Mushing Radio: Iditarod Redington's Run

Join hosts Robert Forto Toni Reitter and Michele Forto as they talk about Redington's Run on the Iditarod podcast. 

LISTEN HERE

Redington's Run

Well, he did it. It took 51 tries, but a Redington has finally won "Redington's Run". Joe Redington saw his dream of a long distance sled dog race come to fruition in 1973 when he literally bet his house against the odds and mortgaged it to the hilt to be able to pay for the "First Great Race". Originally believing The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race would be a loop out to the Ghost Town of Iditarod and back to Anchorage, it was suggested that it would get more attention if it started in Anchorage and went to Nome. 

Joe's vision didn't happen overnight, he'd tried as far back as the 60s to get this hairbrained idea off the ground. He enlisted his mushing friends (names like Mackey, Smyth, Seavey, and others) to share in his vision and he kept that dream alive until finally he was told to either get it off the ground or give up. It took him from the fall of 1972 to March of 1973 but he did it (with a lot of help from his friends). Originally set to run the inaugural race himself, Joe had to withdraw as this little thing of not having secured the funds to pay out the promised purse was something Joe was tasked to figure out.

Originally thought to be "Joe's Folly" (we like to label things as someone's folly up in these parts. Secretary Seward could tell Joe a thing or two about it, I'm sure), the Iditarod stood the test of time. It has battled anti-mushing propaganda, several economic busts, global warming, increasing changes to trail due to population expansion... but the love of dogs and the dream of doing "the impossible" spurs the imaginations of mushers in each generation.

Though Joe Redington is the Father of the Iditarod, he never won the race - never really even came close. His sons ran the race and got closer. His grandsons have run, with grandson Ray coming closest a few years back. Each year the media would pressure whichever family member(s) was in the race - was this the year they'd bring a win home for Dad/Grandpa? Joe Redington Sr passed away in 2002 and it became a "will this be the year you win it for Grandpa's memory?" The pressure from fans and other outside sources had to be immense, and then the added of the personal desire to get that bust of Joe on the mantel also weighed no doubt heavily.

Ryan Redington has steadily climbed the ranks in the mushing world. He's a multi-time Beargrease champion, but he couldn't quite take it all the way in The Big One. Last year was supposed to be the year. It was the 50th race, he titled it Redington's Run. He finished 9th in an incredibly difficult final leg. 

This year Ryan tried a little bit of a different tactic, probably brought on by the crazy warm temps the first few days of the race gave the teams. The slower pace seemed to level everyone out, though Ryan told Insider several times he wasn't sure his team was ready to win this year. Whether that was mind games or what Ryan was seeing at the time, one can't possibly know, but it felt like this would be yet another Iditarod without a Redington leading the charge.

Until Kaltag. Brent Sass had exited the race, Jessie Holmes had stalled, Nic Petit had never materialized. Suddenly Ryan found himself in front - not by a lot - but he was in front. Peter Kaiser was hot on his heels and had all of the analysts salivating over out good his team looked (stop I don't mean they were hungry for sled dog). But Ryan had been given an opportunity and he took it.

Before the race began, Ryan found a note in a fortune cookie that would give him the same sort of magic inspiration that Lance Mackey got in 2007 during a Bib draw. For Lance it was drawing bib 13, the same number his father and brother wore when they won their Iditarod titles. For Ryan it came down to his fortune cookie telling him the number five would be very lucky for him that week. Ryan drew Bib #5.

And so as he lead the way from Kaltag to Unalakleet he never looked back. Yes, there were bigger, stronger teams that all of the past Iditarod mushers and analysts were talking about. Yes, he'd crashed and burned on Iditarod before, but this time he told himself he needed to stay focused and keep the pace.

And then he was first to his mother's home village of Unalakleet - a first in the Redington and race history. Then first to Shaktoolik. Kaiser still close behind and gaining. Then Koyuk. And then the big move. Ryan and team ran straight for Koyuk into White Mountain. A "monster" run of 88 miles. His dogs and he looked beat. Mentally the dogs were in need of a break and Ryan needed a nap. So he fed and bedding the dogs for an 8 hour rest. While Ryan ran all the way, Peter stayed in Elim resting his dogs and giving Ryan a five hour cushion - or so fans thought until Pete made his way to the check point of White Mountain and he was only four hours behind. Still plenty of time between Ryan and Pete to give Ryan some breathing room. He contemplated staying past the mandatory eight.

