ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Hundreds of dogs, 33 mushers, and thousands of onlookers are gathering along the trail of the 53rd Iditarod this year.
Watch a livestream of the latest updates in the video player above.
The Last Great Race kicked off the morning of Saturday, March 1, with the ceremonial start in downtown Anchorage — albeit with a revised and shortened course due to low snow conditions.
The official restart sent teams out Monday in Fairbanks, instead of the traditional Willow location, again due to lack of snow.
Follow Iditarod 53 with this live blog that brings all the latest updates and details from the trail.
March 10 – 11:05 p.m. – Holmes brings in another award as trail crew tests out Unalakleet tradition
Jessie Holmes and his team took home another award Monday night, with the veteran musher officially winning the Fish First Award upon arrival to Kaltag for the second and final time in this year’s race.
The musher arrived to Kaltag 2 with 13 dogs at around 9:30 p.m., with his run from Eagle Island 2 taking approximately 12.5 hours.
Holmes had already won the Dorothy G. Page Halfway Award, with $3,000 in gold nuggets being one of the options for a take-home prize. The Fish First Award sends Holmes back home – once he’s done racing, of course – with 25 pounds of Bristol Bay salmon, $2,500, and an original piece of art by Apay’uq Moore.
Trailing Holmes on the way from their second run through Eagle Island are 2024 runner-up Matt Hall, and veterans Paige Drobny and Michelle Phillips, who have a combined 21 Iditarod finishes between them.
Three-time Iditarod Champion Mitch Seavey remains in Eagle Island on the way back to Kaltag – as does veteran Mille Porsild – on his way to completing his mandatory 8-hour rest. With the exception of Holmes, every other musher in the top 10 has checked off both their 8- and 24-hour rests.
Eighteen mushers have moved through Grayling for the first time, while the rest of the teams are spread between there and Eagle Island 1.
Meanwhile, in Unalakleet, the Alaska’s News Source Trail Crew got a first-hand look at a town tradition via a taste test at the pie social.
Check out the video below for the latest on Iditarod 53.
March 10 – 8:50 p.m. – Dunham, Mackey reflect on departing Iditarod 53
Veteran Gabe Dunham and rookie Brenda Mackey spoke Monday about leaving this year’s Iditarod and the mixed feelings prompted by their departures.
“Well, there’s all kinds of emotions,“ Dunham told Iditarod Insider on Monday. ”There’s a lot of internal disappointment, because, we do – we train year-round for this, and I kinda put all my eggs in one basket.
“I had this beautiful dog team, and they were definitely showing off, you know, rolling into checkpoints,” she said, “and I could barely hook down. And leaving checkpoints, I felt like I was managing their rest schedule really well. But then, we just kinda pulled a bad card, I guess.”
Dunham scratched from the Eagle Island checkpoint at around 8 o’clock in the morning on Sunday, with the Iditarod Trail Committee stating very generally that the decision was “in the best interest of her team.”
During the interview with Insider, Dunham explained that some issues she hadn’t necessarily anticipated were popping up.
“A lotta little shoulder injuries kinda started creeping up, and sore muscles,” she said. “And then, that trail just exacerbated everything to the extreme. So there is no forgiveness.”
In an interview with Alaska’s News Source Monday night, Mackey also expressed disappointment and frustration over how her departure from the race unfolded late last week.
“I had this awful thing happen with my dog,” she said. “But then, the aftermath, the strange things afterward? They do bother a person a bit.”
Mackey was the first musher to exit this year’s Iditarod, scratching from Tanana at 5:35 p.m. on March 5, according to a release from the ITC. That same release said Mackey had 14 dogs in harness, “all in good health,” which the musher later publicly disputed in a social media post – saying that one of her dogs, Jett, experienced an emergency on the trail and collapsed, and needed immediate veterinary care.
“I didn’t even consider myself scratched,” she told Alaska’s News Source. “I thought I was disqualifed for pushing my (SOS) button on my tracker when I was trying to get help for my dog out on the trail. So I just assumed, when I came back to the checkpoint, that I had been disqualified.”
Mackey explained that a race judge with whom she spoke at the checkpoint had said they didn’t have a record of her calling for help through her tracker. To her, it sounded as though they also thought she was DQ’d, she said.
“I just said, ‘Yeah, I know, I know I’m disqualified for pushing my button, and that was my choice,” she said, adding that she’d had, “like, one hour of sleep in three days.” She was presented with paperwork to sign later in the evening.
“I wasn’t computing at the time that that was a scratch form,” she said. “The next morning, I was talking to my husband, and he goes, ‘You know they have you scratched, with 14 healthy dogs in harness?’ … I said, I had no idea, and I don’t know why I’d be listed as scratched, because in my mind, I’m disqualified. Because once you push your button, it’s an automatic disqualification, is my understanding.”
She said, in part, that there were different opinions on what could’ve happened, with people suggesting she may not have pushed the button down long enough, or she may have pushed the wrong button, or the signal may not have gone through, for example.
“I didn’t have an inReach or any cell phone service when I was out there with my dog,” she said. “I literally thought she was dying in front of me, and I needed some help.”
Rookie Emily Ford appeared about a half-hour after Jeff collapsed and stopped to help, said Mackey, who decided to go back to the nearest checkpoint.
Jett was able to stand and looked suprisingly good when Mackey got back to the checkpoint, she said. Eventually, the dog was flown to Anchorage for testing and potential treatment anyway; testing did end up showing abnormalities, Mackey said, who added that more testing will be done tomorrow to figure out exacelty what’s wrong.
Since Mackey’s scratch, the ITC acknowledged that it eventually came to understand that Mackey had 13 dogs in harness, with Jett in her sled upon arrival back to Tanana. In a prepared statement, the committee apologized “for the miscommunication and any angst we may have caused Brenda, her team and her followers.”
