound. Teams have gotten lost in the ground storms that most always pop up, the wind batters down the teams to where they stop while others continue, and some just full on run out of gas. We saw that with Holmes' team a smidge last year when he dropped back a few places trying to hold onto a lead he didn't really have (trying to keep Dallas behind him). It's just how this race goes.

Behind Hall and Drobny are the chase pack currently led by Mille Porsild. Michelle Phillips, Mitch Seavey, Nicolas Petit, and Bailey Vitello are also on the run from Kaltag to Unalakleet. The top six seems fairly secure in their placements, but the next two runs will no doubt play a huge factor.

At the back of the pack Quince Mountain is still running as the Red Lantern, resting currently in Grayling. Everyone else is either resting in Shageluk or on their way back through the loop. Several teams are on their mandatory 8 on the loop, others still jockeying for that "perfect" time to take it.

We are now solidly in race mode for the front pack. Still looking like Thursday for a champion finish (at the earliest).

Jessie Holmes first to Kaltag2

As predicted, Jessie Holmes was first into the final checkpoint of the Iditarod Loop. Holmes and his team of athletes ran up into the village of Kaltag around 9pm Monday. With his first into Kaltag, Jessie Holmes won the Fish First award which comes with a check for $2000 as well as 25 pounds of Bristol Bay salmon.

Jessie Holmes had full command of the loop over the last two days and has chosen to take his mandatory 8 in this final checkpoint of Kaltag 2. Iditarod Insider also reported that Jessie has elected to send one of his dogs home, leaving him with 12 dogs - which is more than enough dog power for the final leg of the race.

Behind Holmes is Matt Hall currently resting 33 miles from Kaltag. It would be a good assumption that the 2017 Yukon Quest champion plans to not stay long in Kaltag and hopefully leapfrog over the current leader. Hall chose to take his 8 several checkpoints back and is in the wildcard position of the top three to take the lead.

In third is Paige Drobny who rested earlier in the day on the trail and is now just 13 miles until she passes Hall. It's mused that Paige will also choose to not stay long in Kaltag and camp somewhere between Kaltag and Unalakleet.

From here on out the trail should be familiar for both veteran mushers and the fans. Most know that the run from Kaltag to Unalakleet is where the leaders are separated from the rest. Just last year, those that led for much of the second leg of the race were thwarted on their run to the coast. Some of those teams are now once again at the front of the race and staring at that same trail that derailed their run.

Further back in Eagle Island is Mitch Seavey currently taking his mandatory 8. The three time Iditarod Champion has run in fourth position for most of the day, choosing short rests on the trail long enough to feed the dogs and give them some time off the trail. Knowing that he planned to take his 8 at the next checkpoint the veteran musher is banking on the rest he's built up in the team to help them bounce back from this long run and be ready to challenge and overtake anyone who stalls on their way to Unalakleet and Shaktoolik.

Michelle Phillips has used Seavey's mandatory to be able to slingshot ahead of him and is now the race's fourth place team. Phillips has quietly been in the mix of the chase pack and could play spoiler much like Seavey should one of the top three's wheels start to fall off.

For the back of the pack Quince Mountain - current Red Lantern - made it to Eagle Island as the sunset over the Yukon. The team looked well rested but also thankful to be getting a good bit of rest. The musher broke up the run from Kaltag to Eagle Island into two runs and will most likely rest six hours before continuing on. The next furthest back of the pack musher is Dream a Dream Kennel's Sydnie Bahl who is running a very conservative race with the goal of finishing not placement according to mentor Cindy Abbott.

Jessie's official time in shows at 9:28pm meaning he can leave the checkpoint at 5:28am Tuesday.

Holmes still commands lead into Eagle Island

As the sun rose over the Yukon River Monday morning, Jessie Holmes and team were seen trotting into the Eagle Island return checkpoint. The musher quickly went to work replenishing his supplies from his drop bags, grabbing straw and heet, and heading out around 9am. There's no more guessing over where the leader will be taking his mandatory 8. As he originally planned, Jessie will stop and rest in Kaltag2, the final checkpoint available for mushers to take their mandatory. 

Holmes hasn't had the perfect run leading up to this decision. As snow continued to fall Sunday the trail became slow and punchy. Teams slowed 1-2 mph from the speeds they've averaged so far. On Jessie's return on the loop, the veteran musher took an extra rest on the trail between checkpoints allowing the chase pack of Matt Hall and Paige Drobny to catch up a bit. Both Hall and Drobny have taken their mandatory 8.

