Iditarod

ll news stories about the Iditarod or mushing in general are categorized “Iditarod.”

How do mushers afford the Iditarod? Anja Radano says every year it’s a struggle.

Running the Iditarod takes months of preparation, training and a lot of money. While some mushers have major tour businesses and sponsors that help fund their kennels and pay for staff, Radano waits tables to help balance the big bills that come with being a dog musher.
A musher in an orange jacket

Aaron Burmeister first Iditarod musher to reach Nikolai, while Brent Sass is first to dash out

The race started Sunday in Willow. The winner is expected sometime early next week in Nome, on Alaska’s western coast.
A close-up portrait of a man in glasses

Here’s what some of the first Iditarod mushers remember about the early years of the 1,000-mile race

A couple hundred people packed into the basement of Settlers Bay Lodge last week to commemorate the earlier years of the Iditarod. 
A woman ina helmet and parka holds two dogs around her arms

Iditapod bonus: Bridgett Watkins interview with Lex Treinen

Editor's note: This extended interview discusses a violent encounter with a moose and might not be suitable for all listeners. Alaska Public Media's Lex Treinen gets all the details of rookie Iditarod musher Bridgett Watkins' run-in with a moose while on a training run near Salcha, in Interior Alaska, in early February.
A close up of a black and brown dog

Viva, the sled dog queen

Rookie Gerhardt Thiart has a very specific story for choosing Viva for his Iditarod team. Last year, he was running an Iditarod qualifier when he...
A dog at sunrise

Before first light, lead Iditarod teams pull into Finger Lake checkpoint

Finger Lake is about 125 miles into the 1,000-mile race.

Iditapod: Different strokes for different folks

As Alaska Public Media reporters Jeff Chen and Lex Treinen head out on the trail, Iditapod host Casey Grove updates some of the early Iditarod standings. Plus, we have a story of an ER nurse whose training for the Iditarod helped him cope with the trauma of working on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. Lex also brings us a report on the Sunday restart in Willow, as well as another dog profile, and we have a couple questions with a couple different answers (watch out: one involves some math).
A man in an orange parka sits on a sled next to a truck

The race is on: Iditarod teams hit the trail in Willow under clear skies

Some mushers worried about the heat for their dogs as warm temperatures heated the snow.
A man with a light blue parka holds his arms up as he stands on a sled in heavy snow. A nother man in a fur-ruffed parka sits on the sled in front of him and crowds watch on the sidelines.

Iditapod: A joyful, more normal Iditarod start

The 2022 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race kicked off Saturday in Anchorage with its usual fanfare, after not holding a ceremonial start in 2021. Alaska Public Media reporters Casey Grove, Tegan Hanlon, Lex Treinen and Jeff Chen were out in the snow with the mushers, dogs and race fans, including plenty of kids and other trailgaters.
A white man with glasses and a beard holds a black and orangish dog

Stealie, the unexpected leader who never looked back

In our first daily Iditarod dog profile, we bring you Stealie, rookie Eric Kelly's main leader.
a person in a blue jacket and a dog in the background

Alaska musher Dallas Seavey on brink of becoming Iditarod’s best ever

Win or lose, this year’s Iditarod across Alaska will be his last — at least for a while.
two husky dogs

The 2022 Iditarod starts this weekend. Here’s what to know.

The race, in some ways, is back to normal: Mushers are again dashing 1,000 miles to Nome.
A man in a fuzzy orange hoodie and a mustache kneels next to a dog, petting it

This Eagle River nurse has seen a lot of trauma this year. His Iditarod quest has helped him cope. 

Matt Paveglio will start the Iditarod after watching dozens of patients die during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also had to bury his mother.
Television host talks to guests via Zoom.

Mushers celebrate the 50th running of the Iditarod | Alaska Insight

The five-decade history of the Iditarod is a story filled with adventure, skill, triumph and lots of change, and it's best told by those who have experienced it, firsthand.
a dog in a snowy dog yard

Iditapod: Iditarod gets back on track

Iditapod is back for the 50th running of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Host Casey Grove and fellow Alaska Public Media reporters Tegan Hanlon, Lex Treinen and Jeff Chen discuss last year's pandemic-altered Iditarod, some of the mid-distance sled dog races this season, as well as COVID-19 protocols (and already a scratch/switcheroo), scary moose encounters and the heartwarming story of an unlikely Iditarod dog.
A woman ina helmet and parka holds two dogs around her arms

‘He wanted death to occur’: Iditarod musher Bridgett Watkins recalls harrowing moose attack

Bridgett Watkins was training near Salcha when a moose attacked her team, stomping it repeatedly.
A moose stands in a snowy train track with a yellow train engine behind it

Hungry, angry and aggressive moose put mushers on high alert before Iditarod

Heavy rain and snow have forced moose onto dog trails resulting in several harrowing encounters.

Nic Petit taps Jeff King for last-minute takeover of his Iditarod team after positive COVID test

Four-time Iditarod champion Jeff King says he took 30 minutes to think about it and then said yes.
A blond sled dog lying on top of a plywood house on a chain

Can anyone beat Dallas Seavey? Top Iditarod mushers say they’re ready to try.

The five-time champ will have to defeat numerous top teams, including his dad's, if he wants to make history this year as the winningest Iditarod musher.