Top Ten in Nome

It's been a slow but wild ride to get the top ten into Nome. With the longer trail it seems the run to White Mountain gave each team a cushion and spread out what is normally a quick first ten teams into the finish. Holmes came in Friday morning and tenth place did not finish until Saturday Afternoon. This feels more like the "good ol' days" of mushing when finishes went on for a week or more. We don't have that many teams left on the trail to make a weeks worth of finishes possible, but it's still a strange and wonderful feeling to have Iditarod last "just a little bit longer."

Second place Matt Hall came into Nome just three hours after the champion. This is Hall's second second place finish. The musher chose to focus his entire season on Iditarod and had mentioned ahead of this year's race that he would not be able to run down teams using the carry dog strategy, however Hall did keep up with two teams doing just that. Matt was always in good spirits during this year's race and fans ate up his baby talking encouragement to the dogs (especially when he couldn't turn it off when talking to people while caring for the dogs). Matt was in White Mountain letting village kids play with his sled and pet his dogs. In Nome Matt's dog Dyea swallowed his celebratory steak whole. At the finish Matt joked about how long the race felt on the Yukon, turning around afterwards and asking "ONLY ten days and seventeen hours?! It felt like two weeks!"

Third place was Paige Drobny and the Squids. The team was enthusiastically cheered into Nome by the team of handlers decked out in boas and flashy tinsel skirts - they even did a kick line. As they cheerleaded out "Paige-Paige Drobny!" a strong line of eleven dogs trotted up into the finishers chute. Paige was greeted with a flower boa from husband and kennel partner Cody Strathe as she walked down the line petting and praising each of her canine teammates. Paige was a very last minute addition to the Iditarod roster. Like February last minute. Paige told everyone in her finish "interview" that after seeing how well the dogs had done in races in January that they "deserved to be here" in the Iditarod. And belong they did. The team that surprised everyone last year with a 4th place finish as a bunch of young "rookie" dogs have proven they were no fluke. This team is special and Paige/Cody better make the decision now that a third go needs to happen.

Fourth place saw Michelle Phillips cross under the newly installed burled arch. The Canadian musher was in stealth mode for most of the race. Fans certainly kept her on their radar, but she wasn't really in the conversation for a top spot for most of the race. Phillips and team kept a low profile and by the coast began to pick off teams with ease. As "Clipboard Nicolle" welcomed the musher to Nome and announced her finishing time of 11 days 4 hours, Michelle giggled and said "Wow. That's a Quest race!" referring to the now bygone thousand mile race across Alaska and Canada. Michelle's 9 pups were perky and they quickly trotted down to the "barking lot".

Perhaps the surprise of this year's top ten is fifth place musher Bailey Vitello. The musher is most likely in the running for "most improved" musher, having jumped from last year's 17th place finish to this year's fifth. The musher known for his personality and his mullet came to Alaska in 2022 to run the Iditarod in 2023 - it was going to be a one time thing. "Problem" was - he fell in love with Alaska and with the Iditarod. With this fifth place finish it's likely he'll be here to stay for a while. Bailey was greated by friends and family in the chute, in his sled bag was his dog Jenny who he said was on her last race and he felt she deserved to make it to Nome so he chose to carry her on the last leg. The pup seemed content to ride, but also looked like she wanted to jump out and join the rest of the team eating their steak dinners. He said at the finish "I've always wanted to run the Fairbanks route, but I don't ever want to run the Yukon again." He's promised he will be back.

Travis Beals managed another sixth place finish having leap frogged over several teams late in the race to get there. Travis admitted at the finish that he tried to be a little more laid back this year after having gone a little too hard last year to end up going from leading the race to dropping quickly behind on the race to the Coast, but "it was maybe a little too laid back" this year. Beals came in early Saturday morning and was met by his family under the newly constructed Burled Arch that Beals helped with by finding "the perfect tree." The tree came from Seward, Beals' hometown and original training trails, and when Ramey Smith was on the quest to find a new burled tree for the arch Travis said he had just the one. Travis has the fastest time from Safety to Nome of the Top Ten taking only two hours and forty-four minutes (the award, though, is determined amongst the top twenty teams).