But then 12:12am came around and Ryan was ready to pull the hook. Reports of those watching the feed grew concerned as Ryan's dogs seemed to need help waking up, but they started down the trail and while not a blistering record setting pace, they made their way to the checkpoint of Safety through wind that were forecasted to gust up to 40mph. Slowly they made their way through the Topkok Hills, through the blowhole and into the checkpoint. They continued on to the finish line coming in at 12:12pm. His small team of six dogs looked better coming into Nome than they had the night before, but are most definitely excited for warm beds and fresh snacks. They did their job and made their musher proud.

This was a long time coming, we've all said it, and watching Ryan achieve a lifelong goal was the perfect way to kick off "the next fifty years." Joe's grandson brought this race full circle not only achieving the Redington family dream and legacy, but inspiring the mushing community. Ryan is Inupiaq, holding up a long standing tradition of mushing that was passed down for thousands of generations of Native Alaskans.

Congratulations, Ryan, on completing your Redington's Run.

"Here's to Joe, and it's off you go
In the land of the midnight sun
They call this race the Iditarod Trail
But to me it's Redington's Run
In my heart it's Redington's Run!"
                                -Hobo Jim

Redington with four hour lead in White Mountain

For the first time in race history, there is a Redington sitting first (and alone) in White Mountain. At 4:12pm Alaska time, Ryan Redington and team checked into the checkpoint outside the village of White Mountain for their mandatory eight hour rest. The Beargrease champion came in looking tired after he and his team essentially ran the entire way from Koyuk to White Mountain in a gamble to put distance from his closest competitors of Peter Kaiser and Richie Diehl.

Leaving Koyuk, Ryan had a 35 minute lead running to Elim. While Pete ran close behind cutting the 6 mile gap from the run before to 3 miles, Ryan continued out of Elim on his way to While Mountain. Peter Kaiser stayed behind.

And stayed.

And stayed.

Then stayed some more.

In fact, Pete stayed so long that Richie Diehl came into Elim and rested a couple of hours before leaving again and THEN Pete left. Diehl's lead was short lived and Kaiser made his way in front of his "best friend"'s team. The Kusko Boys ran from Elim to White Mountain together coming in just a few minutes apart. Pete's run into Elim was an hour and seventeen minutes faster than Ryan's, but his team has a four hour and seventeen minutes deficit to make up on Ryan. With only 77 miles to the finish line there may not be enough time for that to happen. Richie Diehl is only eight minutes behind Peter Kaiser. We're looking at having a "mini Kusko" finish for second place.

That being said in the Iditarod Insider evening report out of White Mountain from Bruce Lee, Lee reported that in talking with Ryan Redington there may be a longer rest in store for the current first place team. Redington ran the 88ish miles from Koyuk to White Mountain in one shot with no significant rest. That was a monster run that is completely doable but it can be taxing this late in the race. It was gutsy, but as Ryan's team came into the checkpoint of White Mountain they were visibly exhausted mentally (and the musher physically). At one point the team kept trying to jump off the trail onto a snowmachine trail and Ryan had to stop and reroute them at least three times, after the third correction his lead dog gave the signal that they were done leading. That's not a good sign for how his race may go tomorrow morning, so it makes sense that with a four hour cushion the veteran musher allows his team a couple of hours "extra" rest. Two hours is still a big gap of time to make up in the roughly 10 hour run to the finish.

It should also be noted that Pete Kaiser had not planned on running the Iditarod this year. His name was noticeably absent from the roster for several months before he slipped in before the deadline. Sure, it wasn't last minute like Ramey Smyth who waited until February to throw his hat in the ring, but Kaiser let it be known that it wasn't something he'd seen himself doing until he did it. Now, here he is in second place with the possibility of winning his second Iditarod if Ryan's race goes to Hell.

And let's not forget Richie Diehl. He's been working for this for nearly a decade now and he's giving a former Iditarod Champion and a "legacy" musher a run for their money. If either one of them hiccups, he's poised to jump on them. He's no doubt excited to be having a magical run and challenging the favorites - plus his team just looks good (so does Kaisers).