March 10 – 6:40 p.m. – Jr. Iditarod champ takes crack at portion of trail, in honor of Serum Run
Musher Emily Robinson, the teen phenom who recently won her fourth-straight Jr. Iditarod title – becoming the first to win four at all – is taking on part of the historic Iditarod Trail in honor of the historic Serum Run to Nome.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the 1925 effort, also known as the “Great Race of Mercy,” or “The Serum Run.”
Check out the video from Jordan Rodenberger, who chats with Robinson about her decision to follow a portion of the trail this year, below.
March 10 – 10:45 a.m. – Catching up with the new co-chief race veterinarian
Dr. Greg Closter has been involved in dog care along the Iditarod Trail for 10 years, but this is his first year as co-chief veterinarian, helping to fill the role of the late Dr. Stuart Nelson, who passed away unexpectedly last fall following decades of service on the Iditarod trail.
On Sunday, Dr. Closter was in Unalakleet, checking in on the windy Western Alaska checkpoint and dog return yard, and took a minute to speak about the late Dr. Nelson.
March 10 – 7:30 a.m. – 4 more set off from Grayling 2 to Eagle Island
Grayling 2 has seen six arrivals — and four ensuing departures — since last night. The six mushers who reached the checkpoint in the last eight hours include Paige Drobny, Matt Hall, Mitch Seavey, Mille Porsild, Nic Petit and Michelle Phillips; all but Petit and Phillips have since left.
Grayling 2 is at mile 659 of the roughly 1,100-mile trail to Nome.
Frontrunner Jesse Holmes was the first to the said checkpoint by a longshot, having arrived over nine hours ahead of the competition, winning the Alaska Air Transit Spirit of Iditarod Award for his efforts.
Holmes is still leading the way, but Matt Hall is now the closest to catching him. The latter musher moved ahead of Drobny in the last two hours on the way north toward Eagle Island. Iditarod’s GPS tracker shows Drobny resting at mile 678, about a third of the way from Grayling to Eagle Island. Fourth place Mitch Seavey is about 10 miles behind Drobny.
Below are the most current available standings.
| Position | Musher | Checkpoint | In | Out |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Jesse Holmes | Grayling 2 | 2:35 p.m. Sunday | 7:50 p.m. Sunday |
| 2. | Paige Drobny | Grayling 2 | 11:56 p.m. Sunday | 12:08 a.m. Monday |
| 3. | Matt Hall | Grayling 2 | 12:26 a.m. Monday | 2:25 a.m. Monday |
| 4. | Mitch Seavey | Grayling 2 | 3:07 a.m. Monday | 5:38 a.m. Monday |
| 5. | Mille Porsild | Grayling 2 | 6:37 a.m. Monday | 6:48 a.m. Monday |
| 6. | Nic Petit | Grayling 2 | 3:55 a.m. Monday | |
| 7. | Michelle Phillips | Grayling 2 | 4:10 a.m. Monday | |
| 8. | Bailey Vitelllo | Shageluk | 1:44 a.m. Monday | 1:54 a.m. Sunday |
March 9 – 10:45 p.m. – Six of top 10 complete 8-hour rests
Six of the top-10 racers in this year’s Iditarod have now completed both their 8- and 24-hour rests, mandatory breaks stipulated by official race rules.
Veteran Jessie Holmes remains out front as the only team to have checked in at Grayling 2 thus far. Holmes has yet to record the 8-hour break, while Paige Drobny and Matt Hall – who both finished in the top five last year – have completed theirs and are chasing him on the way back to Kaltag for the second time.
After Kaltag 2, teams will head toward Unalakleet and the coast.
March 9 – 6:10 p.m. – Pack chasing leader pauses in Shageluk
A group of highly-experienced racers soon moving back toward Grayling – trailing leader Jessie Holmes by several hours – is resting at the Shageluk checkpoint.
That pack comprises Paige Drobny, who was fifth last year; Matt Hall, the 2024 runner-up; Michelle Phillips, who has a dozen Iditarods under her belt and returns after a two-year hiatus; Nic Petit, who has finished as high as runner-up in the past; and three-time champion Mitch Seavey, with 2023 winner Ryan Redington and 2020 Rookie of the Year Mille Porsild currently running toward them.
With the exception of rookie Quince Mountain – who is currently on a long break in Kaltag 1 – all racers have completed their mandatory 24-hour rests.
Redington and Porsild have checked off their 8-hour rests as well, as have veterans Travis Beals, Riley Dyche and Jason Mackey.
Dyche spoke with Iditarod Insider Sunday, sharing a bit about his run and how his team has been doing on the way to Grayling 1.
“They’re doing really well,” Dyche said of his dogs. “They’re coming together really well. I was sick from the first few days, and they were kinda getting beat up by the soft stuff.
“Didn’t feel like we had much of a team,” he said, “and I was worried we’d have to really, really tone back to make it to Nome, but then, once the trail got good on the Yukon, they really came together, and we’ve trained on the hard stuff. Everybody I know is a little frazzled by that run into Eagle Island – except, my dogs love that stuff.»
Dyche’s team loves icy conditions, he said, since it’s what they’d all been training in this past year.
“As soon as we hit that, it was really two feet on the drag,” he said, “and they were more like a unit again.”
March 9 – 2:45 p.m. – Out front, Holmes checks in at Grayling 2
Jessie Holmes, who is currently leading Iditarod 53, has made it to Grayling for the second time after completing the loop taking racers through Anvik and Shageluk.
The veteran musher took almost 4 hours moving from Shageluk to Gralying 2, an approximately 28-mile route bringing him and 14 dogs in harness to mile marker 659.
Veterans Paige Drobny and Matt Hall had both checked in to Shagelul as of around 12:15 p.m. Saturday. Both remain resting there as of publishing time.