Holmes admitted to Insider in Eagle Island that he was now feeling "pushed" by those behind him. This may play a factor into how the third leg goes for Jessie. We've seen him in past races start racing other teams and allowing their decisions effect his, and that is something he will have to be aware of as he continues to lead this race.

The back of the pack are all making their way to Eagle Island with most of them into the checkpoint with only Sydnie Bahl and Quince Mountain still to get to the checkpoint. Mountain has roughly 50 miles to Eagle Island (by the GPS) and is solidly our red lantern. It was good to see him continue as he is several hours behind the back of the pack group of rookies.

Your *unofficial* top ten (using the GPS tracker) currently are:

Jessie Holmes
Matt Hall
Paige Drobny
Mitch Seavey
Mille Porsild
Michelle Phillips
Nicolas Petit
Travis Beals
Ryan Redington
Bailey Vitello

Of the top ten, Mitch and Nic still need to take their 8. Redington and Vitello are on their way to Grayling the rest are inbetween Grayling and Eagle Island (except of course Jessie).

Jessie Holmes first to Grayling winning Halfway Prize

Jessie Holmes came into Grayling in first place around 10pm Saturday night winning the Dorthy G Page Halfway Award sponsored by GCI. Holmes' team flew into the checkpoint with the musher jumping off the sled to snack his team, dump his trash, and grab supplies from his drop bags. 

The musher who is first to the Halfway Point of Iditarod is met with an award donated by sponsor GCI (who have been loyal Alaskan sponsors for 32 years and counting). The beautiful glass art "trophy" comes with the musher's choice of a "smartphone of their choice with one year of service" or $3000 worth of gold nuggets. Not surprisingly Jessie took the gold just as every musher before him (since GCI started trying to give out a phone).

Jessie thanked GCI for their sponsorship of the race, and gladly let them keep his award safe until Nome. He then quickly sprinted back down the hill to his waiting team. They wrapped around the checkpoint and headed towards the next checkpoint of Anvik. 

There are no drop bags in Anvik (though there will be straw and water) so mushers must carry all needed food and supplies along with the required supplies and food for trail travel. Anvik is estimated 21 miles from Grayling, so look for Jessie to take between two and three hours. 

Behind Jessie Paige is about an hour until she reaches Grayling. Jessie has not just kept her from gaining on him, he's put a fwe more minutes/miles between them.

Mushers still need to declare their 8 hours somewhere on this leg, and so far none of the top 10 have taken their 8. Many of them took their 24s just yesterday so it may not be until they are on their "return trip" on the loop that we see them shut it down for their second mandatory rest.

We're five days into the race with 4.5-5 days to go until we see a champion.

Holmes, Drobny, and Hall on their way to Grayling

We are about to hit the unofficial halfway point of Iditarod 53. The lead pack have fully entered the "loop" part of this year's trail and are closing in on the checkpoint of Grayling. Holmes and Drobny played leapfrog several times throughout Saturday but are now firmly planted in first and second respectively. 

Paige Drobny had a strong run Friday night into Saturday morning and chose to rest for over five hours in Eagle Island before leaving Saturday afternoon for Grayling. Holmes, who was first into Eagle Island, chose to spend just minutes in the checkpoint gathering supplies before heading back out on the trail. The musher drove his team for another two and a half hours or so before camping on the trail for most of Saturday afternoon, pulling the snowhook around a similar time as Drobny left Eagle Island.

Matt Hall is in a lone chase pack of sorts as he sat in Eagle Island for another hour and change before following Paige out of the checkpoint. Currently Holmes is 16 miles to Grayling and holding a 9 mile (or one hour-ish) lead over Drobny who has a thirteen mile lead over Hall (one and a half ish hours). Michelle Phillips just left Eagle Island and is about 11 miles behind Hall.

The next chase pack is currently led by Ryan Redington, who rounded out the top five into Eagle Island Saturday. Mitch Seavey and Mille Porsild came in nearly together with the elder musher coming in just ahead of one of Iditarod's leading ladies. More recently Travis Beals, Nicolas Petit, and Riley Dyche rounded out Eagle Island's top ten. More teams are on their way so the volunteers of Iditarod's most remote checkpoint are about to get very busy (but I hear beef stroganoff is on tonight's menu).

The trail report coming from those who made it to Eagle Island were harrowing. Sean Underwood of Iditarod Insider reported that Ryan Redington said that this was the hardest Iditarod he's ever run. Bruce Lee of Iditarod Insider reported that Paige Drobny told him Saturday morning that the run from Kaltag to Eagle Island was in the top ten worst trails she's ever run. 

