We're not done yet

We have the majority of teams across the finish line in Deshka, but we're far from finished. Twelve teams are still on the trail this evening, with only four teams out of Skwentna at the moment. Next in should be Travis Beals who had to change plans drastically after accidently taking a long run early in the race (his run into Iditarod should've been broken up and he told the Insider he didn't even know why he didn't stop, that it was a big mistake). He slowed his team and gave them more rest, but then again had to change course when running out of Nikolai S he realized his dogs were not going to enjoy the run and he turned back to the checkpoint to rest longer.

Behind Travis is four-time Iditarod Champion Martin Buser. Buser was one of the front runners in the first couple of days of the race, but by Nikolai N his team was running at only about 60% and it left thier musher "perplexed" as he could not figure out what the issue was. Martin left out of Skwentna a half hour late because he forgot to spring forward on Sunday morning and was "just hanging out" until a volunteer pointed to the correct time. Whoops! 

Following Mr. Buser is Matt Hall who is running very close to Buser. The 2017 Yukon Quest Champion has been just running a race - I believe with young dogs who may have also just gotten overwhelmed? - and having a good time. He may be able to catch and pass Buser before getting to Deshka.

While the rookie of the year came in earlier today (between the Berington Twins at that!) our second rookie should be in sometime tonight or early morning when Joshua McNeal crosses the finish line. McNeal had a pretty good first Iditarod with a team of very young dogs, and told Insider today that there were a few times on the trail he thought he was in over his head a bit (the head on passing on his way to the checkpoint of Iditarod being one of them) but he's already looking towards the future and more Iditarods (though he said probably not next year). 

There are three teams currently in Skwentna, all rookies. Sean Underwood, the rookie from last year who had to be rescued by black hawk after getting caught with two other teams in massive overflow on the coast - is in Skwentna and can leave at 3:33am Wednesday morning. Underwood is running dogs out of Dallas Seavey's kennel (the puppy team!) and has done very well. It will be a great moment to see him come in and get his belt buckle! He's more than earned it.

Five teams still need to make it into Skwentna, and they're all at Finger Lake or closer. We're probably still on schedule to have this race finished out by sometime Thursday (I'm not ready, but my dog sure is. He's tired of not having all my attention). 

This has been such a different race and yet so exciting. While we didn't have the ability to send out Mushergrams this year, you can and should still send messages through social media. And I have you covered with my Iditarod Roster social media account links! 

Top 13 teams have finished

The 49th running of the running has had a third of its teams (that have not scratched or been withdrawn) finish today. Starting with Dallas Seavey's finish around 5am this morning, the day saw 12 teams behind the five-time champion. Dallas was able to meet his closest competitor in the race - Aaron Burmeister - to the finish before finally succumbing to his exhaustion (his parents drove him home). We probably won't hear from the champion for at least another 16 hours. If then.

Aaron Burmeister gave a very good post race interview where he cited that he had worked out to plans for Iditarod in the months leading up to the race. He had a "passive" race plan and an "aggressive" race plan. He chose the former, and ironically the latter was the exact schedule that Dallas had come up with. The veteran musher was jovial and excited to know he stuck it out with Dallas to the very end. He's also apparently announced that next year will be his final Iditarod (we've heard that before, though, Aaron). 

Brent Sass followed a little over an hour later with a strong team of 13 Alaskan Huskies that looked like they could keep going. Iditarod Insider's Bruce Lee said that in a normal race year Sass would've won with the team in this year's finish. It's definitely possible. That being said, both Burmeister and Seavey would've had different strategy if this was a normal year.

In a hard fought battle, Wade Marrs was able to keep Mille Porsild behind him to place fourth. Marrs came in 4th one other time - in 2016... the last time Dallas won the Iditarod before, well, this year... interesting - and came in wearing a sweatshirt, not his parka. Wade explained for at least the last 15 miles he was running with the sled to make sure Mille did not over take them. Wade was greeted at the finish by his wife Sophia and their baby boy (awww).

