Iditarod

Aliy Zirkle was the first musher to reach the Yukon River checkpoint of Galena Friday morning. She arrived at 10:46 with 14 dogs. Brent Sass was next into the checkpoint but swiftly moved through without stopping with his 15 dogs. Mitch Seavey pulled into Galena by 2:45.

The Iditarod rookie came in for a rather lengthy interview last week. We talked about his past and present, and, among other things, Quince’s experiences being transgender. As far as we know, he’s the first openly trans person in the Iditarod.

Mitch Seavey left the Iditarod checkpoint of White Mountain at 1:11 this afternoon. Aliy Zirkle followed 13 minutes later. According to GPS, she is currently running about one mile behind Seavey. Seavey is a former Iditarod champion. Zirkle’s best finish in the race was second, last year.

Iditarod mushers Jeff King and Aliy Zirkle are on the final stretch into Nome. King left the White Mountain checkpoint after eight hours of mandatory rest at 3:02 this afternoon. Zirkle followed just under an hour later. Dallas Seavey will leave about two hours behind Zirkle and his father Mitch will leave about two hours after that. Download Audio

From sweet and sour chicken to dried mangoes, there’s a variety of food in mushers’ vacuum-sealed bags.

At the time of his disqualification Monday, Burke was facing two assault charges stemming from a 2022 incident.

Two days into the race, Iditarod strategies are coming into sharper contrast. As mushers leapfrog one another, here's what you need to know to...

Iditarod teams are contending with warm weather in the thousand-mile race, many choosing to run in the cool of night as much as possible. We'll talk about that in this episode, plus a little about what other sports some mushers have participated in outside of mushing. We have another Dog of the Day -- this time, a trusty leader named JoAnna and, as always, a listener question.

Spirits in Takotna were high Thursday morning, with a cluster of well-fed and rested mushers getting set to end their 24-hour rests. The front-runners who rested here like Mitch Seavey and Pete Kaiser roared back onto the trail late last night. The mushers camped out now, like Ryne Olson, are on a different pace. Download Audio

Mushers shrugged off jackets and dogs sunbathed in the snow as temperatures hovered around 40 degrees — hot by Alaska winter standards.

The Yukon Quest has once again proven itself as one of the toughest races in the Far North. Of the 18 mushers who signed up for this year’s race, only eleven may finish. The race has claimed rookies, and seasoned veterans alike, but there are still a handful of teams plugging along toward the finish line outside of Whitehorse. KUAC’s Emily Schwing caught up with the “Kiwi Musher” and has this profile. Listen Now

Musher Jessica Klejka got Ralph for a bargain.

Kelly Maixner is the first musher into Rohn, checking in at 11:26 Monday morning. He took the lead from fellow Big Lake musher Martin Buser at Rainy Pass earlier Monday.

In the first couple days of racing, Iditarod dog teams are running along some of the roughest parts of trail reported on this year’s Iditarod. But the actual trail may not be the challenge. A handful of mushers are sick and others are making an effort to keep their dogs race ready. Listen Now

In the final push for Nome, Iditarod mushers are making big moves and cutting rest, but fresh snow, and drifted trail isn’t only slowing the leaders – trail conditions have also slowed dog teams in chase mode. Download Audio