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 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).

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.

Rookie Charmayne Morrison second to scratch

In an announcement that is never easy to read, but not very surprising to those watching the trackers - Iditarod Rookie Charmayne Morrison has scratched from Iditarod 53.

Not much was given in the press release Thursday, just to say that the musher chose to scratch at 10am with 14 dogs in harness all in good health. 

The race also stated they hoped she would return to the Iditarod in the future.

The rookie musher out of Montana has dreamt of running the Iditarod since childhood, and has worked hard to build her kennel to train and race to qualify. Morrison is well known and liked in many of the lower 48 races and the early scrach is surprising to many.

It is speculated the unseasonably warm temperatures, silt storms, and unexpectedly difficult trail played huge factors. Top teams like Jeff Deeter and Matthew Failor have also seemed to struggle in the first leg of the 53rd running. 

With Morrison's scratch the new Red Lantern is second year Iditarod rookie Quince Mountain who is running about fourteen miles behind the back of the pack.

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.

2025 Yukon Quest (Canada) race preview

A "cold wave" has washed over the Yukon Territory ahead of this weekend's Yukon Quest (Canada). Yes, do not be confused. We've already talked about one Quest on the Alaskan side of the border, now it's time to talk Canada. 

It's been long enough without the one long thousand mile race that most fans are getting used to (if not accepting of) the duel[ing] Quest races. But, for those who may be newer and don't know the difference, let's get a reminder. The Yukon Quest originally ran a thousand miles through the Yukon region of both Alaska and Canada. It was the only thousand mile race of its kind that ran across country borders. Two boards worked together to put on the race, one on the Alaskan side and one on the Canadian. They would take turns hosting the start and finish. It was considered the "harder" thousand mile race or the "better" thousand mile race by its incredibly loyal fans.

Then small differing of opinions between boards grew into not so small things and a breakdown happened. A pandemic happened. Now, we have two Quests that fans and mushers have had to choose sides. Because instead of having different weekends for the two races in the last couple of races they've run at the same time. Le sigh.

But enough of rehashing the rehashes. Let's talk this year's race.

The Yukon Quest will start out from Teslin, YT and will travel to Quiet Lake, Ross River, and Taro before turning around and heading back for a finish in Teslin. The shorter route goes from Teslin to Quiet Lake and finishes at Ross River. The Yukon Quest is a unique race in that it allows mushers to count their rest on the trail as well as in the checkpoints, only requiring a 6 hour rest (plus time differential) in one of two checkpoints (Ross River 1 or Faro)  in total 32 hours of rest must be taken for the 450. Mushers are allowed to rest in checkpoints outside of that mandatory 6 hours, and it will be counted as "trail rest" so long as it's at least 30 minutes.

For the 175, four hours of mandatory rest must be taken at the checkpoint at Quiet Lake (plus differential) and ten hours out on the trail for a total of 14 hours.

There are ten teams set to run the 450 and eight teams for the 175. Fans will recognize many of the names on the rosters with a few newbies in the mix.

Who to Watch

The 450 is stacked with fan favorites and some great up and coming names, however there are three teams that are most likely strongest to take the top prize.

Jessie Royer - One of the smartest mushers in the field, Jesse is no slouch. She is consistently at the top of very competitive fields both Quest and Iditarod. Jessie is a master at dog training and is quite capable of getting a large team to the finish line. Expect Jessie to run a smart race but be right in the mix and able to take the prize. 

Michelle Phillips - Michelle kind of owns the Quest now that isn't not the beast it once was. Even before she was well known for being in the top five consistently. She's won the 450 twice and is looking for a three-peat. She's nearly a shoo-in.

Mille Porsild - Tenacious is a word often used to describe Porsild. The woman ran the Iditarod with a bout of pancreatitis that nearly derailed her race in McGrath last year. Even with the medical setback that forced her to change her scheduled rests to compensate, Mille managed to come in seventh in a highly competitive field. But, right, we're talking the Quest. Mille is no longer a newbie to this race and she's a quick study. She has decades of experience running dogs. Don't count their fierce musher out.

The 175 is a little harder to tell who may be the best chance to win it all. However with most of the readers of this blog being part of the UglyDog community I would be in the dog house without fleecelined jeans if I didn't mention Quince Mountain as someone to watch just because he's just so gosh darn nice! (But I'd also keep an eye out on Nathaniel and Miriam.)

How to Watch

Official Website
As with all races, the best way to get information about the race is by visiting the official website. The race's website is full of information on the race including rules, musher bios, and checkpoint information. This is where armchair mushers will be able to keep up with the race's press releases.

GPS Tracker
The trackleaders link is already live! The YQCanada is on the ball getting that info to the right people. The only "problem" is it gives the Aliens that much more time to decide where they are going to cause trouble.

Social Media
The race's Facebook page is where the race is most active on social media. They do have an X (Twitter) account but they haven't posted since 2024. They also have an Instagram page. The race plans to do live feeds of the bib draw, start, and possibly finishes on their Facebook page.

