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| Richie Beattie at the Ceremonial Start of Iditarod 54. March 7, 2026. Anchorage, Alaska. |
The team out of Wildthingz Kennel spent much of the race towards the back of the pack as Richie wanted to make sure his dogs were healthy and happy throughout the entire race. The musher would say in his interview at the finish that it was a mental challenge after what happened in his true rookie year.
Beattie did not come into White Mountain Wednesday as the Red Lantern placement, but Beattie mentioned that being a little older and possibly more experienced played a part in his decision to be one of the last to leave. "If you're in the back of the pack it's way cooler to get the Red Lantern than getting third, fourth, or fifth from last!"
Beattie also mentioned that it was night to just take his time in White Mountain Friday morning, to stretch and to not be in a rush. The White Mountain Nine spent 30-43 hours in White Mountain waiting out the storm. Richie said coming into Nome was great to be out of the wind and that it felt "downright warm!" in Nome.
After going through the red tape of checking off mandatory equipment and handing over the promotional materials, trail mail, and vet book to the race marshall, the ITC asked one more thing of the musher - extingquish the Widow's Lamp.
Iditarod Education Co-Director Jim Deprez wrote about the significance and history of the Widow's Lamp saying in part:
"The Widow’s Lamp is a reminder of, and connection to the older days of mushing. It is said to have served a dual purpose. Years ago, roadhouses used to keep a kerosene lantern hanging outside through the night. The first reason was to help light the way for the mail and supply teams still on the trail; to aid them in finding the location of the next stop. The second intention was also to help show others that a team was still on the trail. News of the mushers on the trail was relayed ahead, to have a lamp hanging outside for the weary mushers. The lamp was then blown out once the dog sled team arrived safely. A correlation can be made in this case to the Olympic torch, which is lit during the opening ceremony, and then is extinguished at the closing ceremonies to symbolize the end of the events. The Widow’s Lamp serves a similar purpose in the Iditarod. It is lit when mushers get closer to Nome and is blown out by the final musher to cross the finish line on Front Street. This signals to everyone that there are no more teams still on the trail, and the race is now officially over."
The Widow's Lamp is not the lamp awarded to the final team, however. The red lantern is a tradition in sled dogs races that started off as a joke. If you were last, you were the one that got to extinguish the lamp and it meant you were the slowest/latest. It wasn't a badge of honor... until long distance races came along.
Just finishing Iditarod is a feat - no matter the placement - and being the red lantern winner has become something that awardees take great pride in. In the last few years it even comes with a cash prize and not just a red lantern one can use as a paperweight.
Saturday mushers will continue to care for the dogs that brought them nearly a thousand miles over Alaskan terrain as they wait to fly out. The mushers will continue to heal from brutal windburn, sleep deprevation, calorie depravation... hopefully they all get showers (can never be too sure they will). There's a meet and greet set for Saturday afternoon for fans to meet all of the mushers who finished the race. Sunday will be the finisher's meeting, and then the musher's awards banquet.
And then....
...then Iditarod 54 will truly be over. And mushers, dogs, family, friends, and fans will have to go back to reality. Back to the grind.
And maybe, just maybe, they'll countdown to Iditarod 55.