Two rookies – Quince Mountain, who is attempting the Iditarod for the second time; and Sydnie Bahl, who is running her first Iditarod ever – are left in Kaltag, bringing up the rear.
The top 15 of 27 mushers still in the race have checked in at Eagle Island 1.
March 9 – 8:03 a.m. – Veteran Gabe Dunham scratches
Veteran musher Gabe Dunham scratched at the Eagle Island checkpoint Sunday morning “in the best interest of her team,” according to the Iditarod Trail Committee. The Willow musher had 14 dogs when she arrived in Eagle Island.
“Gabe has been a great competitor in this race, and we hope to see her on the Iditarod Trail again in 2026,” the ITC said.
March 8 – 10:25 p.m. – Volunteers help make the world go ‘round!
Volunteers along the Iditarod Trail do a little bit of everything. They break trail, handle dogs, park teams, share their medical expertise, fly judges from checkpoint to checkpoint, feed mushers, and more!
Check out the video below for a closer look at the Kaltag checkpoint and the volunteers who are making it a welcome stopping point for this year’s racers.
March 8 – 10:00 p.m. – Holmes, leading Iditarod 53, arrives in Grayling
Veteran musher Jessie Holmes arrived in Grayling – winning the halfway point award – a bit before 10 p.m. on Saturday evening, based on the location of his GPS tracker.
Official standings show Holmes departed Eagle Island 1, beginning the 56-mile run to Grayling at around 11:15 Saturday morning. At that point, he had 14 dogs still in harness.
Only Paige Drobny is within about 10 miles of Holmes as of publishing time, with Matt Hall another 12 miles back from her. Michelle Phillips and 2023 Iditarod Champion Ryan Redington round out the top five.
Phillips and Travis Beals are the only other mushers in the top 10 who still have as many as 14 dogs. Nic Petit, currently sitting in 11th, had 15 dogs in harness upon departing Kaltag.
March 8 – 7:00 p.m. – Mushers describe rough conditions running into Eagle Island
The lead pack in Iditarod 53 has made it to the first Eagle Island checkpoint, but it wasn’t without some extra challenges on the way from Kaltag, a 70-mile trip leading teams toward a small loop along this year’s altered race route.
“I think it’s one of the top-10 worst trails I’ve ever been on, which is saying something; I’ve got a few thousands of miles under my belt,” said veteran Paige Drobny, speaking with Iditarod Insider Saturday evening. “It’s 70 miles of crap.”
Drobny, who’s completed the Iditarod nine times and recorded multiple top-ten finishes and a 5th-place finish in 2024, described hard ice along the race route, noting that it appeared the trail was first broken when there was some water – which then froze – in the area.
“It’s just snowmachine track that’s just frozen and hard,” she said. “So, not really trail, and the dogs are always looking for something better, and so, moving back and forth. And then finally, we just got on snow, and got off the trail, and made our own trail for a while.”
Veteran Matt Hall was runner-up in the 2024 edition of the Iditarod and told Iditarod Insider that he’s now dropped five dogs – all of whom are about 3 years old – as he lightens his load in Eagle Island.
“If I don’t need it, it’s going,” he said, adding that all of his remaining 11 dogs are vets. When asked about the quality of the trail from Kaltag into Eagle Island, his response was akin to Drobny’s.
“What trail?” he said. “A frozen trench. That was pretty challenging.
“We’re just in this trench,” he explained, “frozen at the bottom. The snowmachine track had, you know, pushed up slush, which is now all frozen. So you’re not even just running on glare ice. You’re running on, just, mountain peaks of frozen ice.”
At one point, Hall was pinned under his sled, but his dogs stopped on their own so that he could maneuver his way out.
“Kept wiggling, got loose eventually,” he laughed. “That was actually only like 5 miles out. I was like, ‘Ah, almost there – BOOM!‘ Ah. That hasn’t happened in a few years. Ow.»
From the first Kaltag stop, racers move to Eagle Island and Grayling, ahead of a small loop that takes them into Anvik and Shageluk. They are then slated to go through Grayling, Eagle Island and Kaltag again, before heading toward Unalakleet and the coast, where sudden weather changes and high winds are standard.
March 8 – 5:20 p.m. – Most racers into, through Kaltag 1
As of late Saturday afternoon, the majority of racers have made it to the first stop in Kaltag, with veteran Jason Mackey pulling in as the current 16th-place team at around 4:05 p.m.
Veteran Lauro Eklund is sitting in 15th place as of publishing time, having arrived to Kaltag at around 3:15 p.m.
Cruising in much earlier in the day was veteran Anna Berington, who said she was feeling good after rolling into the checkpoint at around 3 a.m. and getting a bit of rest after that.
“Trying to drink a lot of water,” she told Iditarod Insider Saturday morning, laughing as she recalled her mom reminding her to stay hydrated. “I can’t expect [the dogs] to drink water if I’m not, so it’s like, I gotta be a good dog!”
Berington said she’s taking things one checkpoint at a time.
“Trying not to think too far ahead,” she said. “It’ll be different leaving, going that way instead of that way and then coming back here. But, yeah, one step at a time.”
Rookie Emily Ford is also in Kaltag after declaring her 24-hour rest at around 7:30 p.m. Friday.
“It changed around halfway to Nulato, or maybe towards the end of Nulato,” she said of recent trail conditions during an interview after her arrival to Kaltag. “And it finally got, like, crispy and fast. It was awesome. Like, my dogs could tell, you know? And I just hung on my drag all the way here.
“It was crazy,” she continued, “which is nuts, because my sled was super heavy coming here; I brought a bunch of food with me to come here, and they were just cruising on really nice snow, after being in sugar for – I don’t even know what day it is, to be honest!»