Schedule of Events
(times are local time)

Thursday, January 30
6:15pm - Meet the Mushers
7:00pm - Bib Draw

Saturday, February 1
1:00pm - Meet the Dogs

Sunday, February 2
1:00pm - Race Start (450 first, 175 following)

Monday, February 3
2:00pm - Estimated first finish for the 175

Wednesday, February 5
5:00pm - Estimated first finish for the 450

Friday, February 7
5:30pm - Finisher's Banquet

Who are you cheering for? Comment 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.

Meet the 2020 Iditarod Rookies

We're into the middle of February, just a couple weeks away from the start of Iditarod 48, so that means it's time to take a look at the mushers planning to tackle the Last Great Race. While everyone is wondering which team will cross under the burled arch first, there are a number of mushers just hoping to finish for the first time with happy, healthy dogs.

The 2020 Iditarod has twelve rookies listed on their roster, 10 male and 2 female. There will be some history made when teams leave the chute in downtown Anchorage and again in Willow, with the hopes of history being made all the way to Nome. Several teams are from established kennels, while others are dogs the rookie has cared for and trained from the start.

Some names are familiar to race/mushing fans. Some even have strong followings on social media. Some rookies are known for previous races where they turned heads, while others quietly qualified without much fanfare. They all have the same goal in common - to get to Nome and receive the finisher's belt buckle. The most important goal, though, is to run with a string of happy, well cared for, super canine athletes. So let's take a look at the Class of 2020 hopefuls.

Damon Ramaker - This Minnesota Musher established his Kennel in 2016 after getting involved with dog sports through skijoring in 2007. Ramaker spent the last two seasons working on his qualifiers in the Lower 48 and Canada. He cites Iditarod Finisher Cindy Gallea as his mentor who encouraged his love for dog sports. The family man lives in a yurt he built with his wife and three children and dogs. When not mushing, he is an ER Nurse and runs a Non-Profit organization encouraging kids to dream big and pursue them with skills to attain the goal. He is also working with an organization to build a sled that will give accessibility to riders with disabilities to be able to participate in the sport he's grown to love. You can learn more about Damon Ramaker and his Deep Root Kennel by visiting his Website, Facebook, Instagram, and Iditarod Bio.

Deke Naaktgeboren - The owner of Nautique Sky Kennel out of Fairbanks started his kennel like most. He fell in love with adventure with his dog in college, met a musher and got the mushing bug. Originally from Iowa, he studied in Colorado where he befriended his beloved Siberian Husky Nautique. From there he made his way to Sweeden where he learned more about the sport he was quickly falling in love with and soon found himself in charge of a 45 dog kennel. Upon his return to the States he moved to Seward, Alaska taking a job as a Law Enforcement Officer in the National Parks. Then it was back to the Lower 48 to work as an LEO in the Everglades before trekking back up to the Interior of Alaska to start living his dream. He's in his 7th year of owning his own sled dog kennel, and ran the Yukon Quest in 2019. Now, Naaktgeboren says, he's ready to tackle the Iditarod Trail. You can learn more about Deke and the dogs of Nautique Sky Kennel by visiting his Website, Facebook, Instagram, and Iditarod Bio.

Fabio Berlusconi - Don't look for long flowing hair, or a dude riding a white horse... Berlusconi is just another musher. Fabio hails from Italy, learned to mush in Sweden from Iditarod Veteran Mats Pettersson. In 2018 he moved to Alaska to run dogs with 2018 Iditarod Champion Joar Liefseth Ulsolm. For Iditarod, however, Fabio will be running a team of dogs out of Iditarod Veteran Linwood Fiedler's kennel. Fabio does not have his own kennel, and as such does not have a large footprint online. However he does have a personal Facebook page. Linwood's Wayfinder Kennel has a Facebook page that doesn't see a lot of updates, and the Website does not mention Fabio, they also have an Instagram account. You can learn more about Fabio from his Iditarod Bio.

Gabe Dunham - Alaskan turned Montanan, Gabe Dunham began mushing in 2000. Learning from Linwood Fielder, she now has her own kennel of 30 dogs at her home in Montana. Gabe runs a sled dog tour experience out of her kennel in Darby, Montana, and is taking a leave of absence from her tour to travel to Alaska to follow her dream of Iditarod. She just finished Montana's Race to the Sky race coming in second place. You can learn more about Gabe through her Website, Facebook, Instagram, and Iditarod Bio.

Grayson Bruton - If you are a fan and follower of Team Seavey, you'll want to keep an eye on Grayson's Iditarod team as he is the musher taking Mitch Seavey's Puppy Team on their run down the Iditarod trail. Grayson has handled for Seavey for the last few seasons, and works as a tour guide for their glacier sled dog experience in the summer. Bruton grew up in the heart of dog mushing country (Willow, AK) and helped his dad as a volunteer for Iditarod from a young age (sounds familiar). Iditarod is a lifetime dream for Grayson. With Bruton running Mitch's future Iditarod racing team, do  not expect him to be competing for top rookie in the race, his goal is to get as many dogs to Nome for their first time as possible. Grayson is on Facebook and Instagram, and while they typically focus mainly on the A-Team you can find information on the teams from the Ididaride Website, Facebook Page, and Instagram. You can also learn a bit more about Grayson from his Iditarod Bio.