Seventh place had many fans worried as Mitch Seavey was poised to take fifth place when he came into White Mountain ahead of both Bailey and Travis. The three-time Iditarod Champion had leapfrogged over many teams along the coast to get back into contention, and he seemed like a shoo-in for that fifth place (or maybe battling for forth with Michelle), but then he stayed in White Mountain. And he stayed... and stayed a little more. Sean Underwood of the Insider reported that all was fine with the team but that Mitch had "hit the snooze button". It was offered that Mitch had maybe injured himself and was having a difficult time. Still, when the musher did finally pick the team up and point them Nomeward the team trotted down the trail at the typical pep and step of a Seavey team. Seavey didn't stay long in the finisher's chute, opting to get the dogs bedded down in the barking lot and then heading to his bed. Handlers report the musher is still in good spirits and that he just needs some rest and time to recover from this very long and difficult Iditarod.

Six dogs ran into the chute for an 8th place finish for the 2023 Iditarod Champion Ryan Redington. Ryan had had a fantastic and seemingly flawless first half of the race. Even with the punchy trail that caused some dogs to be returned home much earlier than expected, Redington was in good spirits and had high praise for his mighty team. Things seemed to go sideways on their way to the coast, but they managed to stay in the top ten even with the smallest team. Ryan noted the difficult training conditions he and many of the mushers faced this year and how he was so proud of the little team that managed to complete one of the most difficult trails to date. Ryan said he was proud to continue the legacy of his grandfather and hoped for many more Iditarods to come. Before leaving the chute, Ryan made sure to take to the microphone to congratulate the newest member of the Iditarod Champions club Jessie Holmes.

It isn't Iditarod if there isn't drama, and Mille Porsild gave everyone a good bit of it again this year. Not the bad kind of drama. Not the medical kind of drama. No, the tracker fell off the sled kind. The tracker somehow managed to disconnect from the musher's sled around the shelter cabin at the entrance of the infamous "Blowhole" and so no one thought anything of it to see it showing as "resting". With no way to track where the musher was, or even any indication that they weren't tracking her, volunteers decided they could let their guard down and rest as well. As they kept watch on a non moving tracker, no one was aware that Mille was nearing the final stop of Safety. When she made it in no one apparently was around, so she took it upon herself to check in and out and she continued to Nome. Weird, but not anything she felt overly concerned about. It wasn't until several hours later when the next team came into Safety that volunteers even realized Mille'd been there and realized she didn't have a tracker. Nome was notified and soon "clipboard Nicolle" was woken up from her nap and told they were going to have to do this finish "old school". Mille pulled into the finish shoot and shouted "Well that was difficult!" also exclaiming how happy she was to be in Nome. She was greeted by friends and family and Iditarod Champion Jessie Holmes - who then went right to work unbootying the team while Mille checked in with Nicolle. 

Riley Dyche rounds out the top ten coming in Saturday afternoon and is currently the most recent finish off the Iditarod trail. The Dark Horse Kennel's musher came under the burled arch declaring "that was a tough one." Riley took a year off from Iditarod as he made some big changes for his kennel, moving from Two Rivers to Big Lake where he worked on renovating the home and property to make it into the kennel set up he wanted. The musher is also now the one running the cart rides at the Iditarod HQ property in Wasilla - taking the reins from Raymie Redington. Riley said he had a strong core of yearlings in his 2023 race that he spent the last two seasons building around. He admitted that this year's race was a challenge and didn't go according to plan, though he also conceded he believed it didn't go to most people's plans, and said it proved to be mentally challenging. Through its challenges, though, Riley's team broke the top ten, which is an 8 place jump over his last Iditarod. If Riley isn't careful he may need to change the name of his kennel because he is quickly becoming anything but a dark horse.

There are still thirteen teams on the trail, with a battle for 11th place currently being run from Safety to Nome. Will it be Matt Failor who currently has a three mile lead, or will Nicolas Petit do what many expect him to do and continue to speed up and over take the 17th Dog. Petit is often able to claim the "fastest from Safety" prize, and currently shows as running over 2mph faster than Failor.

Our current Red Lantern made her way off the Sea Ice and into Koyuk earlier Saturday and is currently resting in the checkpoint. Jenny Roddewig has been able to successfully navigate much of the second half of Iditarod alone. She has 170 miles to go.

Look for the next teams to come into Nome around 7:45pm AKDT. 

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.

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!