As of publishing time, Mackey, Eklund, Berington and Ford remained in Kaltag, which – for the first round – is at mile 456 of this year’s race route. The second time teams see Kaltag along the trail, as ‘Kaltag 2,’ will be at mile 785.
March 8 – 2:15 p.m. – Unexpected pregnancy discovered after dog death
A gross necropsy performed on the female dog that died Friday determined that she was pregnant, but nothing else.
The four-year-old female dog named Ventana — who was part of Wisconsin rookie Daniel Klein’s team before she collapsed about eight miles from Galena — was examined by two board-certified veterinary pathologists in Anchorage, race officials said Saturday.
The death forced Klein to scratch Friday in Galena, as per race rules.
Iditarod officials reported Saturday just before noon that while the pregnancy was unexpected, nothing else was found to explain how she died, but the full necropsy would be completed at a later time with further testing.
March 7 – 10:35 p.m. – Trail Crew catches up with Jessie Holmes
Veteran Jessie Holmes, who’s currently with a group of frontrunners in Kaltag, speaks with the AKNS Trail Crew about his race thus far. Check out the video below to hear his comments.
March 7 – 8:35 p.m. – Veteran Deeter, rookie Parker scratch
Veteran musher Jeff Deeter and rookie Mike Parker scratched from Iditarod 53 on Friday evening.
According to the Iditarod Trail Committee, Deeter scratched at around 5 p.m. at the Galena checkpoint Friday evening “for the physical health of his team.”
Deeter, who was fourth in the 2024 Iditarod and has finished the race half a dozen times, had 11 dogs in harness upon arriving to the checkpoint. His only other scratch was in the 2022 edition of the race.
Parker, who was attempting the Iditarod for the first time and running dogs from out of Jim Lanier’s Northern Whites Kennel, scratched within minutes of Deeter, but at the Ruby checkpoint.
Parker also had 11 dogs in harness at the time of scratching and withdrew “in the best interest of his team,” the ITC said.
March 7 – 6:55 p.m. – Dog dies along Iditarod trail, officials say
A dog from the team of a Wisconsin rookie musher died Friday on the Iditarod trail, race officials said.
In a release, Iditarod officials said a four-year-old female named Ventana on musher Daniel Klein’s team collapsed on the trail about eight miles from Galena, which sits 369 miles into the 1,128-mile race, around noon Friday.
Iditarod said attempts to revive the dog were unsuccessful.
The death forced Klein to scratch from the race, leaving 30 teams remaining out of 33 that started.
Klein, a musher out of Eagle, Wisconsin, was making his first start in the Last Great Race, and was running 27th when he scratched.
March 7 – 2:30 p.m. – Watch Holmes’ and Petit’s respective arrivals in Kaltag, Nulato
And meet this year’s Teacher on the Trail, Maggie Hamilton. She will be traveling through the different checkpoints, via plane, during the duration of the race.
“I am blogging every day,” Hamilton said. “I am reporting back to the world of education, what is going on, and then ways they can use the race in the classroom. So, different subject areas. Math, Social studies, how they can use GPS trackers even to get through a math lesson a little differently and use the race in real-time.”
March 7 – 7 a.m. – Holmes first to Kaltag 1
At about 1 a.m. Friday, leader Jessie Holmes and his dogs reached Kaltag, where they remained through the early morning. At the previous checkpoint, Nulato, Holmes was just a few minutes ahead of Michelle Phillips, who opted to stay there overnight.
| Position | Musher | Checkpoint | In | Out |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Jessie Holmes | Kaltag 1 | 12:43 a.m. Friday | |
| 2. | Nic Petit | Nulato | 2:35 a.m. Friday | 3:19 a.m. Friday |
| 3. | Michelle Phillips | Nulato | 8:20 p.m. Thursday | |
| 4. | Mitch Seavey | Nulato | 12:37 a.m. Friday | |
| 5. | Travis Beals | Nulato | 1:04 a.m. Friday | |
| 6. | Emily Ford | Galena | 9:10 p.m. Thursday | 2:42 a.m. Friday |
| 7. | Paige Drobny | Galena | 6:37 a.m. Thursday | 6:55 a.m. Friday |
| 8. | Matt Hall | Galena | 9:07 a.m. Thursday |
March 6 – 8:40 p.m. – Nulato welcomes first two racers within minutes of one another
Veteran mushers Jessie Holmes and Michelle Phillips arrived in Nulato Thursday evening, with Holmes rolling in first at around 8:15 p.m. and Phillips checking in just a few minutes later.
Holmes, who finished third in 2024, departed the checkpoint almost immediately and has been making his way toward Kaltag, which sits – as a first stop – at more than 450 miles into this year’s race route. The second run through Kaltag, referred to as Kaltag 2, marks approximately 785 miles along the race route.
March 6 – 6:20 p.m. – Rookie Mike Parker reflects on purpose, race thus far
Rookie Mike Parker, who hails from Eagle River but has been working with Jim Lanier’s Northern Whites Kennel, is running a special team of dogs that may have looked quite different if not for a horrible incident on a training run in 2023.
Read more from Parker in the extended web story from Jordan Rodenberger by clicking here.
March 6 – 5:15 p.m. – BTS with the AKNS chase plane crew
Have you ever wondered how the Alaska’s News Source crew gets around along the trail? The trio of pilot, sports director and news director on the chase plane this year hop from checkpoint to checkpoint on a chartered flight!
Jordan Rodenberger and Tracy Sabo show us how they do it in the video below.
March 6 – 4:35 p.m. – Teams rolling into Ruby
While the front of the pack is into Galena, with a couple of mushers already checked out from there, about a dozen of all the teams left in this year’s race are now into or through Ruby.
March 6 – 1:45 p.m. – Montana rookie musher scratches
Charmayne Morrison of Bozeman, Montana, scratched from the Iditarod Thursday morning in Tanana.