Jesse Salyer - Dallas Seavey might not be running Iditarod 48, but his handler Jesse Salyer is! Jesse signed up on opening day, and had a lot of buzz surrounding him just for wearing the Dallas Seavey Racing logo to the sign up. Jesse has been given the reigns of a very qualified dog team and it will be interesting to see if he's running a conservative run or if he'll be given the go ahead to compete (sorry, I have no insider information on this one!) Without knowing what the goals are for the dog team, it's hard to judge where Salyer will run in the race, but he has the goods to make a push if he so chooses. You can learn more about Jesse on his Iditarod Bio, he has a personal Facebook page, and Instagram (with no posts). Dallas Seavey's Facebook page may give updates on Jesse's race, and you can learn about Dallas Seavey Racing from their Website.

Kaci Murringer - Mushing since childhood, Kaci moved to Alaska to pursue her dream of running dogs. For her first Iditarod, she will be driving a "puppy team" for Matt Failor's Kennel. Kaci will turn 30 while on the trail. Look for a happy musher and some happy pups as they run to Nome. It's just a guess, but I would expect Kaci to be further down in the standings being a rookie with a rookie team. You can find out more about Kaci from her Iditarod Bio, Instagram, and the 17th Dog Kennel Facebook page.

Martin Massicotte - A long time musher who started in sprint as a teen and moved up to mid-distance mushing in the 90s, Martin Massicotte is no stranger to sled dog competition. He is a 10-time champion of the Can-Am 250, and has won several Hudson Bay Quest races as well. Being very competitive in mid-distance races, he managed a 6th place finish in the Yukon Quest in 2003. Now he has his sights set on Iditarod. You can learn more about Martin from his Iditarod Bio, or his Facebook page. 

Mille Porsild - Iditarod fans should know Mille already. For many years Mille gave great insight into the race as she worked along side Joar Liefseth Ulsolm during training, and reported on his races during the season. Her photos brought the process to life, and her good humor made for wonderful recaps of legs of the Iditarod trail. She was a fixture alongside Joar's team at the mid-distance races with camera in hand. But what fans may not know is that Mille is very much a musher in her own right. Now the head musher of Racing Beringia, Mille will be looking to make a mark in her rookie Iditarod. You can learn more about Mille from her Facebook page, Website, and Iditarod Bio.

Quince Mountain - Sometimes plans have a way of speeding up, and Quince Mountain's Iditarod 2020 run is one of those examples. Quince is one half of the BraverMountain Kennel team that was "made famous" through social media a little less than 2 years ago when Blair Braverman (Quince's wife) went viral with her sharing of the team photos and stories (oh and that memoir of hers). Quince worked on his Qualifiers in Alaska as Blair trained for her first Iditarod last year. After Iditarod, it was thought that Quince would run Iditarod in 2021. However, thanks to the generous support of the BraverMountain fans known as Ugly Dogs and Raymie Redington offering Quince the opportunity to run his dog team - Quince will be at the 2020 Starting Line. Quince Mountain will make history at the starting line as the first Transgender Man to run in the Iditarod. Mountain is not a stranger to adventure, and has more than enough grit and determination to have a solid race to Nome. Like all rookies the goal is to finish with a happy and healthy team, but also expect some wonderful tales from the trail when all is said and done. You can learn more about Quince from his Twitter, Facebook, Website, Instagram, and Iditarod Bio.

Riley Dyche - The 2018 Yukon Quest Sportsmanship Award winner, Riley Dyche is no slouch on the trail. Having completed the Quest two years ago, his focus has been on Iditarod. He and his dogs tour in the summer out of Skagway with Alaska Ice Field Expeditions, and live and train in Fairbanks after tourist season closes. Dyche learned from Quest Champion Matt Hall, Copper Basin Champion Ryne Olson, and experienced dog musher Sven Haltman. He now owns a kennel of his own, and the dogs of Dark Horse Kennels are seemingly ready for their newest challenge. Look for Dyche to be running for Rookie of the Year, but ultimately he'll follow his dogs lead to see that they have a positive first experience on the historic Iditarod Trail. You can learn more about Riley from his Facebook page, Website, Instagram, and Iditarod Bio.

Tom Frode Johansen - Tom's sled dog team just finished the Yukon Quest with Nora Sjalin as the top rookie team! Though a rookie in this year's Iditarod, Tom is not a stranger to the sport, having begun mushing in 1984 and raced in Norway for decades. He ran the Yukon Quest in 2016, and now he's achieving his dream of running Iditarod. Johansen and the team run sled dog tours in Norway. Tom was Rookie of the Year in 2016 for the Yukon Quest, and will most likely make a run for the Iditarod Rookie of the Year in 2020. You can learn more about Tom from his Facebook page, Website, Instagram, and Iditarod Bio.



The Class of 2020 is an incredibly strong field filled with interesting characters and stories. It will be fun watching these teams attempt the most famous of sled dog races. Who are you most looking forward to following? Comment below!