Mille Porsild rounds out the top five with an impressive finish. Her team is a mixture of many borrowed dogs from several kennels and she managed to bring them into the finish as a cohesive unit. Mille told Insider that when she started the race she believed her team to be a power team but then they decided to be a speed team (or did I get that backwards). She said the team amazed her and they are superstars. When asked what she would have done differently she said she would have slept more. (Same, Mille, same.)

Nicolas Petit flew down the trail in the last leg of the race picking off teams one by one and nearly caught up with Mille and Wade. Petit's team was another that did not seem ready to stop, even after gorging themselves on prime cuts of steak. (For real these Iditarod dogs eat better than I ever will.) According to his interview with the media Mille said there was no one she didn't want right behind her more than Petit and that she was constantly looking for her shoulder, Petit responded: "She wasn't just looking, I saw her footsteps." The sixth place for Team Petit is a welcome placement after several years of disappointing finishes and scratches.

Coming in with the smallest team so far, Ryan Redington improved his standings by one placement coming in 7th this year. Redington's in a rebuilding stage for his kennel after some professional and personal setbacks, so a top ten finish is a very good placement. Redington told the media that he spent the last several days already planning what to do better for next year as he looks forward to running the 50th. He enjoyed running with friends Nic Petit and Wade Marrs, and it was pretty cool to finish in Willow. 

Joar Liefseth Ulsom - the 2018 Iditarod Champion - was next in in another close finish for 8th. Joar was all smiles as he was greeted by his wife and they had quite a few moments for the camera to capture (ah, newlyweds). Joar's dogs did really well in the final leg, especially to keep Richie Diehl behind them. In a new race that was difficult to gauge ahead of time what would work, Joar was very happy with how things turned out.

Ten minutes after Joar, the 2021 Kuskokwim Champion Richie Diehl made his way to the finishline. The musher from Aniak said that he had hopes of catching Joar near Yentna, but it just didn't happen. He said he expected to run the first half of the race like he would in a normal year and hoped it would pay off. He said it did pay off but that this year was "hell of a fast race". He still managed to finish 9th in a highly competitive field where his best friend and rival Peter Kaiser had to end his race early. With some sleep Richie may be able to appreciate the accomplishment a little more. (He was very proud of his team.) 

Rounding out the top ten was Ramey Smyth. Long time race fans were hardly shocked to see Ramey come charging down the trail and pick off at least a dozen teams to make 10th place. Smyth is known for his strong closing runs. If Ramey's behind you (especially seemingly out of nowhere) worry. The veteran musher had few words instead telling the interviewer asking if he learned anything in the race to "keep it on the trail." And with that he was headed with his team to load up and go home. It was great to see him make another top 10. 

Just outside the top ten was Michelle Phillips. The 51 year old Canadian musher held onto 10th for much of the race only to have it lost in the last leg. Still she was all smiles as she was met at the finish by family and friends including fellow musher Jodi Bailey (whose husband is still out on the trail) who immediately threw a boa around Michelle's neck as is their tradition. She didn't give much of an interview either, instead choosing to focus on her dogs and make sure they knew just what a great job they did and make sure they got all the best snacks (including fatty snacks!) 

Jeff Deeter held off Jessie Royer to come in 12th place after a harrowing night dealing with a moose who would not give up the trail. (Okay he didn't make a big deal about it, but moose on Iditarod Trails don't always end well.) Jeff told insider that he enjoyed the going back through the Alaska Range and stated that running up the gorge was "so cool." During his interview he looked over to Race Marshall Mark Nordman saying that he wanted to do that again and that he was putting in a vote to do it again. Nordman gave a very hesitant "uhhhh" to which Deeter said "for like every 10 years." Mark then said that was fine because he wouldn't be around for the next one (what?! no!) While Deeter was hoping for top 10 this year, he is very happy with 12 as the race was a very fast and competitive one.