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

Pete Kaiser wins his 9th Kusko

Photo courtesy of Kuskokwim 300 facebook page.

At 1:57am Sunday Pete Kaiser and his exhuberant team of Alaskan Huskies crossed the finish line in bethel tying Jeff King for the most wins on the Kusko. The Bethel local was greeted by many excited fans, friends, and family as well as a little rain. The trail was said to be fast and even with the changes to the trail and the start time it felt like just another Kusko for the champion musher. The musher will take home at least $30,000.

"I'm pretty proud of our efforts after the challenge of our training this year," Pete told the local media.

It wasn't easy for Kaiser to get to the starting line this year. With the warm winter most of Alaska has seen, Kaiser wasn't even sure he would make it to the race this year. "We managed to do it," Kaiser said, "and I was just really happy we were able to get the dogs to the starting line." He said while the weather wasn't anything they weren't used to in the area, it just went on forever. "Just not ideal training conditions."

Kaiser noted that the fast trail meant that he'd have to run fast early in the race and stick with the front runners if he wanted to manage a chance to win. He was very proud of his team and his race. "It played out almost perfectly," he stated. 

When asked about the trail Pete had nothing but good things to say. It was a fast trail, not a lot of snow drift, no slogging through overflow or open water. "Overall one of the best trails I've ever been on in the Kusko." The musher, who didn't wear his traditional orange parka and fur ruff - he didn't need it when it was 32 degrees overnight on the trail - commented on the beauty of this year's trail. "One of the most beautiful trails we've ever mushed on," he said, "we're going to be spoiled for next year."

Riley Dyche who battled with Kaiser for most of the race came in second place 18 minutes behind the champion. Riley said he had to carry a dog for most of the way from Kalskag to Tuluksak on the inbound trail and he believed that was what sealed Pete's lead for the finishing run. When asked if he planned to be back for future races Riley didn't hesitate to say yes, "this is my new favorite race," he said.

Third place Cody Strathe, who caught a bug on the trail and had very little voice at the finish line. Strathe managed to say that most of the dogs on his team had not run the Kusko before. 

Next up for the Bethel area and Pete specifically will be the Bogus Creek 150. It was another race that had to be postponed, and Kaiser told media this morning his plan was to race in that one. With the warm up starting Sunday it's anyone's guess what the rest of his season will be. His social media team noted that beccause of the poor training season that Pete made the decision not to sign up for Iditarod, so the Kusko will be his "big" race of the year.

Pete gave credit to his dogs for doing so well, surprising their musher. "I'm pretty proud of our efforts after the challenge of our training this year," he said. He mentioned that he asked them for speed for the whole of the race to keep the pace with the front runners and they delivered, as he looked down the line of his happy and alert team in the finish line - tails wagging, "they're just incredible."

Four teams are now into the finish, with thirteen teams still on the trail. 

Top ten are into Tuluksak

As of 7:10pm AKST on Saturday, the top ten are into the final checkpoint of Tuluksak and are on their final four hour mandatory rest. From Tuluksak it's roughly a fifty mile sprint to the finish line back in Bethel. There are several bunches within the top ten of teams close together. The final placement is anything but certain for just about any team.

First into Tuluksak Saturday was eight-time Kusko champion Pete Kaiser. The veteran musher arrived at 5:15pm and had the checkpoint all to themselves for just twenty minutes before Riley Dyche and his team of Dark Horse dogs charged in. Dyche is a dark horse in more ways than one, the musher chose last year to leave social media entirely and so no one really knew what to expect as there was almost nothing in the way of training reports on the musher. He ran a couple of races, but it was anyone's guess would Dyche would be doing ahead of Iditarod. Riley bought many of Brent Sass's main team last year when Sass decided to get out of dogs (in Alaska, he's been in Europe running dogs). Riley brought 8 of the Wild and Free dogs with him to the Kusko.

Fifteen minutes after Riley checked in, Cody Strathe was next into the checkpoint. The Squids ate up some time on Dyche. At 6:09pm Mike Williams Jr. made it to Tuluksak. Williams is having a fantastic race and has many fans and mushers statewide cheering him on. One of the local heroes of sorts, Mike is a favorite in any race he enters. Williams' best finish was 2nd in 2011 according to the K300 archives, and he last ran the race in 2019. Hunter Keefe rounds out the top five, coming in just eight minutes behind Willliams. 