Trail reports are that of overflow as well as a trail that has set up extremely hard where the trailbreakers went through. That's normally a good thing, but the trail breakers drove over the overflow when it was... well... overflow. That trail has now hardened and there are post holes and ski ruts that are essentially throwing sleds all over the place. Mushers told war stories to each other of being thrown all over the trail, dumping sleds, and coming up battered and bruised.

The back of the pack are making their way to Nulato having taken their 24s. Red Lantern Quince Mountain passed many of them in the wee hours of Saturday and found himself in Nulato around 2:20pm, Mountain has taken many long rests whenever he stops so it's anyone's guess if he's planning to push further into the race before 24ing or if Nulato will be home for him until Sunday afternoon. Mileage wise Mountain is no longer the Red Lantern (for the next hour or so anyway), however he is the last of the back of the pack to take his 24 so hours wise he's still mathmatically the Red Lantern.

No more scratches have been reported after the wave of them yesterday, however KTUU reported the preliminary necropsy results gave no answer as to why Dan Kleins dog Ventana passed away. They did report that the initial exam post mortem revealed the dog was pregnant but there was no information as to how far along into the pregnancy the dog was or if it was known that she was pregnant. A full necropsy takes time, last year final results were not given for the three expired dogs until fall.

Reminder: Most of the US SPRINGS FORWARD an hour Sunday morning, so keep that in mind when you see in and out times and calculate rests. Alaska participates in Daylight Saving Time.

Paige Drobny takes the lead in Iditarod

Paige Drobny came off of her 24 hour rest and took charge of the trail Friday morning, leaving Galena around 6:55am. Drobny stayed just 9 minutes in the checkpoint of Kaltag 1, long enough to grab supplies and straw before continuing down the trail.

Drobny is the first of the front runners to leave Kaltag, with Jessie Holmes still on his 24 and not set to leave until very early Saturday morning. Matt Hall is also off of his 24 in Galena and should be pulling into Kaltag soon. Nicolas Petit is also on his 24 in Kaltag and is a wildcard for the race, he should leave roughly eight hours after Holmes.

Rookie of the Year front runner Emily Ford is currently sitting in Kaltag having had a fantastic run to the checkpoint Friday. The musher told insider she plans to 24 here. Sam LaLonde, currently the second highest ranked rookie in this year's Iditarod is currently 24ing in Nulato.

Michelle Phillips and Ryan Redington have come off their 24 in Nulato and are on their way to Kaltag, while Seavey and Beals remain on their 24 in the checkpoint. 

The next leg of the race is the loop where mushers will run their team from Kaltag to Eagle Island to Grayling to Shageluk then to Anvik before returning to Grayling then Eagle Island and finally Kaltag. This is what we may call the second leg of the race as this is where teams must take their 8 hour mandatory rest. Expect teams who 24ed in Galena to rest sooner on "the loop" than those who are coming off their 24 in Nulato and Kaltag (though someone will no doubt not follow that "rule" and do something completely off the norm).

The back of the pack looks very different tonight with the number of scratches that happened today. Quince Mountain is firmly the Red Lantern at the moment, but the musher seems to have struggled a bit Friday and is falling off the pace he held earlier in the race. With fewer teams on a similar schedule still in the race, it will make it harder for Quince to keep up with the teams in front of him. While it's uncertain just how a team is considered "non competitive" and pulled from the race, it does typically happen if a musher falls too far behind and the race cannot keep personnel and checkpoints open indefnitely. We may not yet be at that point, but it is giving fans cause for concern for one of the favorite rookies in this year's race.

On just a general note, as fans are getting excited about a woman leading the Iditarod, it will be 40 years later this month that Libby Riddles was the first woman ever to win the Iditarod. The last woman to win was Susan Butcher in 1990. It's been 35 years since the age old saying of "Alaska: Where men are men and women win the Iditarod" rang true. No real reason to bring that up, just throwing it out there.

Hopefully fans enjoyed their "day off" as most teams took their 24. They will continue to do so for most of the Alaska night (except for the ones listed above, well, most of them) so fans should really take this as the final opportunity to get any real sleep. The race is on come Saturday.

Holmes out of Nulato, Phillips stays

Jessie Holmes was first into the checkpoint of Nulato Thursday night. The musher chose to grab a bale of straw and a couple of items before heading back down the trail. The assumption is the musher will take his 24 in Kaltag, which is next up for the musher. It's puzzling if he's taking straw and planning to 24 in Kaltag if the straw is just a ruse for those following behind, or if he's actually planning to go further into the race before 24ing.