In 50 runnings of Iditarod there's never been a Redington in first. In 50 runnings there's only been a handful of Alaska Native champions. In this, the 51st running of Iditarod - barring them all having their race blow up in their face - there will be a Native Alaskan champion (last done in 2019 by who else but Peter Kaiser the first Yup'ik champion). In the 51st running that Champion could be a Redington. In 1973 when Joe Redington's race first kicked off on its way to Nome, Joe hoped that it would inspire a new generation of Alaska Native mushers to keep with dogs and hold to their thousands of years old tradition. Sadly in the race's history that has been lost as sponsorships went for easy to access teams on the road system and it became increasingly more expensive and difficult to get to races from the villages. In 2011 John Baker ended a decades long drought and joined the small ranks of Alaska Native champions, in 2019 Pete Kaiser won and inspired a new generation of mushers in the Kuskokwim Delta, which has a healthy mushing community that holds an entire series of mushing competitions as well as a dog food co-op of sorts.

This is Joe's dream and legacy coming full circle 50 years and 51 races later. As Jeff King said at the start of Iditarod 51, here's to the next 50 years of Iditarod. Let's add to it - we made it, Joe. Your dream is realized. 

No matter who comes under that burled arch tomorrow, this is what Iditarod was made for. Yes the roster was small, and yes the legends of the last 50 years are all but retired, but it's in good hands.

*For those wanting to know when to expect the champion, Redington can leave out at 12:12am Tuesday, IF he leaves at that time it'll be an almost 10 hour run for most, last year he ran it in 9hours and 45ish minutes. So start checking in around 9:30am (this is all ALASKA time and yes we follow Daylight Savings). IF Ryan chooses to stay longer in White Mountain (not a bad idea) then it may be later in the morning or early afternoon. As always keep to social media and this blog and we'll keep it updated as we can.*

Redington still leading the Iditarod

Fans woke up and frantically checked the tracker (if they slept at all and didn't just will those little flags to move all night) this morning to find Ryan Redington maintaining a three mile lead over Peter Kaiser as the teams ran to Elim. Both had spent about three and a half hours in the checkpoint of Koyuk in the wee hours of the morning. Kaiser has a slightly faster team and has eaten up several minutes in each run from Unalakleet, what was a six mile lead last night is now only a three mile lead.

Redington reached the checkpoint of Elim checking in at 8:35am, Kaiser is making his way into the checkpoint now and it will be interesting to see if he's gained any time on the legacy musher. GPS shows Ryan as moving out of Elim though the current standings do not show him leaving (updates sometimes take time). It's 46 miles to White Mountain and their final mandatory 8 hour rest. It could be that both teams decide to make the run from Koyuk to White Mountain without stopping (a "monster" run at 88 miles). 

Depending on how the teams fare on the run to White Mountain we'll either have a clear favorite to win, or we'll be seeing them in some sort of ski pole duel down Front Street Tuesday afternoon.

Mushing Radio: The Third Third of the Race

 

Join hosts Robert Forto, Michele Forto, and Toni Reitter as they discuss the third third of the race. 

LISTEN HERE

Redington rests in Shaktoolik as Kaiser, Diehl draw closer

Ryan Redington had an impressive 5 hours and 13 minute run time from Unalakleet to Shaktoolik before apparently taking a break in the checkpoint on the edge of the Norton Sound. Redington had nearly an hour lead over the next team of Peter Kaiser, but now as Ryan sits just about a half hour into his break in Shaktoolik, Pete is coming into the checkpoint. There are no live feeds in Shaktoolik so we have no real idea of how teams are looking as they come into a very windy run to then head back out into even stronger winds.

Speaking of wind, they expect a steady 25mph wind leaving Shaktoolik according to the morning report by Greg Heister and Bruce Lee. That isn't the most terrible weather we've seen in this stretch, but hard cold wind gets to even the most hardened of dog teams. The Norton Sound sea ice is still the trail they are planning to run, though yesterday there was concern about open water that does not seem to be the case today.

Both Kaiser and Redington will need a little bit of rest at the very least for the dogs to recover from their runs. Kaiser has just rolled into the checkpoint and Richie Diehl will be into Shak soon. If Ryan can keep his speed, he most likely has this race and Peter seems to have second in the bag in this case. Mushers like Bruce Lee and Dallas Seavey aren't counting Peter Kaiser out for the win, though, as both have been extremely impressed with how Kaiser Racing dogs look in Unalakleet.

The race. is. on.

We have a dog race

We've reached the West Coast of Alaska and you know what that means - the race is on! Ryan Redington chose to run the 85 miles from Kaltag to Unalakleet in one long run keeping his lead gained on the run from Eagle Island to Kaltag. Redington stayed in Unalakleet (his mother's "hometown") for just shy of four hours before heading to Shaktoolik Sunday morning. That's right, folks, a Redington is in command of the race... for now.