At 6:26pm, teen phenom Emily Robinson rode into the checkpoint. Saturday afternoon Robinson crossed the 200 mile mark - the furthest she's ever raced. Sitting now at roughly 226 miles, the junior musher is now in unfamiliar territory. Last year Robinson nervously laughed when reporters asked her if she was ready for Iditarod, she mentioned that 300 miles intimidated her. The teen who didn't seem to be intimidated by Iditarod champions as she ran them down in 100 and 200 mile races was intimidated by 300 miles. Well, this weekend she took that challenge on and she's minutes from cracking the top five. The only teen, only female, and only rookie in this race looks anything but intimidated.

Lev Shvarts is ten minutes behind Robinson to hold the seventh slot. Behind Shvarts came Matt Failor, giving Shvarts a seventeen minute cushion. Sitting in 9th and 10th place are Cim Smyth and Bailey Vitello who came in at the same time. There should be some very close finishes Sunday morning.

First and fifth are separated by just over an hour. Right now Peter Kaiser has the lead, but it's not a fully comfortable one. We've seen the Kusko throw a curveball for the leaders in the final stretch (Failor's win was helped by such curveballs). The top three are not set in stone. And then there are the chase pack just waiting in the wings. Hunter Keefe will have to pull out the stops to keep Emily Robinson behind him. Several teams could easily end up leap frogging in this last sprint.

At the back, Isaac Underwood and Ebbe Pederson are both resting in Kalskag. 

Top 10

Pete Kaiser at 5:15pm - can leave at 9:15pm Saturday
Riley Dyche at 5:35pm - can leave at 9:35pm 
Cody Strathe at 5:50pm - can leave at 9:50pm
Mike Williams Jr at 6:09pm - can leave at 10:08pm
Hunter Keefe at 6:17pm - can leave at 10:16pm
Emily Robinson at 6:26pm - can leave at 10:26pm
Lev Shvarts at 6:36pm - can leave at 10:36pm
Matthew Failor at 6:53pm - can leave at 10:53pm
Cim Smyth at 7:10pm - can leave at 11:10pm
Bailey Vitello at 7:10pm - can leave at 11:10pm

With roughly fifty miles to the finish and Peter Kaiser leaving at 9:15pm Saturday, expect a finish around 2am AKST on Sunday. 

Do you think we're going to see another re-PETE? Do you think we'll see any surprise placements? Who do you think will end up winning the Red Lantern? Comment below with your thoughts!

Kaiser takes the lead!

Saturday afternoon saw a new leader on the Kusko. Somewhere between Kalskag and Tuluksak on the inbound trail, eight-time Kusko Champion Peter Kaiser passed race leader Riley Dyche to take the lead. With just 18 miles to go until the last checkpoint, Kaiser should be tucking his team in for their final mandatory four hour rest around 5:30pm AKST.

Riley Dyche has spent most of the Kusko leading the race (the only time he wasn't first into a checkpoint was when Mike Williams Jr. was first to hit Aniak). Dyche pulled the hook in Kalskag about a minute before Pete came into the checkpoint. His team was coming off a three hour rest and looked strong as they took off down the trail. Still, fans noticed the energy of Kaiser's team and the musher's calm as he signed in and out and followed Dyche out of the checkpoint.

Riley managed to keep a mile or so between he and Pete for several miles before the champion musher managed to overtake him. Teams are required to yield trail to the faster moving team if the musher calls for it (normally with just a loud bellow of "TRAIL!"). Mushers must then allow several miles to pass before they can yell to retake the lead if the teams are still "on top of" one another. One mile from the finishline, however, is considered "No Man's Land" and all bets are off. Yielding trail is not required and can make for an exciting finish (still hoping for a skipole joust into the finish some day).

The chase pack has seen a bit of shake up as some have slingshot ahead of others out of Kalskag. Junior musher Emily Robinson was running around near 8th or 9th Saturday morning coming into Kalskag and has now picked off a few teams and shows on the tracker as currently running with Lev Shvarts bringing her to 5th or 6th place. The teenager is a rooke in this race in more ways than one, it's not just her first Kusko - it's her first 300 mile race. For the Kusko it's the fact that a team hasn't done 300 miles that qualifies them as a rookie, and Emily is the only one who qualifies for that honor this year.

