Beals leads the Iditarod

While Nic Petit enjoyed a steak dinner courtesy of Iditarod partners South and Spenard Roadhouse, Travis Beals and team continued up the trail into Ruby. The musher originally from Seward checked into Ruby at 4:48am Friday morning. Nic Petit decided to take his 24 in Ruby and cannot leave until late Friday Night, so on paper, this race is Travis Beals' to lose at this juncture.

Next behind Travis - behind by nearly three hours - is Jessie Holmes who so far seems to be having quite the race. Both teams parked and settled their team in for rest. At now 8:45am Travis is packing up getting ready to leave after about four hours of good rest for his team. 

The chase pack of Ryan Redington and Paige Drobny have pulled into Ruby and Paige gained and passed Redington into the checkpoint. 

Behind them are a second chase pack that includes Dallas Seavey.

The leaders are on their way to Ruby

 

As Nicolas Petit makes his way into the checkpoint of Ruby to win his first to the Yukon Prize (which sounds super yummy again this year!), the teams behind him are strongly making their statement that they're the teams to beat. Travis Beals, Paige Drobny, and Jessie Holmes have slingshot themselves over Dallas Seavey and are now in control of the race to the Yukon. 

While Petit may be furthest along, he's also furthest behind of those out in front. Why? One simple reason, the musher has chosen to wait to take his 24 hour mandatory rest presumably in Ruby. This was the plan, the musher assured fans on Insider back in Ophir, to go as far as possible before taking the 24. He had Jeff King do just that two years ago with his team, and he's back trying it again.

There are currently five teams on the trail out of Cripple. Dallas Seavey remains in the checkpoint of Cripple preparing to leave in just over an hour when he can finally give chase to those who passed him this afternoon. Seavey spoke at length with Iditarod Insider Thursday afternoon giving the run down on just what happened with the moose and the choices he made in the aftermath of dispatching the animal. In the nearly thirteen minute interview Dallas accepts the penalty the Race Marshall handed down (which yes Dallas knew about it back in McGrath so it wasn't a surprise into Cripple), he also apologizes for not doing things properly out of shock. All in all, Dallas is ready to move on and finish strong.

It will be another exciting night of Iditarod, and for those that can watch without having to go to work in the morning: just know you are very envied.

Tomorrow the race on the Yukon begins.

Petit is going to Ruby

Nicolas Petit and team rode into Cripple Thursday morning at 7:39am AK time. Petit chose short term parking and did not declare his twenty-four. Petit has a full string of 16 dogs and stated that the current schedule he's on is one he's had planned for two years.

In an interview Wednesday with Iditarod Insider Nicolas Petit stated that when he got Covid in 2022 and was forced to sit out the race just several days before the start he asked Jeff King to take his team to Ruby for his 24. Petit said he had always wanted to get past Cripple before the long rest and that in 2022 he felt he had the team to do it. Last year, he said, he 24'd in Nikolai and that was "a big mistake."

The veteran musher quickly got to work bedding down his dogs and feeding them before wandering over to the lovely smells of bacon. Look for Nic to take a few hours of rest before continuing. Team Petit is the only team not actively taking their 24 or running with a completed 24.

In other news, Mille Porsild's social media team shared the veteran musher is battling pancreatits. She was monitored during her mandatory 24 with the caveat that race officials had to clear her before she could continue. Porsild was allowed to pull the hook, as they say, and head off down the trail. Mille's team says that she will take the race one checkpoint at a time as she continues to deal with flare ups. She currently sits in Ophir.

Mille isn't the only one dealing with illness, though probably not as extreme, Travis Beals reported to his family that he is suffering from a very bad cold (possible flu?) but that he is on antibiotics now and had hopes of bouncing back during his 24. Beals is currently out of Ophir on his way to Cripple. It seems a very bad flu bug is going around Iditarod with many of the volunteers having reported being sick as early as the Ceremonial Start (if not before).

In regards to Dallas Seavey's two-hour penalty - it seems we won't have more detail until Insider chats with Dallas later today. They wanted to give Seavey ample time to rest in Cripple before bothering him as they report he's run the race so far with very little sleep. If you aren't an insider, now might be a good time to subscribe as the race is truly underway now.

Seavey assessed a two-hour penalty for moose kill

The Iditarod released a statement Wednesday stating the Race Marshall Warren Palfrey after convening a panel of three race officials decided that Dallas Seavey had not efficiently gutted the moose after dispatching it Monday morning.

You can read the full press release here.

Seavey is currently 29 miles to Cripple where it is assumed the musher will take his mandatory 24-hour plus differential break. This will now include an extra two hours for the penalty. It is unknown whether Seavey knows about the decision.

This is a developing story. 

Update on Seavey's injured dog

Fans were happy to learn Wednesday morning that Dallas Seavey's dog Faloo, who was attacked early in the race by an aggressive moose, has recovered enough after surgery to be released into the kennel's care.

