Four rookies on their way to Nome, one stuck in Golovin

Friday looks to be the last day on the trail for Iditarod 2024 - unless one team can somehow reboot and charge up to White Mountain soon. Three rookies are making their way into the final checkpoint of Safety, one just left white mountain, and the final team has been in the former checkpoint of Golovin for over 24 hours.

Lauro Edlund leads the final flight into Safety with Sevy Cathry and Jeff Reid close behind. The three have traveled most of the trail together and no doubt will continue to do so all the way to the arch. As they leave the checkpoint it will be just a little more coastal run before climbing their final mountain of Cape Nome. Then a run along a road, one final river crossing, a run along the beach and then up onto Front Street where the burled arch and a belt buckle awaits.

Joshua Robbins left White Mountain around 8:45am. As officials counted down he went through a similar ritual to what he did back on Willow Lake a week an a half ago. As he stood on the back of his sled the team broke out into a loud and happy "dogsong". The team's battle cry only stiffled when the official said go and the musher didn't let them leave - he was still trying to put on his parka. The judgemental looks of the team were comical, but they were soon on their way "nice and steady".

Robbins will have to wait a while to find out if he's the Red Lantern this year or not (assuming he makes it to Nome, and why wouldn't he?) as Sean Williams has not scratched yet even after being hung up in Golovin. The three time Iditarod rookie is once again seeing his hope of finishing dashed as his team reportedly will not go out onto the Sea Ice of Golovin Bay. The dogs are still energetic and have been rides to children of Golovin to make the most of their time in the former checkpoint.

Golovin was a checkpoint of the Iditarod for many years, but as teams were able to run further between checkpoints and with the mandatory 8 of White Mountain being the next stop, Golovin became a memory. Until this year. It's an unplanned stop for one team, and it will no doubt be a memory for all. Williams' team reported that he would try one more time this morning, but with little movement on the tracker it's unsure if they will ever get moving.

The Iditarod is coming to a close quickly. It was one of extreme lows and highs. 38 teams left the starting line March 3, and it may have 30 finishes. It's not over quite yet and cheering in the final teams is something every fan should be excited to do.

2022 Iditarod Meet the Rookies

The Iditarod class of 2022 boast a lucky number of thirteen names prepared to head down the trail. Some are fulfilling bucket list dreams, others are taking the next step in their mushing journey, and still others seem to plan on making their mark. As with most rookie classes, many are running dogs from another musher's kennel, though this year some are the only representation of their kennel. 

The six women and seven men all look to have fantastic runs to Nome, and their chances have never been better. There are several names that could easily take rookie of the year, and others that will no doubt surprise us all.

Each year I like to give a brief run down on who these mushers are and which team they run for (if not their own). Paws and fingers crossed that this year all thirteen earn that Finisher's Belt Buckle on this historic 50th running of the Last Great Race on Earth. So, let's meat them, shall we?

Amanda Otto - Otto came up to Alaska several years ago chasing her dream of mushing dogs. She landed at the Husky Homestead, home of four-time Iditarod Champion Jeff King. While King is not signed up to run in the 50th Iditarod, his dogs will no doubt be in the capable hands of his handler. Amanda is an avid athlete and adventurer and made mushing her focus after an injury in 2016 "derailed her soccer career". Otto is quite active on social media - especially her Instagram account, and is worth a follow. You can follow Amanda via Husky Homestead's Facebook page, her Instagram, and you can support her by joining her GoFundMe. You can also view her Iditarod Bio.

Bridgett Watkins - The musher from Kennel on a Hill and her dogs come from a very distinguished pedegree. Bridgett is the daughter of Yukon Quest Champion Allen Moore; Aliy Zirkle is her step-mom. Many of the dogs in Bridgett's kennel are either from Allen and Aliy's kennel or their bloodlines trace back to them. There will be a lot of eyes on Watkins to see how she measures up (but let's remember the Seavey's and Mackey's didn't blow the competition away their rookie races). Watkins had a tragic run in with a moose a few weeks back, but still plans on running Iditarod. You can learn more about Bridgett in her Iditarod Bio, as well as her website, Facebook page, and Instagram.

Eric Kelly - Another musher running dogs from his own kennel, Eric got into mushing after meeting Jamaican mushing sensation Newton Marshall. After helping Newton prepare for one of his Iditarod runs, Eric found himself working at Kathleen Fredrickson's kennel of Shameless Huskies before starting his own kennel 4 years ago. Like many Alaskans, Eric and his family fell in love with Alaska during a vacation to the great state and decided to pack up and move to the land of sled dogs. Eric's daughter Aspen is also an aspiring musher. You can learn more about Eric from his Iditarod Bio, as well as his Facebook page, and Instagram.