She is the second musher to retire from the race after Fairbanks rookie Brenda Mackey called it a race Wednesday afternoon.
Iditarod officials reported Morrison had 14 dogs in harness, all in good health, when she officially scratched at 10 a.m. Thursday. Iditarod said she did so “in the best interest of her team.”
“Charmayne has been a great competitor in this race and we hope to see her on the Iditarod Trail again in the future,” an Iditarod spokesperson stated in a press release.
After leaving Fairbanks on Monday for the restart, Morrison spent over five hours in each of the early checkpoints in Nenana and Manley before arriving in Tanana at 3:20 p.m. on Wednesday.
She told Iditarod Insider in Manley that she was doing her best to keep her team hydrated, but expressed concern about warmer temperatures.
“I’m mostly trying to get as much water back into them as I can,” she explained. “I have some dogs that really only pick out the kibble in their food, so I try to add some other things to their water and their broth to make that a little more enticing, rather than just kind of picking out the kibble.
“At this point, I just want to get a lot of water into them,” she said. “I’m not too worried about calories right now. I’m sure as the race goes on and their metabolisms kick in a little more, it might get a little colder down the trail – I’m hoping – they’ll need those calories, so we’ll kind of change our feeding program from there.»
In its release, the Iditarod said all 14 dogs in harness when Morrison scratched were in good health.
The scratch leaves 31 of 33 starting teams still on the trail.
Morrison, a longtime fan of the race, said she began mushing at a young age after learning about the Iditarod as a kid, starting her own kennel as a teen.
March 6 – 12:45 p.m. – Jessie Holmes talks challenging sandstorm, bonding with dog team
Nenana musher Jessie Holmes made the 117-mile run from Tanana to Ruby in 23 hours, 27 minutes — a marathon stretch of trail that included a rough “silt” storm that blew a silty, sandy material at mushers and dogs.
Holmes spent just over five hours in Ruby before continuing on to Galena, where he arrived at 9:38 a.m. Thursday for a short stop.
Holmes spoke about the rough trail along the Tanana River, how stubborn his lead dog can be, and the bond that is created with his dogs when he’s on the trail.
Holmes is looking to win this year’s race after racking up five top-10 finishes in the seven years he’s run the Iditarod, including third-place finishes in 2022 and 2024.
Behind Holmes, the next four teams have made it to Galena, led by Paige Drobny, who won the “Feast on the Yukon” award and will enjoy a gourmet dinner of salmon crudo, beef stew, asparagus, mashed potatoes, sauteed mushrooms, and a chocolate bourbon pot de créme dessert.
As of midday Thursday, Matt Hall, Michelle Phillips, and former race winner Ryan Redington had joined Drobny in Galena.
March 6 – 10:35 a.m. – Iditarod ‘sandstorm’ challenges mushers, dogs alike
Blustery winds sent silt and sand whipping around dog teams Wednesday as they navigated the Tanana River.
“The wind was blowing so hard you could hardly see,” Iditarod rookie Jenny Roddewig said. ”I was able to stop and I got out in front of my dogs and walked them back to the trail, luckily I had my GPS.”
Despite the tough conditions, many of the dogs were handling it well. Wasilla rookie Sydnie Bahl said her young leader, a two-year-old dog named Hendrix who she says has not led much, rose to the challenge.
”He killed it out there,» Bahl said. “He was ‘geeing’ and ‘hawing’ and I didn’t have to get off and pull him, he took every command. That little guy is a stud muffin.”
March 6 – 8:30 a.m. – Cantwell musher claims gourmet feast award
Iditarod veteran Paige Drobny reached the checkpoint of Galena early Thursday morning to claim the “Feast on the Yukon” award.
Drobny arrived in Galena at 6:37 a.m. Thursday with 15 dogs in harness after a 6-hour, 21-minute run from Ruby.
Race officials stated in a press release that Drobny will be served a gourmet dinner prepared in Galena by Top Chefs from Locally Grown Restaurants, which owns prominent restaurants in Anchorage like Spenard Roadhouse, Snow City Cafe, Crush Wine Bistro, and South Restaurant and Coffeehouse.
The meal includes “Alaska King Salmon Crudo with a lemon-thyme oil, roasted butternut squash bisque, charred cabbage salad with candied walnuts, watermelon radish, carrot, onion, Apple and a pear vinaigrette, followed by an entrée of braised beef cheek bourguignon, asparagus, rosemary mashed potatoes, sauteed mushroom and shallot leaves. To finish this incredible meal, Paige and her guest(s) will also be treated to a chocolate bourbon pot de créme dessert.”
Drobny is no stranger to Iditarod contention. In the nine races she’s completed since her rookie campaign in 2013, Drobny has earned three top-10 finishes, including her career-high of fifth last year.
As of 10 a.m., three more teams had made it to Galena; Two Rivers veteran Matt Hall in second, Nenana vet Jessie Holmes in third, and Canadian musher Michelle Phillips in fourth.
March 5 – 9:00 p.m. – Drobny leads way into Ruby
Race veteran Paige Drobny arrived in Ruby a bit before 9 p.m. Wednesday night as the first musher into the checkpoint, trailed by a group of high-powered teams just behind her.
Placing in the top five in 2024 – with a couple of other top-10 finishes since 2019 – the crew out of Cantwell rolled into the checkpoint and was welcomed by fans of all ages, including a group of kids who were cheering and holding signs.
Drobny is expected to take a layover of a few hours or so at the checkpoint after speaking with Iditarod Insider on the way in, sharing some of the challenges she’s seen since leaving Tanana, such as unstable and fast-changing trail conditions.