That's right, the dog who went from a 20% chance of survival to a 50% chance of survival is now looking to be picked up later Wednesday to travel home to Talkeetna to recooperate!

The kennel was sure to praise the Iditarod Vet team and Pet ER in Anchorage for their care of Faloo and thanked them.

Faloo's musher is currently on his way to Cripple after a more than three hour rest on the trail where it is suspected he will declare his 24 hour rest. Seavey has fifteen dogs on his team, the only team member missing is Faloo.

It's nap time on Iditarod

As the middle and back of the pack make their way into the checkpoints of McGrath and Takotna, most of our front runners have declared their 24 hour mandatory rest in said checkpoints. Several teams pushed to Ophir before declaring, and so far Dallas Seavey looks to be pushing to Cripple to take his (if he doesn't keep going, but history tells us Cripple's his spot with this maneuver). 

For Iditarod fans this means they can catch up on Insider interview videos or even take a break from the computer to get other things done (if they haven't spent the two weeks prior to the start of the race prepping food and what not so as not to have to be away from the computer long - yes, it's a thing.) While the live feeds show calming footage of sleeping puppers on straw in dog blankets often made by school children as part of the Iditarod Education program, it's also the perfect time for fans to take a nap.

From here on out the race is truly on. Once teams come off their 24 all teams are on a level playing field. They will all just have their two mandatory rests to take after this, the time differential from the start being made up on the 24 hour mandatory (Bib 39 has to take 24 hours vs Bib 2 has to take 24+1h14m...if the mathing is correct). 

Jessie Holmes pushed to Ophir in lead last night and declared his 24 - that doesn't mean he couldn't decide later to pull the snow hook and chase after Dallas later and take his 24 hour later, but the clock starts over and at this point that might not be a wise choice. Jessie reached Ophir at 3:46am Wednesday, he is bib number 9 so doing the math (hopefully somewhat correctly) he should be able to leave at 4:52am Thursday morning (give or take a couple minutes).

Snow is currently falling in Takotna, Dallas is camped about 11 miles out of Ophir and has about sixty miles to go before he hits the halfway point of Cripple. He'll be breaking trail unless someone decides to pass him before he gets ready to leave (not likely). This is always a gutsy move by teams to take this part of the trail first, but Dallas studies the histories of the races more than probably anyone else on the trail (including the commentators) and his moves are all calculated. This is no doubt the plan he's had most of the season. We'll see how it pays off.

Porsild first to Nikolai, Holmes to be first to McGrath

It's a race to the 24s at the moment for the leaders of Iditarod 52. 

Late Tuesday morning Mille Porsild and her team charged into the checkpoint of Nikolai claiming the Spirit of Iditarod award. The veteran musher got right to work tending to her team to give them a little break through the heat of the day (temps were in the 30s). She was quickly joined by Travis Beals, Ryan Redington, and Dallas Seavey. Both Jessie Holmes and Matt Hall chose to continue on down the trail towards McGrath bedding their teams down on the trail.

After about a two hour break, Holmes was back on the move and is now just several miles from McGrath. Four miles behind is Travis Beals closely followed by Ryan Redington, Dallas Seavey, and Hunter Keefe.

For those wanting an update on Dallas Seavey's dog Faloo who was injured in a moose encounter Monday morning, she has had two successful surgeries, according to a post by Dallas's father Mitch Seavey, and "has gone from a 20% chance to about 50% chance of survival."

Seavey's dog has surgery

In an update via social media Tuesday morning, Dallas Seavey's kennel reports that Seavey's dog Faloo was out of surgery but still in Critical Condition. 

Faloo sustained injuries during the team's run in with an aggressive moose that Seavey was forced to "dispatch in order to protect his team and himself. By the time the moose was shot it was close enough to die on top of Seavey's sled. 

Dallas' team was not the only team to tangle with the moose, earlier Jessie Holmes' team had a run in with the moose and the musher was able to get the moose to move on by "punching it in the nose". Moose are a common obstacle on the trail, often stalling teams for minutes to hours in stand offs as the large animals prefer packed trail to wading in deep snow. Most encounters are merely an inconvenience, but there are many factors that can cause a moose to become aggressive without much provocation. 

Per Iditarod rules, Seavey stayed and field dressed the moose and reported it to race officials so that the meat could be salvaged and donated to local communities. In an amusing twist, where the moose dropped it was in a blind spot area that several teams ended up running over the carcass before realizing what it was that was in the trail.

Seavey's team will no doubt keep fans updated as they are able on Faloo's condition. At this time there is no campaign for vet funds.

Dallas Seavey is currently running in fourth place on his way to Nikolai.

Less than twelve hours in and it's chaos

Dallas Seavey and team leave the starting chute.
Willow, Alaska. March 3, 2024.