Pete Kaiser and Richie Diehl have kept pace with the lead pack from day one, and with their race strategy both are in good position to make a push on the Coast. This is their kind of trail as they are from the Coast (just a little further south as Barb Redington likes to point out). The famed winds are an every day no big deal thing for their teams and they thrive on the third leg of the race.

The weather looks... calm... for the front runners. Sure, there's the ever brutal wind, but they don't expect any snow storms or ground storms to wreak havoc on the leaders. There's still no word on trail conditions out of Shaktoolik, just that they expect some heavy wind (but when is that not expected) at a steady 25mph. The wind could play a factor as many sled dogs dislike running into the wind (does anyone?) and it could stall a team if they aren't on their game.

Richie Diehl just blew through Unalakleet chasing down his best friend and competitor Pete Kaiser. Both are hoping to keep within range to take the lead if Redington falters. The best chance of that is the run out of Shaktoolik. Redington is in somewhat unknown territory - he's never led this part of the Iditarod - but he's got an entire family's history worth of knowledge on the race his Grandfather started. As long as he can stay focused on his race and his dogs and not panic or focus on what the others are doing we could finally see what the entire IditaFandom has wanted to see since the beginning - a Redington just might take this race.

Mushing Radio: The Champ Scratches

Join hosts Robert Forto Toni Reitter and Michele Forto as they discuss the 2022 Champ, Brent Sass scratching, and much more on this episode of the Iditarod 2023 podcast.

LISTEN HERE

Ryan Redington first to Kaltag

Ryan Redington and his team of twelve dogs were first off the Yukon River and into the checkpoint of Kaltag a little before 1pm Saturday. The third generation Iditarod musher parked his dogs and quickly went to watering/feeding and bedding down his team before meeting with the Bristol Bay Native Corporation to receive the Fish First Award given to the first team off the Yukon. Ryan recieves $2000 and 25lbs of Bristol Bay Sockeye Salmon (to be delivered this summer).

Iditarod released the statement:

"Iditarod musher Ryan Redington  (bib #5), of Knik, Alaska is the first musher to arrive at the Kaltag checkpoint at 12:47 pm with 12 dogs in harness.  

In doing so, Redington claims the Bristol Bay Native Corporation Fish First Award.   BBNC employee and shareholder Christine Brandon traveled to Kaltag to present the award, which consists of 25 pounds of fresh Bristol Bay  salmon filets, $2,000 and a wood burned art piece by BBNC shareholder artist Apay’uq Moore. 

“Bristol Bay Native Corporation congratulates Ryan and his team for a great race so far and for being the first into Kaltag,” said Jason Metrokin, BBNC President and CEO. “Both dog mushing and fishing are longstanding traditions in Bristol Bay, and we’re excited to honor both with the annual Fish First Award. We wish Ryan the best of luck and hope they enjoy the taste of Bristol Bay this summer.”

Bristol Bay is home to the world’s largest wild sockeye salmon fishery. BBNC has endorsed a  Fish First value for land and resource management in Bristol Bay. In all land management and  resource development decisions, adequate protections for fish and fish habitat will always be a  priority."

Soon after Ryan bedded his team down, Richie Diehl came into the checkpoint and is now parked beside Redington. Eyes are on the tracker and live feeds as Pete Kaiser should make his way into the checkpoint in the next few minutes.

Brent Sass scratches from Iditarod in Eagle Island

Fans learned this morning in a hasty live feed on The Iditarod Facebook Page from Greg Heister that reigning champ Brent Sass had scratched from the race due to "some type of infection where he felt he could not care for his team the way he needed." Heister went on to report that the race was trying to get a plane to Eagle Island to pick up the veteran musher and fly him to Unalakleet for treatment. 

At around 8:40am The Iditarod released an official statement on the scratch:

"Veteran musher and 2022 Iditarod Champion, Brent Sass (bib #14), of Eureka, Alaska,  scratched at 7:42 a.m. today at the Eagle Island checkpoint as he didn’t feel he could care for his team due to current concerns with his periodontal health.

Sass had 11 dogs in harness when he arrived in Eagle Island, all in good health."

Thankfully dogs don't really care if they finish a race, and they no doubt are being treated like the good dogs they are. We wish Brent a speedy recovery.