“Some spots are really hard and fast,” she explained, “and then the next, it’s like you’re wallowing through quicksand. And these guys love to go fast. So, when they hit that hardpack, they’re instantly going 10, 11, 12 miles per hour, so then I have to slow them down, try to hit that snow that just wants to eat them so they don’t trip over themselves.
March 5 – 6:55 p.m. – Trail Tracker Update
March 5 – 6:05 p.m. – Reaction to silt-ridden windstorm along trail
Mushers traversed through a wind storm near the Tanana checkpoint that left teams covered in dirt and silt. Jordan Rodenberger reports.
March 5 – 5:35 p.m. – First scratch of 2025 race
Rookie musher Brenda Mackey scratched in Tanana Wednesday afternoon, the race’s first DNF (did not finish).
Iditarod officials announced in a release that Mackey officially retired at 4:35 p.m. “in the best interest of her team.”
Mackey had 14 dogs in harness, race officials said, “all in good health.”
Mackey arrived in Tanana just before 6:30 a.m. Wednesday following a roughly 7 1/2-hour run from Manley.
The third-generation musher comes from a family with a rich history in the Last Great Race; her grandfather Dick Mackey won the Iditarod in 1978, her father Rick won the race in 1983, and her uncle Lance won it four straight years from 2007 to 2010.
While she was a rookie this year, Mackey’s first Iditarod start came in 2021, when she scratched in Nikolai.
March 5 – 1:15 p.m. – Deeter, Hall share challenges while stopped in Tanana
It has not been smooth sailing for all mushers in this year’s race, including last year’s fourth-place finisher.
In an interview with Iditarod Insider, Jeff Deeter said his dogs were not crazy about the trail out of Tanana.
“In short, the trail is just not lining up for my team and my training,” Deeter said on Wednesday in Tanana after a brief attempt to press on toward Ruby.
Deeter said this might be the end of the road for this year’s team.
“For me, with this race, it’s important that I’m doing what’s right for my team and my team overall,” Deeter said. “So not just me and a couple dogs making it down the trail, but me with this team. So I mean it’s possible this might be our finish line.”
March 5 – 10:50 a.m. – Canadian veteran out front on longest stretch of 2025 race
Michelle Phillips is out front of the 53rd Iditarod after rolling through the race’s third checkpoint in Tanana, just over 200 miles into the 1,128-mile marathon.
Leading teams are now on the longest stretch of this year’s race, a 117-mile run from Tanana to the next checkpoint in Ruby as they navigate the frozen Yukon River.
The Canadian veteran took a three-hour stop at the first checkpoint in Nenana, but breezed through the checkpoints of Manley and Tanana with minimal time spent at each.
In Tanana, where the Yukon and Tanana rivers converge, Phillips was the sixth musher to arrive, but took off with the lead after the five teams in front of her took extended breaks.
Phillips, who is from Ten Mile, Yukon Territory, hasn’t raced the Iditarod since 2022, but has 12 race finishes under her belt, starting in her rookie year in 2010. Phillips is looking for her first career top-10 finish, trying to better her top finish of 11th from four years ago.
Behind Phillips is a hoard of contenders, including Danish musher Mille Porsild in second, Jessie Holmes in third, Matt Hall in fourth, and Paige Drobny in fifth.
As of Wednesday morning, 27 mushers had made it to Tanana, with 16 on the trail to Ruby.
| Position | Musher | Checkpoint | In | Out |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Michelle Phillips | Tanana | 9:48 p.m. Tuesday | 9:54 p.m. Tuesday |
| 2. | Mille Porsild | Tanana | 10:36 p.m. Tuesday | 10:48 p.m. Tuesday |
| 3. | Jessie Holmes | Tanana | 10:35 p.m. Tuesday | 10:59 p.m. Tuesday |
| 4. | Matt Hall | Tanana | 9:39 p.m. Tuesday | 1:05 a.m. Wednesday |
| 5. | Paige Drobny | Tanana | 8:44 p.m. Tuesday | 1:31 a.m. Wednesday |
| 6. | Bailey Vitello | Tanana | 10:08 p.m. Tuesday | 2:58 a.m. Wednesday |
| 7. | Jason Mackey | Tanana | 8:40 p.m. Tuesday | 3:06 a.m. Wednesday |
| 8. | Ryan Redington | Tanana | 9 p.m. Tuesday | 3:12 a.m. Wednesday |
| 9. | Riley Dyche | Tanana | 9:55 p.m. Tuesday | 3:31 a.m. Wednesday |
| 10. | Mitch Seavey | Tanana | 11:01 p.m. Tuesday | 4:26 a.m. Wednesday |
March 4 – 10:20 p.m. – First teams make it to Tanana
The first of the teams has rolled into Tanana, Jason Mackey was the first to arrive once again at 8:40 p.m., followed closely behind by Paige Drobney, who arrived four minutes later.
In total, eight teams have reached the third checkpoint and so far only Michelle Phillips has decided to not stay and rest, only taking a six-minute break.
March 4 – 6:30 p.m. – Trail Tracker Update
March 4 – 4:10 p.m. – Warm weather inundates Interior Alaska
Warm weather has dogged race teams as they work through the first 200 miles of the Iditarod.
A high of 40 degrees kept things warm during Monday’s restart in Fairbanks.
As dog teams approach Tanana, the third checkpoint of the race about 202 miles in, the chance of wind, rain, and snow will increase with the arrival at the confluence of the Tanana and Yukon rivers. Temperatures, however, will remain unseasonably warm.
March 4 – 12:45 p.m. – Burled arch ready to fly to Nome
The newest edition of the famed burled arch that welcomes Iditarod teams each year on Nome’s Front Street is on its journey to the finish.
The original arch that had stood since 2000 fell victim to wood rot last spring, necessitating the creation of a new one. Iditarod veteran Ramey Smyth was tasked with building the new arch for the race.