The back of the pack remains unchanged. Current red lantern Ebbe Pederson is into the checkpoint of Aniak at 3:30pm AKST and is currently resting. The musher has planned to take his time in the race, but it's unknown how long he plans to enjoy the hospitality of Aniak.

Kaiser Racing has been giving its usual fantasic updates on the race again this year and put out a quick but informative breakdown of the purse payout. This year everyone's in the money. Highly recommend you give them a read.

If Kaiser and Dyche make it in at the estimated 5:30pm mark they will be able to head for the finish at 9:30pm giving us a potential 2am finish for the winner. Gear up, fans, consider this good training for next month's Iditarod (less than a month away now!)

Who do you have coming into Tuluksak first? Think Emily will make a move and start picking off the leaders? Comment below with your thoughts on the race!

Riley Dyche leads the Kusko

The Dark Horse has dark horsed quite well so far on the Kuskokwim. Riley Dyche and his team blazed up the trail Friday night and into Saturday morning. Dyche currently sits in the checkpoint of Kalskag on the return/inbound trail. He is required to take three hours of rest here to complete his mandatory 6 hour rest for the loop. Dyche isn't alone as Cody Strathe of Squid Acres is also sitting in Kalskag finishing up his mandatory rest, but Dyche has about a half hour lead on Cody.

Dyche took an early lead Friday being the first into the first checkpoint of Tuluksak blowing through that checkpoint and on down the trail. He was then first into the Kalskag outbound checkpoint where he elected to take a three hour rest as part of his mandatory six hour. Dyche was not first out of Kalskag nor was he first into the halfway point of Aniak, but he took the lead when he elected to not stay in Aniak on his arrival and continued on the trail loop back to Kalskag.

Dyche's race plan is similar to the one Strathe chose to run. This is the first Kusko for Strathe, it's Dyche's second. As the two leaders rest, a wave of teams who are fully rested are on their way to the checkpoint. The chase pack include Pete Kaiser, Matt Failor, Hunter Keefe, Mike Williams Jr., Lev Shvarts, and Emily Robinson. Yes, that's right, the junior musher running her first 300 miler is comfortably in the top ten and is fully rested. The teen has done a fantastic job of maintaining her team and sticking with the big dogs.

Also in the chase pack are Cim Smyth and Nicolas Petit both of whom still need to complete their six hour mandatory rest. Smyth looks to need two hours of rest having elected to rest for two hours in Kalskag Outbound and Aniak - Petit looks to have one hour. They are currently running in third and fourth position with about a nine mile (one hour-ish) cushion of the chase pack. Well, at least Cim does. Nic's tracker isn't behaving.

Current red lantern is Ebbe Pederson who planned to run a slower race with a lot of extra rest according to a post by Turning Heads Kennel - who Pederson is running dogs from. He is the only team still on the outbound trail on his way to Aniak. Issac Underwood is the only team currently resting in Aniak.

Judging by the tracker, it looks like Pete Kaiser will hit Kalskag right around the time Riley Dyche should be able to pull the hook and take off from his rest (if the math is correct and we all know how often that happens for this blogger). Kaiser has taken all of his mandatory rest on the loop so he could continue on down the trail, but Dyche's team will have had a three hour break and it could be that Dyche has just timed everything perfectly to keep control of this race.

Don't count any of the chase pack out yet, and especially not Kaiser as these are his home trails. It's going to be an epic race to the finish.

What do you think will happen when the chase pack makes it to Kalskag? Can Dyche and Strathe hold them off? Comment below with your thoughts!

2025 Kuskokwim 300 race preview

 

Someone cue up the chorus from Andy Williams' "It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year", because that's exactly where we are in the mushing season. The Kuskokwim 300 is upon us! 

After having to postpone the race by a couple of weeks due to the insanely warm weather Alaska suffered for most of December and January destroying trail, the Kusko is ready to go. The cold snap that settled on Alaska at the end of January helped stabalize several areas along the river route for the promise of a safe, yet tough, trail.

With much of Alaska still without snow (from Willow to Anchorage and points in between there's ice but very little of the white stuff), the West Coast has finally seen a little bit of snow along with the more normal winter temperatures.

