Friday, February 26, 2021

2021 Iditarod Musher Roster

We did it! We made it! The Iditarod will take off from Deshka Landing next weekend. After a year of unknowns, we're back to Alaska premiere winter sporting event. This time last year the world was just beginning to understand the seriousness of Covid-19. By the time the Iditarod teams reached the Yukon the world was shutting down to anything resembling "normal", but the Iditarod continued on. The Iditarod was one of the last sports to play for months before bubbles and other mitigation plans could be put in place for athletes to come together again and give us some sort of distraction from an otherwise depressing situation.

We've relied heavily on sports - even folks who aren't "sports fans" found themselves waiting for a weekly football game this fall... I even tuned in (almost willingly) to Golf. It's been a rough year. We're coming up on the one year anniversary, and what better way to kick off that celebration than by a completely revamped Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. The race has so many changes it's almost unrecognizable but for the dogs and the mushers running them. There will be no finish in Nome. There will be no Ceremonial Start in Anchorage (I'm still crying). No start at the Willow Community Center. No large crowds at the start or finish. No checkpoints inside villages. Teams are running to the ghost town of Iditarod before returning to Deshka Landing (with a short jaunt around "the Flat"). We get the happy river steps and Dalzel Gorge going and coming.

Mushers have returned after self imposed hiatus, others have declared this their last hurrah.

What's the same are the dogs, the men and women who train/coach/run them and the SPIRIT of the Last Great Race.


Let's take a look at the roster as it stands as of February 26, 2021. I've added links to their known websites/social media so that fans can get to know the 47 teams ahead of race day. As always, once bib numbers are announced (I hear they are being selected at random by computer today) I'll edit with the teams in bib order. Edited to add bib numbers. This is how the roster stands as of February 27, 2021. 

BibMusher NameStatusLinkLinkLinkLinkLink
2Aaron PeckVeteranIditarod BioWebsiteFacebookInstagram
3Peter KaiserVeteranIditarod BioWebsiteFacebookInstagramTwitter
4Kristy BeringtonVeteranIditarod BioWebsiteInstagram
5Jeremy TraskaRookieIditarod BioWebsiteFacebookInstagram
6Richie DiehlVeteranIditarod BioFacebook
7Jeff DeeterVeteranIditarod BioWebsiteFacebookInstagramTwitter
8Dennis KananowiczVeteranIditarod BioFacebook
9Ramey SmythVeteranIditarod BioFacebook
10Nicolas PetitVeteranIditarod BioWebsiteFacebookTwitter
11Gunnar JohnsonVeteranIditarod BioWebsiteFacebookTwitter
12Hal HansonRookieIditarod BioFacebook
13Anna BeringtonVeteranIditarod BioWebsiteInstagram
14Ryne OlsonVeteranIditarod BioWebsiteFacebookInstagramTwitter
15Brenda MackeyRookieIditarod BioWebsiteFacebookInstagram
16Riley DycheVeteranIditarod BioWebsiteFacebookInstagramTwitter
17Matt HallVeteranIditarod BioWebsiteFacebookInstagram
18Chad StoddardRookieIditarod BioWebsiteFacebookInstagram
19Christopher ParkerRookieIditarod BioFacebookInstagram
20Ryan RedingtonVeteranIditarod BioWebsiteFacebook
21Brent SassVeteranIditarod BioWebsiteFacebookInstagram
22Joanna JagowRookieIditarod BioWebsiteFacebookInstagram
23Dallas SeaveyVeteranIditarod BioWebsiteFacebookInstagramTwitter
24Jessie RoyerVeteranIditarod BioWebsiteFacebookInstagram
25Wade MarrsVeteranIditarod BioWebsiteFacebookInstagram
26Michelle PhillipsVeteranIditarod BioWebsiteFacebookInstagram
27Will TroshynskiRookieIditarod BioWebsiteFacebookInstagramTwitter
28Mille PorsildVeteranIditarod BioWebsiteFacebook
29Matthew FailorVeteranIditarod BioWebsiteFacebookInstagram
30Joshua McNealRookieIditarod BioWebsiteFacebookInstagram
31Susannah TuminelliRookieIditarod BioWebsiteFacebookInstagram
32Aliy ZirkleVeteranIditarod BioWebsiteFacebookInstagramTwitter
33Travis BealsVeteranIditarod BioWebsiteFacebookInstagramTwitter
34Martin BuserVeteranIditarod BioWebsiteFacebookInstagramTwitter
35Sean WilliamsRookieIditarod BioWebsiteFacebookInstagram
36Aaron BurmeisterVeteranIditarod BioFacebook
37Cody StratheVeteranIditarod BioWebsiteFacebookInstagram
38Lev ShvartsVeteranIditarod BioWebsiteFacebook
39Dakota SchlosserRookieIditarod BioWebsiteFacebookInstagram
40Dan KaduceVeteranIditarod BioWebsiteFacebookInstagram
41Joar Leifseth UlsomVeteranIditarod BioWebsiteFacebookInstagram
42Paige DrobnyVeteranIditarod BioWebsiteFacebookInstagram
43Larry DaughertyVeteranIditarod BioFacebookInstagram
44Jessie HolmesVeteranIditarod BioFacebookInstagram
45Rick CasilloVeteranIditarod BioWebsiteFacebookInstagram
46Cindy GalleaVeteranIditarod BioFacebook
47Sean UnderwoodRookieIditarod BioWebsiteFacebookInstagram
48Victoria HardwickVeteranIditarod BioFacebook

Are you ready? Who are you cheering for? Comment below with your hopes and predictions!

Monday, February 15, 2021

Dan Kaduce wins the Summit Quest

At 7:02pm Alaska time, Dan Kaduce of Dew Claw Kennel crossed the finish line in Central as the 2021 Summit Quest 300 Champion. 24 minutes later Deke Naaktgeboren crossed the finish line in second. For most of the race, Hugh Neff seemed destined to win as he managed to stay near the front of the back from the get go (drawing bib #2 helped). In fact, the first 24 hours or so Neff traveled closely with Jodi Bailey - Dan Kaduce's wife - out on the trail. 

Kaduce kept close, and managed to pull ahead by day two. Kaduce and Neff would play cat and mouse for most of Sunday with Naaktgeboren catching up and keeping pace. Though Deke was third for most of the race, he stayed close enough to Neff that one of the key factors in how he turned in a second place performance was his rest schedule. When the top three pulled into the final Checkpoint of Circle, Deke had the least amount of time left to take (five hours). Kaduce needed 5.5, and Neff 6. 

Kaduce along with his wife Jodi Bailey has mushed for over twenty years. The duo have raced mid-distance and long distance races for many years and are fan favorites. The next major race for Dan will be the Iditarod.