On Monday night, the arch was being packed and prepared to be flown from Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport to Nome, and Smyth couldn’t be happier.
“Thank goodness. That’s all I can say,” Smyth said when asked Monday night about finally shipping the arch to Nome. “The details were killing me. Wrap it up, crate it up, protect it, move it, keep the rain off it. It was getting to be a lot.
“I’m glad it’s moving on towards Nome.”
The arch is expected to be put on a plane to Nome on Wednesday morning.
March 4 – 10:20 a.m. – Top 8 mushers through Manley
Knik racer and former Iditarod champion Ryan Redington was in front Tuesday morning as eight mushers had made it to the race’s second checkpoint in Manley.
Six of those eight continued on after checking into Manley for just a few minutes; Fairbanks veteran Jason Mackey and Nenana veteran Jessie Holmes both are taking extended rest breaks.
| Position | Musher | Checkpoint | In | Out |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Ryan Redington | Manley | 8:26 a.m. Tuesday | 8:35 a.m. Tuesday |
| 2. | Paige Drobny | Manley | 8:50 a.m. Tuesday | 8:58 a.m. Tuesday |
| 3. | Riley Dyche | Manley | 9:03 a.m. Tuesday | 9:11 a.m. Tuesday |
| 4. | Gabe Dunham | Manley | 9:04 a.m. Tuesday | 9:11 a.m. Tuesday |
| 5. | Matt Hall | Manley | 9:22 a.m. Tuesday | 9:28 a.m. Tuesday |
| 6. | Michelle Phillips | Manley | 9:33 a.m. Tuesday | 9:39 a.m. Tuesday |
| 7. | Jason Mackey | Manley | 6:33 a.m. Tuesday | |
| 8. | Jessie Holmes | Manley | 9:40 a.m. Tuesday | |
| 9 | Bailey Vitello | Nenana | 4:53 p.m. Monday | 4:58 p.m. Monday |
| 10. | Jeff Deeter | Nenana | 5:40 p.m. Monday | 5:45 p.m. Monday |
March 3 – 10:30 p.m. – Teams en route to Manley
Most of the teams have taken off from the first checkpoint in Nenana — heading for Manley.
Ryan Redington is currently ahead of the pack, with Matt Hall and Jessie Holmes close behind.
Jason Mackey was the first to arrive in Nenana and currently sits at number eight on the trail.
The teams who chose a quick stop of less than 10 minutes in Nenana include Mackey, along with Bailey Vitello, Jeff Deeter, Matt Hall, and Connor McMahon.
Calvin Daughtry is the last en route to Nenana, behind Justin Olnes, who reached the second checkpoint at 5:54 p.m.
March 3 – 6 p.m. – First teams roll through Nenana
The top half of the field has come and gone through the race’s first checkpoint in Nenana, with Jason Mackey arriving first at 4:25 p.m.
Another Mackey — Brenda — was close behind, just two minutes behind Jason, and former champion Ryan Redington was third into town at 4:30 p.m.
Because of the interval start times from Fairbanks earlier in the day, the true leaders of the race won’t be known until after all mushers have taken their required rest stops later in the race.
However, the time from Fairbanks to Nenana gave an idea of who was fast.
Three-time Iditarod winner Mitch Seavey started 14th in Fairbanks but was fastest to Nenana, making the 52-mile run in 4 hours, 56 minutes.
Next fastest was Redington, who made the run in 5 hours, 2 minutes, and Gabe Dunham was third-fastest in 5 hours, 4 minutes.
March 3 – 5:05 p.m. – Mackey running with experienced dogs
One of the familiar names on the trail — Mackey — said before taking off on Monday that his team this year is boosted with experience.
According to Fairbanks musher Jason Mackey — the brother of the late four-time Iditarod champion Lance Mackey — he is racing with a team of dogs that have made it to Nome at least once, with the exception of one three-year-old dog “Flash,“ who is the only new addition to the team this year.
“The biggest goal is to get to Nome, and wherever that position may be — we say it every year, and that’s the truth,“ Mackey said. ”Happy, healthy dogs, and whatever is after that, it is what it is.”
The first checkpoint of the race will be in the town of Nenana, which sits 52 miles in.
March 3 – 11 a.m. – And they’re off!
The 53rd Iditarod is officially off and running from the Golden Heart City.
Teams left Monday in two-minute intervals from the Chena River in front of Pike’s Waterfront Lodge in Fairbanks.
Fairbanks veteran Jason Mackey was first out, wearing bib #2, with Minnesota rookie Emily Ford out last with bib #34.