Gerhardt Thiart - A somewhat world traveller who got hooked on mushing a decade or so ago, Gerhardt is running Iditarod to raise awareness and support for US Veterans through the GAT Foundation. Gerhardt trained and completed his qualifiers under the mentorship of Mitch Seavey, and will be running a team of Seavey dogs in the Iditarod. You can read more about Gerhardt in his Iditarod bio, website, Facebook page, and Instagram.

Hanna Lyrek - Well, we couldn't let the boys of the QrillPet racing team have all the fun could we? Hanna hails from Norway and is part of the "exclusive" club of mushers who will no doubt be repping the bright orange of the mushing sponsor (and Iditarod partner) QrillPet. Hanna was born in Alaska, and her family moved to Norway when she was 5. She says she's always run dogs and she is excited to finally see her dreams become reality in running the Iditarod. Hanna could be one of the front runners for rookie of the year, and it will be exciting to watch her race. You can read more about Hanna from her Iditarod Bio, website, Facebook page, and Instagram.

Joe Taylor - Joe is another one of those California transplant turned musher. He got the bug after working at the UAF mushing program (like so many) and now has his own small kennel outside of Fairbanks. You may think it a little bit of Malarkey, and that's exactly what Joe Taylor went for when naming his kennel. You can learn more about Joe via his Iditarod Bio, website, Facebook page, and Instagram.

Julie Ahnen - The B-team from Team Can't Stop racing is in the capable hands of Iditarod rookie Julie Ahnen. Julie has worked with this team since their puppyhood. Going on four years working with Jessie Holmes, Julie is eager to achieve her childhood dream and get her finisher's belt buckle under the burled arch. Ahnen should be fun to watch as she makes her way across Alaska with what should be a strong and fast team of young dogs. You can learn more about Julie through her Iditarod Bio, website, Facebook page, and Instagram.

Kailyn Davis - The high school math teacher is living out a childhood dream with the opportunity to run the Iditarod this year. With Wade Marrs splitting his kennel between Alaska and Wisconsin (and not running the Iditarod this year) Kailyn was given the opportunity to run with his dogs to Nome. The team won't be entirely Stump Jumpin' Kennel dogs, but will be a solid core and help her get that belt buckle. You can learn more about Kailyn via her Iditarod Bio, website, Facebook page, and Instagram.

KattiJo Deeter - We all knew it was just a matter of time before the other half of Black Spruce Kennel took down the trail. Deeter's made it to Nome several times to greet Jeff and the team as they finished in past years, but now KattiJo will be running the kennel's second team in the race. With the insane winter weather this season brought to the Interior of Alaska, the Deeter's have had to change their racing schedule early on. Training was also changed up while they continually dug out and recut their trail. Still, both teams should have no trouble running to Nome. You can learn more about KattiJo via her Iditarod bio, website, Facebook page, Instagram, and Twitter.

Martin Massicotte - Martin is back to try again at finishing the Iditarod after starting in 2020 and not completing the race (like so many once they hit the coast). Martin is a lifelong musher with a great team of dogs, and hopefully this year's race doesn't prove to be a chaotic one of plague and overflow and snow storms that wipe out much of the trail and stall even the most champion of teams. Martin and his wife have shared a lot of their season via social media including how they got the Alaska and the adventure they've found just in the last month. You can learn more about Martin from his Iditarod bio, Facebook page.

Matt Paveglio - Team DEEtermined (in honor of his mother) is hitting the trails thanks to the generous offer of Iditarod veteran Kathleen Fredricks to have Matt run a team from Shameless Huskies kennel in the Iditarod. Matt has worked and dreamt of this moment and now it's finally here. Matt is a supporter of many kennels throughout the years and very vocal about his love for the sport. One can only hope that this run to Nome is everything he's hoped it would be. You can find out more about Matt and Team DEEtermined from his Iditarod bio, Facebook page, and Instagram.

Sean Williams - After having to withdraw just moments before the start of last year's race due to his mother becoming seriously ill (not Covid related), Sean is back to try again to make it this time to Nome. Williams has great support from Martin Buser and Matt Failor and should have a solid team of dogs with him. You can learn more about Sean via his Iditarod bio, Facebook page, and Instagram.

Sebastien Dos Santos Borges - Sebastien is known and loved for his work with "rescues" that he's added to his team. He is fun to watch in the mid-distance races, and one can only hope he has a wonderful run to Nome. He and team came in 7th in this year's Yukon Quest 300, and he certainly looks to have a strong rookie run in this year's Iditarod. You can learn more about Sebastien from his Iditarod Bio (which is very short), website, Facebook page, and Instagram.

So here's to the class of 2022! May they each have swift and safe trails, with "nary a moose" in sight. And when they come off the trail we will wait eagerly to hear them tell their tales and celebrate with them. GOOD LUCK ROOKIES!

Have a favorite rookie? Who do you think will win Rookie of the Year? Comment below with your thoughts and cheers. And, if you like what you see and want to see this blog continue, you can buy me a slice of pizza (that actually goes to internet costs)!