Jessie Royer came in soon after in 13th and was greeted by Jeff Deeter. The veteran musher was very animated and happy with finishing. She said she really enjoyed running back up the gorge saying that it was actually a really beautiful trail when you aren't having to hang on for dear life. "Going up the gorge it's like 'oh wow, this is actually kinda nice, oh look a squirrel!'... going down it though you're like 'AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!'" While fans may worry this seems like a step back for Jessie, it's just another race she'll use to build an even better team for next year. She was very excited about the dogs in front of her and I'd say watch out for them next year.

Several teams are on the trail headed into Deshka Landing tonight, but if today's finishes are any indication, the runs will be slow and we may not see another finish until midnight (or really really really late tonight, depending on how fast Aaron Peck can go the next 22 miles). There are 23 teams out on the trail, most have made it to Rohn with just three not yet in that checkpoint. We should see a close to the 49th Iditarod by Thursday. 

Congratulations Dallas

Some said it would never be duplicated. Many believe Rick Swenson's record was sacred and had some magical power that would keep any four-time Iditarod Champion from ever claiming a fifth. That thought was never more qualified than in 2014 when Jeff King had a solid lead out of White Mountain and was blown off course and forced to scratch just three or four miles from the last checkpoint of Safety. Doug Swingley ended up with frozen corneas. Cursed. That has been the theory of many a musher. It's cursed. Dallas even voiced that concern in Skwentna as he was parked taking his final mandatory 8. 

But here we are. In a year fraught with so many unknowns, so many changes and challenges. Here we are. Dallas is only the second five-time champion the Iditarod has ever had. I'm sure you could make the argument that it was shorter, that the trails are better that the race is hardly the same as when Rick was winning. And you're right. Dog care is better. Breeding programs are better. Training is better. There are more ways to afford to be an Iditarod musher without scratching two pennies together and hoping it's enough. All valid. But if it was that much easier, why don't we have more 5 time champions? There's something about this number that is more legend than attained.

We've come a long way from the musher who was "just" training his dad puppy teams. The one that was going to hold the title of youngest musher to start the race, finish the race. Then it was the plan to leave the mushing behind and become a national champion wrestler and the Olympics. When that ended with injury and he returned back to the puppy team training it was "I'm not doing this forever". There were plans for horses in Montana or something else. Not dogs. But the challenge continued calling... and here we are. The youngest Iditarod Champion, a rivalry with the sport's most beloved icon of the era (no, not Mitch, I'm talking Aliy Zirkle). A come from behind win due to crazy weather. 3 wins in a row. 

And then the dark days. The scandal. Personal drama. Dark days where I'm sure at times he felt very alone. But there were dogs, and there was family. And Norway. And finding the fun in the challenge again. And a dad taking a year off and suddenly the rebuilding part of Dallas's life was coming together and here we are.

Number five. No, there's no burled arch. No running up Cape Nome. No siren. No coming up off the sea ice right behind the Subway/Movie Theater. No Front Street.

But it was 850+ miles on trail known well but not known well backwards. Of Covid Bubbles. Of hay stealing ponies. And so much attention about one wool sweater that it now has its own twitter account (I wanna be there when he finds out about that). 

And somehow, here he is. Back on top as Champion after 3 years away. It's like he never left and nothing has changed. 

Congratulations, Dallas. It was well earned. 

And, hey, welcome back to Iditarod. You've been missed.

Seavey maintains hour lead over Burmeister

Dallas Seavey and his 10 dog team surged into the checkpoint of Skwentna at 12:44pm today looking like they were ready to continue down the trail without stopping. However, due to Skwentna being the checkpoint all teams will take their final mandatory 8 hour layover and dogs charged over into the dog parking space and immediately got to work getting into rest mode. Several dogs laid down and excitedly started pulling at their booties (think of it as like those of us that have to wear bras taking our bra off immediately after work, it's just ahhhh). Dallas went to work getting the dog food repaired and straw laid down for the dogs. 