| Bib # | Name | From | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Jason Mackey | Fairbanks, AK | Veteran |
| 3 | Samantha LaLonde | Farmington Hills, MI | Rookie |
| 4 | Matt Hall | Two Rivers, AK | Veteran |
| 5 | Ebbe Pedersen | Alta, Norway | Rookie |
| 6 | Travis Beals | Seward, AK | Veteran |
| 7 | Nicolas Petit | Big Lake, AK | Veteran |
| 8 | Sydnie Bahl | Wasilla, AK | Rookie |
| 9 | Brenda Mackey | Fairbanks, AK | Rookie |
| 10 | Jenny Roddewig | Fairbanks, AK | Rookie |
| 11 | Mike Parker | Eagle River, AK | Rookie |
| 12 | Anna Berington | Knik, AK | Veteran |
| 13 | Keaton Loebrich | Midland, MI | Rookie |
| 14 | Michelle Phillips | Ten Mile, YT, Canada | Veteran |
| 15 | Jessie Holmes | Alabama | Veteran |
| 16 | Ryan Redington* | Knik, AK | Veteran |
| 17 | Riley Dyche | Big Lake, AK | Veteran |
| 18 | Mille Porsild | Denmark | Veteran |
| 19 | Daniel Klein | Eagle, WI | Rookie |
| 20 | Gabe Dunham | Willow, AK | Veteran |
| 21 | Dane Baker | Royal Oak, MI | Rookie |
| 22 | Bailey Vitello | Milan, NH/Nenana, AK | Veteran |
| 23 | Lauro Eklund | Two Rivers, AK | Veteran |
| 24 | Bryce Mumford | Preston, ID | Rookie |
| 25 | Calvin Daugherty | Eagle River, AK | Rookie |
| 26 | Paige Drobny | Cantwell, AK | Veteran |
| 27 | Quince Mountain | Mountain, WI | Rookie |
| 28 | Connor McMahon | Cacross, YT, Canada | Rookie |
| 29 | Justin Olnes | Fairbanks, AK | Rookie |
| 30 | Charmayne Morrison | Bozeman, MT | Rookie |
| 31 | Matthew Failor | Willow, AK | Veteran |
| 32 | Mitch Seavey* | Seward/Sterling, AK | Veteran |
| 33 | Jeff Deeter | Fairbanks, AK | Veteran |
| 34 | Emily Ford | Duluth, MN | Rookie |
| *Past Champion |
March 2 – 4:15 p.m. – Teams Fairbanks-bound for official restart
With the new route comes a return of a Fairbanks restart, meaning all 33 mushers, their handlers and hundreds of dogs are headed up the highway, en route to the beginning of Iditarod 53.
The racers will leave from Pike’s Landing in Fairbanks on Monday morning.
Mushers who spoke about the change to a Fairbanks restart expressed mixed emotions over the adjustment, talking mostly about how they’re excited to get started down the trail.
Veteran Lauro Eklund, who trains out of Two Rivers, said he feels like he has a little bit of a “home field advantage” being able to start in Fairbanks.
“It’s going to be nice to sleep, get two more nights in my own bed,” he said. “I also grew up going up and down those rivers, so, I know those pretty well.”
Eklund said he got his first dog from out of Tanana, a stop on this year’s Iditarod route. The pup, Annie, is the matriarch of his kennel, he said.
“Got some of her grandkids on this team,” he added. “So it’ll be kind of like going back home.”
One half of the Berington twin team of Anna and Kristy, who train out of Knik, will be running this year’s Iditarod, though the two have both been working with the team competing in 2025.
Anna Berington, who’s raced from out of Fairbanks before, will guide this year’s team.
“All of the trail is different, and it was quite a long time ago,” she said. “So it’s not like I remember a whole bunch, and all the dogs I have on my team have not done that route.
“It’s all new for everybody,” she added, “and I just look forward to just getting started.”
Justin Olnes, a rookie who also calls the Fairbanks area home, said there have been some ups and downs leading to race weekend.
“That was another roller coaster of emotions,” he said of the changes to the route. “Are we going to start the Southern Route? Are we going to go to Fairbanks?
“But, I’m very pleased with the decision,” he said. “I think it was the best move to calm anxieties about safe trail for the dogs. I don’t mind running on the river; I think it’s actually very pleasant. And I’ll be happy sleeping in my bed the night before the race.”
March 1 – 10:10 p.m. – Spectators reflect on ceremonial start day
March 1 – 5:15 p.m. – Veterans, rookies chat ahead of departure for Fairbanks restart
A total of 17 veterans – including two champions, in Ryan Redington and Mitch Seavey – and 16 rookies are tackling this year’s Iditarod.
Watch the video below to hear from Seavey, 2024 runner-up Matt Hall, and 2024 third-place finisher Jessie Holmes.
March 1 – 1:30 p.m. – All teams out for ceremonial start
All 33 race teams — as well as a few honorary and exhibition teams — took off Saturday morning for the ceremonial start.
Throngs of fans and onlookers crowded the sides of the trail along Fourth Avenue and Cordova Street, high-fiving mushers and admiring the dogs.
The first team — an honorary sled, not an official race team — was released from the starting chute at around 10:30 a.m., although the dogs had different ideas as they tried steering around the mounds of snow that separate the trail from the pavement. Oops!
From there, it was bib #1 that featured four-time Junior Iditarod champion Emily Robinson leading the way, with the first official musher — Jason Mackey with bib #2 — following behind her.
This year’s field will feature 33 teams, a record-tying low, that does not include defending race champion Dallas Seavey, who last year broke the record for most victories in Iditarod history.
Jason Mackey led the field of 33 out of the starting chute after pulling bib #2 at Thursday’s opening banquet. The first sled to go out with bib #1 is always reserved for the honorary musher; this year it went to the late Dr. Stuart Nelson, who had been the race’s chief veterinarian since 1995. Nelson died in September of last year.
With the Iditarod starting in Fairbanks this year, the revised course is longer than usual at 1,128 miles. The official restart will begin at Pike’s Waterfront Lodge on Monday and finish on the traditional Front Street location in Nome, where a newly-created burled arch will await finishers.
While Dallas Seavey is not entered, the next six mushers who finished behind him last year are, forecasting a hotly-contested battle for the 2025 crown. None of the six have won the race before, although all have prior top-10 finishes.
The 2025 edition will also feature a field low on experience, as 16 rookies — defined as any musher who does not have an Iditarod finish on their resume — will be starting, comprising 48% of the current field.
Only two mushers in the field of 33 have even won the race before; Ryan Redington (the 2023 winner), and three-time champion Mitch Seavey, who last won it in 2017 — which was also the last time a Fairbanks restart was instituted.
Of course, weather always plays a factor in how mushers and teams feel on the trail, and this year is no different. Opening day for Anchorage and Fairbanks is looking warm for both the ceremonial and official race start, with highs above freezing in Fairbanks on Monday.
The snowpack is also looking decent. The Yukon River is frozen solid, reporting an ice depth of 19 inches in Galena, along with a snow depth of close to two feet.
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