Currently, Accuweather forecasts 20F at the start of the Kusko on Friday with wind gusts of up to 20mph. A tad warmer than last year's frigid Kusko, but the Coastal Winds of Alaska are no joke. For most of the race, teams will run on or along the river before hitting a portage of sorts that is known to be a difficult stretch as the terrain is reminiscent of the Iditarod's "burn" section with exposed tussoks for miles. With all of the river trail, there is always the threat of overflow for the teams (several years ago we saw the finish slow significantly as winds brought warm air and rain that turned the end of the race into an absolute slog). 

The Kusko saw quite a few teams withdraw in the last few days. Some withdrew after the race was postponed because they had other races lined up already for February. Some withdrew as late as Tuesday. With all of the unknowns both with the weather as well as not being able to get all of the training in with lack of trails close to home, it's any wonder the seventeen teams still signed up are still ready to go!

Teams have already made their way to Anchorage to fly out to Bethel with most arrivals scheduled for Wednesday. The Kusko knows how to put on a dog race and it's a full on celebration that rivals the Beargrease and the Scandinavian Races as far as the excitement surrounding it. It's rock concert level. Bethel hosts the start and finish of the Kusko and acts as a major hub for the region. The entire community takes part in the festivities and cheering on the mushers, each team is hosted by a family who offer up their yard for the dogs and their home for the handlers. 

The Kusko is also one of the races that you can create a Fantasy Mushing team (for free) to help bring another element of excitement for armchair mushers as they follow along. So let's take a look at some of the mushers that have a good chance of scoring high for your team. (This year we're doing a top ten because, reasons.)

Who to Watch

Cody Strathe - Did you watch the Copper Basin? You should have. Cody gave eventual winner Jessie Holmes a run for his money. Cody is a late entry to the Kusko roster, and it's a very good guess that it's in large part due to how the team did in the Copper. This team will also be going to the Iditarod in March (a very late addition) with Cody's wife Paige. This could mean that Cody runs a more conservative race, but.... either way he's a great choice for Fantasy Mushing.

Emily Robinson - Originally, Emily was going to be an honorable mention, but as the list of who to watch grew, she made it on the list because we were so close to having a top ten. This teenage phenom is on everyone's "to watch" list. Robinson has proven last year was not a fluke when she took down Iditarod champions in several "grown up races" when she repeated her wins this season. Robinson chose the Kusko over the WillowJr 100 which is also set for this weekend. This will be her first 300 mile race. Last year Robinson made comments stating 300 milers seemed daunting. She's a confident and smart musher (and she's a steal of a deal for Fantasy Mushing). Expect her to run a smart race, but if she's near the front, don't be surprised if she lets loose. (And did we mention that she's the only junior musher running?)

Hunter Keefe - It'd probably be a good guess that Hunter is using this as a training run for Iditarod, but Hunter also tries to keep from being back of the pack. He runs a very strong team out of Raymie Redington's kennel, and they've proven themselves time and again that they can be in the mix. Hunter would be a solid bet for your Fantasy Team, and we're just here to see Hunter have a fantastic Kusko experience!

Jeff King - Is Jeff still the winningest musher in history? Even if King no longer holds that title, he's no slouch. He may be retired from the Iditarod, he's not retired from racing. King also currently holds the most wins on the Kusko with nine championships. Perhaps that has motivated his return to the Kusko, his title is in danger of being tied this year, and perhaps he feels he has a chance to win just that one more. There are few mushers in this race as seasoned as Mr. The King, and it's always a joy to see him and his team of Husky Homesteaders on the trail.

Matthew Failor - He won in 2019, he knows how to run this race, but his focus is most likely on the Iditarod, so if the race proves to be very challenging - physically or mentally - for the dogs he could end up using this as a training run. However, Failor has worked hard to take the title again the last few races, so don't be surprised if he's one of the ones battling the reigning champion to stop him from repeating yet again. 

Nicolas Petit - This is one of the few 300s in Alaska that Nicolas has not won. This is also the first race we've seen Petit run this season. The musher posted to his social media earlier this season that he was "taking a break" from the mid-distance scene this year, except for the Kusko. Everyone loves the Kusko! Petit typically enjoys speed over following a schedule, though he has tried recently to change it up and use strategy. This will be our first real view of Petit's team ahead of Iditarod, one thing to expect is it's going to be anything but predictable with Nic.