The Iditarod left little time before bringing all the drama in the first hours of the race Monday morning. In less than twelve hours the race saw its first reports of an aggressive moose having to be dispatched by one of the race's biggest names. By the time the sun was up fans were frantic trying to find out just what happened, and were saddened to hear that a dog was injured enough to have to be flown to Anchorage for examination and treatment.

Roughly at 1:40am Monday morning a report came into Iditarod officials in Finger Lake that an aggressive moose had been shot by five-time Iditarod Champion Dallas Seavey. This same moose had attacked Jessie's Holmes' team just a little while before tangling with Seavey, and Holmes fought it off of his team by "punching it in the nose." Seavey could not fend off the moose and was forced to dispatch the animal. According to Seavey, the moose was so close when he shot it that it landed on his sled.

Iditarod rules state that anytime a moose has to be put down by a musher on the trail, the musher MUST dress out the animal and report it ASAP to Iditarod officials. For dressing out the musher must skin the animal as well as remove all internal organs so as not to have the meat spoil. Once officials are alerted they will report to Alaska Troopers who will recover the meat and disperse it to local communities. No team behind the musher can advance past the musher and must help field dress the animal. Once the original musher leaves the site then the other mushers may continue.

Dallas did everything right, but where the moose was dispatched it was in a part of the trail that the carcass could not easily be seen by teams. Several teams including Paige Drobny, Wally Robinson, and Gabe Dunham reported running over the moose! Everyone seemed to have a good laugh about it, though.

Seavey did have one dog injured in the moose encounter. The pup, named Faloo, was "returned" from the trail when Dallas came into Finger Lake and is with vets in Anchorage being evaluated and tended to.

This was not the first moose encounter for Dallas Seavey in Iditarod 52. About halfway through the Ceremonial Start the champion team was stalled as a young moose stood in the trail while the musher held his lead dogs and kept things calm. 

This morning's event was definitely not what the birthday boy had planned for his race, much less how he planned to spend his birthday.

In other race news, currently it's Travis Beals out in front with Dallas running right along with him. Beals still has all 16 dogs where several teams have dropped to 14 (all dogs are safe as returned dogs waiting to be transported home). The race cannot be won this early on, but it can be lost if a team gets ahead of itself and is allowed to run beyond its capabilities. However, according to a post by Beals' facebook page he is right on schedule (which his partner says is kind of a first for him.)

Jessie Royer crashed for the "first time ever" in the Happy River Steps area, a notorious bit of trail who has taken out many a musher and sled. While musher and sled seem to have made it in one piece, Royer's jacket is not so lucky. She says she hopes she can wait to mend it (it's a sizable rip that nearly took off her pocket) in Takotna, so it's safe to assume that's the checkpoint she plans to take her 24.

The front runners are on their way to Nikolai and should arrive in the wee morning hours, unless they choose to camp to sling shot past the checkpoint and continue on. This is where we start to see the gaps form between the leaders, chase, and back of the pack. This is the last time fans should feel good about taking naps/get actual sleep until everyone begins their 24s in the next day or two.

Calm before the storm

The Lakefront Hotel in Anchorage was a buzz with fans, volunteers, sponsors, and even a few veteran mushers Friday as reality set in that the big show begins in mere hours. Registration was a hive of activity as the bulk of volunteers descended needing their credentials. Outside by the lake volunteers took their handler's training course on how to properly "walk" teams to the starting line safely on snow and ice. Inside the different logistic crews looked shell shocked as they had their final meetings in the hotel lounge. The Merchandise table never saw a quiet moment. 

In walked legends like Dan Seavey and Dean Osmar to chat with other old time volunteers. Sebastian Schnuelle sat by the fireplace and greeted old friends with hugs in between checking his phone. Rob Urbach, CEO of Iditarod, took pictures with fans. Chas St. George checked in with everyone. Mark Nordman wandered in and out. 

The Lakefront, as always, is the heart of the race. While no longer an official sponsor, the race still books many of the conference rooms and hotel rooms. The merchandise table is once again in the hands of the race volunteers. It feels like it always should. Is it chaos? Yes, but it's Iditarod chaos. It's familiar. It's fun. 

It's Iditarod.

Tomorrow the event kicks off with the Ceremonial Start in Anchorage. The celebration of all things sled dog and long distance mushing. All frustrations are set aside and everyone just has fun. The teams will be smaller in dog number, they will go slow, they will stop to say hello to fans... this is about celebrating Iditarod. Sunday will be all about the race, but Saturday... Saturday is for Iditarod Nation.

Teams start from Downtown Anchorage beginning at 10am Saturday and leave in two minute intervals. They will travel 11 miles through the heart of Anchorage before being loaded back into their dog trucks and be driven up to Willow for the ReStart in Willow.