Aaron Burmeister and his team of 13 marched into the checkpoint an hour later with an official time of 1:45pm. Aaron has made up a lot of ground since McGrath, but he's quickly run out of real estate. The veteran musher running his 20th Iditarod this year made his move last night knowing he would have to make a monster run from Rainy Pass to Skwentna if he had any chance of challenging Dallas. With having an hour between the two suggests he will need a major wind and snow storm ala 2014 to blow up Dallas's lead. It's not impossible, but it's also not probable (thank you Capt Jack). 

It also looks like Brent Sass is now trying to preserve his placement as third. Maybe he's hoping Aaron pushed too hard and won't have any gas left in the tank and can be over taken, but it seems like with the time gaps between the top three, we're pretty set for placements. Brent came in an hour and fifty-five minutes behind Aaron Burmeister, checking in at 3:40pm. 

The mileage from Skwentna seems to be debatable. Some are saying 67 miles, others say 61. There is a steady snow falling in Skwentna and much of the area is supposed to get snow through much of the night. This may play a small factor, but it should not play a huge role in who ends up where.

The top three can leave Skwentna at the following times:

Dallas Seavey can leave at 8:44pm
Aaron Burmeister can leave at 9:45pm
Brent Sass can leave at 11:40pm

Then it's 60-70 miles to Deshka Landing and the finish line.

If Dallas manages to win this will be his fifth title. He will be the first musher to tie Rick Swenson's record of 5-wins. Dallas acknowledged today that the fifth win is elusive telling Iditarod Insider "the damn thing is cursed." Dallas went onto say his biggest worry in Skwentna is that he will fall asleep and take the wrong river on the home stretch. Which is possible. We've seen it happen in other races. But it will be a big mistake like that to allow Aaron a chance to overtake Dallas and his Monsters.

Predicted finish:
Bruce Lee told insider between 2am-3am
Danny Seavey 4:50am
Me: Heck if I know but I'd say about 3:30am.

Oh and to make it a little more fun and maybe more "real" Pete Kaiser's website has a recording of the Nome Siren you can play when the team is two miles out. The siren is played for every team that comes into the finish (unless it's after the top... 30? then it's only those during waking hours bc noise ordinance can only be ignored for so long). 

Dallas Seavey first into Rainy Pass

 After allowing Burmeister and Sass pass him on the way to Rohn, Dallas blew through the checkpoint earlier this afternoon after stopping just long enough to check in and grab gear and go. The climb ahead was anyone's guess how things would go, and it's no doubt Dallas had every intention of just going with it and not think too much. His team looked strong coming into the checkpoint and charged down the trail at a strong trot after a brief moment of confusion when Lead Dog North tried to take a different path. 

When coming into the checkpoint his team came in hot. They were strong, still tugging fully on the line. The musher announced he was staying for "a little bit" and asked where to park his team. He's learned that due to the Rainy Pass Lodge ponies stealing hay from the haybale area he would have to wait until someone opened the electric fence. "Wow, all sorts of new obstacles (challenges?) for mushers!" 

When Dallas was asked by Bruce Lee of Iditarod Insider how the climb was Dallas answered with a chuckle, "Steep." He also said his feet were frozen due to there being "a little bit of overflow out there."

Dallas managed to make the run into the checkpoint only about a half hour slower than when he was on the outbound trail. Considering it was a rough climb for most of it, it's impressive that he managed to only slow slightly.

It also looks like Burmeister is doing well with the trail, and should keep in step with Dallas's time at the very least (he ran the Rainy to Rohn trail much faster than Dallas). 

Brent Sass has also started the chase. Should be an exciting night and early morning. 

Time to get that last nap in, folks... we aren't sleeping much from here until the finish tomorrow, whenever it is.

