PHOTOS: 85 Iditarod mushers head for Nome

Mike Williams Junior of Akiak is running his sixth Iditarod Sled Dog race. Photo by Ben Matheson / Alaska Public Media.
Mike Williams Junior of Akiak is running his sixth Iditarod Sled Dog race. Photo by Ben Matheson / Alaska Public Media.

The 2016 Iditarod kicked off Sunday at Willow Lake as teams departed two minutes apart. First on the trail was Scott Janssen, the “Mushing Mortician.” Martin Koenig of Montana was the last musher to leave Sunday afternoon.

Hundreds of race fans lined the chute on Willow Lake to send off one of the largest fields in years under warm March sunlight.

APRN’s Zacharaiah Hughes and KNOM’s Emily Schwing will report from the trail as the race kicks off. You can find full coverage here. Photos from the restart are below:

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