This year the race is requiring teams to take a mandatory 8 rest on the "loop" part of the trail from Kaltag to Kaltag. If Holmes decides to not stay in Kaltag outbound checkpoint he could go to the very remote Eagle Island or Grayling to 24, and then he would most likely do his 8 on Kaltag inbound. This is all conjecture and it's no doubt what the mushers jockeying for position are trying to figure out. (there are other checkpoints, too, but if we try to stay with more tradition strategy of second leg racing...)

Michelle Phillips was close behind Holmes, coming into the checkpoint before Jessie had fully left. The livefeed went down as Phillips was coming in and it was speculated that she had also blown through the checkpoint, but her GPS tracker still has her INTO Nulato. It could be Phillips plans to take her 24 here before continuing on to the "second leg".

Further back is the chase pack of Mitch Seavey who spent 3.5 hours in Galena contemplating if he would 24 earlier than planned or if he would continue with his "plan A". Seavey told Insider in a rare interview for Iditarod 53 that plan A has him 24ing in Nulato. After assessing his team, the three-time Iditarod champion took off down the trail.

Travis Beals followed close behind, with Insider's Sean Underwood reporting that Travis had told him he was going to 24 here, but changed his plans. It's anyone's guess if Beals is feeling the pressure to not let Holmes, Phillips, and Seavey get too far ahead of him, or if he - like Seavey - reevaluated his team during his break. Beals spent a much longer time resting in the checkpoint and may overtake Mitch before reaching Nulato.

Nicolas Petit rounds out the top five currently on the GPS tracker. No one ever knows to expect from Nic except to expect nothing. So... not much commentary here (other than every time his team is on camera fans comment on how leggy his team is).

Matt Hall is still in Galena and at this point we can safely assume he is taking his 24.

At the back of the Pack, Deeter has picked off a few more teams after resting through the heat of the day on the trail. Quince Mountain, current Red Lantern, is also on the move again and closing in on the resting Mike Parker with the Northern Whites. Matt Failor is also resting on the trail just a little further up from Parker. 

Current top Rookie (which for Iditarod only "true"/first year rookies are eligible for rookie of the year) is still Emily Ford running with the Shameless Huskies kennel. The team is currently running in 13th place. 

Tomorrow may be the day for fans to nap, we seem to be headed into the 24 hour resting period for the race. It's all up in the air, but at somepoint teams will run out of trail where it makes sense to take the "reset" rest.

Drobny, Hall declare their 24 - Holmes first out of Galena

Another busy night on the Iditarod trail as the front runners of Iditarod 53 made their way to the checkpoint of Galena. Paige Drobny was first in around 6:40am Thursday, followed by Matt Hall about two and a half hours later. Both teams declared their 24 with fans and analysts alike hedging bets on if one or both decided to cut and run after a few hours.

About 20-30mins later Jessie Holmes and Michelle Phillips made their way into Galena with Jessie Holmes deciding to grab some gear and straw and head down the trail. With the straw bale firmly secure to the back of his sled suggesting the musher will camp somewhere on the run from Ruby to Nulato. According to Insider Bruce Lee, Jessie Holmes has hinted that he plans to take his 24 in Kaltag.

It should be noted that unlike a normal Iditarod year, this year's race will not see the first Mandatory 8 taken until Kaltag as the 8 hours must be taken on the Kaltag loop. Right now teams are jockeying for placement for making it to where they hope to take their 24s.

After yesterday's news that Jeff Deeter was contemplating scratching, the musher did take his 24 hour mandatory rest to reassess. In an interview with Insider the musher said that in talking with Dallas Seavey who was visiting the checkpoint Seavey asked him why was [Jeff] out there running Iditarod, Jeff answered "to be challenged" - well, Seavey said, here's your challenge. What are you going to do with it? Deeter left Tanana around 5am Thursday and is currently on his way to Ruby.

The back of the pack currently has Charmayne Morrison resting in Tanana, Quince Mountain is resting on the trail as the next to last team. Morrison may be on her 24 or we may be seeing another team in "trouble" and contemplating scratching. Mountain had planned to take the first couple of days a little slower to get the team into rhythm, however with the trail conditions of sugar snow - the further back the teams are, the worse the trail conditions are... which means even slower going and more potential for sore muscles and joints for the teams.

We're getting to the heat of the day in Alaska so look for teams to start shutting down for their 4-5 hour rests while it's warm to give the dogs a chance to cool down and stretch out.

Iditarod 53 top ten (and change)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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