Aaron Burmeister leading into Rohn

 Aaron Burmeister passed Dallas Seavey from where he was camping on the trail around 1:45pm today. Seavey did not give chase as some speculated he would, and allowed Brent Sass and Ryan Redington to pass by before he, too, pulled the snowhook. It's now 3:35 and it looks as those Seavey has already passed Ryan Redington.

With his rest on the trail Seavey still has the advantage over Sass and Burmeister - and it's assumed the both of them will rest in Rohn. Dallas should slingshot out ahead of them as he chose to rest closer to the checkpoint and he'll be the first to head UP the gorge.

I've gotten a few questions in the last day if this trail has ever been done in reverse in Iditarod history. As far as racing, absolutely not - this is the first time. However, race fans may remember that Jeremy Keller chose to scratch after the first breaking news of Covid shutting the world down hit last year. Keller wanted to get home to his family before everything went crazy (he had a sixth sense it, if you think about it). So he chose to run the trail with the dogs backwards instead of waiting for transport off the trail which we know can take a few days. So it's been done, and been done recently. It's not easy, but it's doable.

Dallas said in a pre-race video up on his youtube channel that he does not enjoy this part of the trail they are on now (other than Hal Hanson I haven't heard one musher say they enjoy it... rookies). It doesn't mean Dallas will struggle, but it's anyone's guess how any of this will play out. We are looking at him hitting the gorge as the day begins to cool down and the sun starts to sink lower. I would guess he SHOULD be through the "worst" of it before dark, but it doesn't matter much now because I don't expect a team to really stop when in the gorge.

Dallas is currently 2 miles behind Sass who is 7-8 miles behind Burmeister. 

This is going to be a fun night. 

It's a three way race

Fans followed through the night (I passed out around midnight. I'm too old for this, man! lol), others woke up to the early morning news to see that Aaron Burmeister and Brent Sass had caught and passed Dallas Seavey in Nikolai. The race leader to that point made the decision to rest a few hours in the checkpoint before continuing down the trail. In a pre-race recorded video on his youtube channel that dropped today, Dallas explained his strategy for this part of the race. Essentially, Dallas is planning to break up the run to Rainy Pass with just a quick pass through Rohn (cuz, you know, checkpoints). In his video he expected that most teams would do the same. So far he's right.

While Burmeister and Sass left Dallas in Nikolai they both chose to stop just a few miles out to camp. Dallas overtook them and now has about a 17 mile lead (if we can trust the trackers). While Sass is technically still right there with Seavey and Burmeister, he has allowed Ryan Redington to get with him. It's honestly surprising to see Ryan keep up as his dogs just seem not as peppy. It could be more than Brent is still healing from a broken collar bone suffered about 7 weeks ago. This section of trail is painful in the best of health, and it could be that this is where we leave Sass to the chase pack. It will really depend on just how healthy Brent is and if there's any significant pain going on.

This is also a section of trail that the trackers aren't always pinging so it'll be up to Iditarod checkers to get the info to the comms quickly so we can know just how teh teams look against each other.

The chase pack has a few familiar faces we haven't seen in a while (Joar has made a move and it looks like Diehl is also trying to make a play). Pete Kaiser pulled back last night and has now reportedly decided to scratch in the best interest of his team. His team posted earlier today that his dogs were feeling under the weather, so his decision truly was in the best interest of the team. The 2019 Iditarod Champion really is one of the best.

Don't expect to do much else but watch the trackers for the next 24-36 hours. This race is going to be nailbiting for those wanting any number of outcomes... and pretty soon we'll see just how the Gorge factors in to all of this (will they all wish for "the Blowhole" on the coast).

Seven teams headed for Nikolai

Dallas may have a strong lead ahead of the chase pack, but he can't rest easy yet. With 250+ miles left in his race there's still enough time for one mistake to cost him the race. Behind him are some decent looking teams, some of which have admitted to holding back until the final third to be able to have the power and energy to run down the leader - whoever it is.