Pete Kaiser - The current King of the Kusko, Pete is looking to tie for the most wins this year. The Bethel local who won the Iditarod in 2019 won his 8th Kusko title last year. Kaiser is not signed up for the Iditarod this year, so the Kusko is his big race of 2025. These are his home trails, he has a lot of knowledge of the area, his team is used to the weather and wind. He has the advantage in so many ways, but as we've seen before - anything can happen. (Plus he is a nice guy and gives his competition information on the trails and tips.)

Riley Dyche - Riley's really starting to climb the ranks this season in the mid-distance races. His team is really gelling (though some say it's due to having bought quite a few of Brent Sass's top dogs). This is Dyche's SECOND Kusko (he signed up for the 2022 race but withdrew) his rookie year he ended up in the top ten which for this race can be quite the accomplishment as the roster is typically stacked with the best of the best and is highly competitive. (Many thanks to those that pointed out that he ran last year, an earlier version of this post had Riley listed as a rookie by mistake.)

Ryan Redington - The 2023 Iditarod Champion, multiple time Beargrease champion. If Ryan's in a race, he's most likely running to win (though he blew that out of the water earlier this season during the Knik when he took the puppy team and let one of his handlers run the main team!). There's no sharing with other handlers/team members so expect Ryan to be in this for more than just a training run (though Iditarod is his main focus, no doubt). Ryan, like Petit, likes to run fast right out of the gate and try to get a large gap between him and the rest of the field and hope the gap is enough that no one catches him towards the end.

Wade Marrs - Okay, so Redington isn't "sharing" a team with a handler, but he IS sharing a few (four) dogs with Wade. Marrs is running mainly with dogs from his Stump Jumpin' Kennel, but did post to social media Tuesday night that he would be taking four dogs from Ryan's kennel that he bonded with over the summer doing tours on the Panhandle. Wade would be considered an outside chance for a win, but it's not out of the realm of possibility. We haven't seen much of Wade this season as he's been doing the family thing in the lower 48 waiting for the weather to cooperate for races closer to home.

Now that we know who has the biggest chance of winning the thing, how can we make sure to follow along with the race?

How to Watch

While many of the other mid distance races rely on fan videos and Kale Casey LIVE to cover their races, the Kusko is unique in that the local grade school runs a program where they film the start and finish of the races. They go live on Facebook with race coverage done mainly by the students. It's fantastic and well worth a watch. Last year the students were unable to film due to tech difficulties, so the official facebook page and the radio station took over the duties.

Official Website

The Kusko's website is pretty slick. You can follow all of the races, fundraising and news from their site. It's easy to navigate and they have great musher bios. And this is where you will find those ever important in and out times from the checkpoints. Be sure to check it out.

GPS Tracker

Real time updates will come through the trackers as always. With the cold there may be more glitches than we'd like (blame the aliens!) but there's not much we can do. Cold and technology don't get along. The link for trackleaders hasn't gone live yet, so this will get edited once it does. Once it goes live you should be able to view them here.

Radio Broadcast

KYUK Radio will broadcast the start which begins at 8:00pm (start listening at 7:30pm for pre-race info). You can listen to the broadcast online through this link.

Social Media

Updates will most likely be posted on the race's Facebook page, and possibly their twitter account. Photo updates should come from Instagram. They typically try to have a Facebook live feed. If you are tweeting, instagramming, etc. the traditional hashtag is #K300.

KYUK is also plans to post updates on their Facebook page, including Facebook interviews with the mushers from the last week or so.

Most mushers have facebook these days, and many of them have someone monitoring and posting to those pages during the race. To find and follow all mushers in this year's race, check out the 2025 Kusko 300 musher roster on this blog where all socials are linked.

Schedule of Events

Wednesday, February 5
Vet Checks

Thursday, February 6
Vet Checks
5pm - Musher Meeting
7pm - Bib Draw 

​Friday, February 7
8:00pm 1:00pm - Kuskokwim 300 START*
8:40pm 7:30pm- FIREWORKS*

Saturday, February 8
NOON - Akiak Dash Mass Start

Monday, February 9
6pm - Musher Awards

*Schedule changed due to forecasted warm up on Sunday.

Who do you think will cross the finish line first? Who do you expect to beat every expectation? Can Pete Kaiser win his 9th title? How about that Emily Robinson? Comment below with your thoughts!

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

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!