We're already seeing some who were in the front falter. Petit and Buser were the first two to be overtaken in the first few days of the race, and now it seens Ryan Redington's team is fading. While he did give his team 5 hours of rest in McGrath the dogs seemed a tad reluctant to stop napping and start running. By the time they headed down the trail, though, they perked up. But as of about 10:40pm Aaron Burmeister, who left 39 minutes after Ryan, had overtaken the team dressed in lime green. This could be the first of many passings Redington will endure in the next two days.

Sass is running in fourth at the moment and of the teams chasing has the strongest looking team to the minds of many analysts (why are they counting out Burmeister?). His team does look really good, and it seems he's learned a thing or two about team management. They looked good coming into McGrath and leaving.

Wade Marrs left McGrath an hour after Brent and it doesn't look like he's gaining anything on the Yukon Quest champion. And just a short while ago Travis Beals and Mille Porsild left McGrath just minutes apart. Mille is posting some of the fastest times against all of the front runners and she's really made it clear she wants to be not just top lady but top dog. 

Dallas is about 12 miles away from Nikolai. It'll be interesting to see what he does in that checkpoint. Will he drop his trailer? Will he stay long in the checkpoint?  

And will anyone really push to challenge the four-time champion?

Dallas Seavey leads out of McGrath

 Dallas Seavey left McGrath and headed towards Nikolai today at 5:32pm after taking his mandatory 8 hour rest in the checkpoint. Brent Sass, who was second into McGrath today, also declared his 8. Brent came in at 12:42pm and won't be able to leave until 8:42pm if he takes that full 8 (if he doesn't he'll have two more checkpoints to take it in). Dallas has just under 3 hours over Sass at this point. 

Third in was Wade Marrs. Wade's been sitting back in the chase pack for most of the race. According to his social media team on facebook, Wade's said that he planned to start pushing once he left the checkpoint of Iditarod, and clearly it's worked. He's caught up and managed to come into McGrath 59 minutes behind Sass. Marrs also needs to take his mandatory 8, so if that's what he does here, he'll be leaving McGrath at 9:41pm.

The former leader on paper Ryan Redington came in just under 2 hours after Marrs. Redington took his 8 fairly early in the race as well as his 24. When speaking with Iditarod Insider on his return to Ophir this morning Redington all but conceded the race stating that both Seavey and Sass had great looking teams and that his team can't catch them - he spent quite a bit of time resting in Ophir before giving chase. Redington is down to 9 dogs, which isn't too small a team, but it sounds like they're showing signs that they aren't up for the big push at the end. With his mandatory rest completed Ryan and team can leave whenever he feels they are ready.

As Dallas was pulling out of McGrath, Travis Beals was pulling in. Beals had already completed his 24 and his 8 and it was speculated he would try to blow through. Beals has -imo wisely- chosen to bed his dogs down for a rest in McGrath before giving chase. It will be interesting to see how long Beals and Redington stay in the checkpoint before challenging the leader.

In other news, Larry Daugherty's tracker has been glitching for over 24 hours and it's finally been replaced and he is once again shown as moving. So if you thought his name jumped significantly on the map, he was not perpetually in McGrath. It was the aliens, and they have finally released their hold on the signal. He currently sits in the checkpoint of Iditarod and will no doubt be headed back soon. Hal Hanson seems a solid Red Lantern at this point. I got curious last night and asked Dallas Seavey if a team of Seavey dogs had ever won the red lantern. He couldn't verify one did in Iditarod (he says it sounds right, though) but he did point out Dallas got the red lantern during the 2005 Knik 200. My how times change.

Iditarod Poll Time

 Alright, fans, let's have some fun. For the next day we're going to answer the question EVERYone is asking.... WHICH IS COOLER:
Dallas Seavey or
Dallas Seavey's sweater

Okay the poll:

— Toni Reitter (@tonichelleak) March 12, 2021