Sled Dog Death in Unalakleet will be Investigated
An Iditarod Sled Dog described as "otherwise healthy" has died in Unalakleet. Race Marshal Mark Nordman said in a news release that the 5-year-old male dog named Dorado was from 38-year-old Fairbanks rookie musher Paige Drobny's team.
Competition Fierce Among Iditarod’s Top-20
Competition in this year’s Iditarod was nothing less than fierce, and the racing didn’t quite until the finish line. The race for first and second place was close in this year’s Iditarod, but there were three other races among top twenty finishers that were even closer.
Mitch Seavey Wins The 2013 Iditarod
Seventeen Iditarod teams have crossed under Nome’s burled arch so far, with more closing in quickly. This year’s was one of the most competitive and closest races in Iditarod history.
Mitch Seavey Wins 2013 Iditarod
Mitch Seavey has won the 2013 Iditarod, crossing the finish line at 10:39 p.m. Tuesday. After racing neck and neck with Aliy Zirkle through the last few checkpoints, he widened the gap after both mushers left White Mountain about 15 minutes apart, not taking a minute over their mandatory 8-hour layover.
Race Leaders Leave White Mountain For Safety, Nome
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 Leaders Pull Into White Mountain
Thirteen minutes is all that stands between Mitch Seavey and Aliy Zirkle, the top two teams in this year’s Iditarod. Seavey’s team took just over 90 minutes longer than Zirkle’s to reach the checkpoint. But Jeff King’s team is still within striking distance after arriving third. Teams are resting for a mandatory eight hours. It’s an unusual year when the Iditarod comes down to the last long run from White Mountain.
Race Remains Tight As Leaders Head For White Mountain
The top teams in this year’s Iditarod likely won’t be decided until they cross under the burled arch in Nome. That’s because teams have spent the last quarter of the race, if not the last 900 miles leap frogging each other as they travel down the trail.
Mitch Seavey Takes Back Iditarod Lead
Mitch Seavey is back in the Iditarod lead. He passed Jeff King halfway through the run from Koyuk to Elim along the Bering Sea Coast. King surprised everyone by speeding through the Koyuk checkpoint at 8:20 this morning, stopping less than six minutes. That put him out front for most of the day. Mitch Seavey left the checkpoint three hours after King. Aliy Zirkle, Ray Redding Jr and Aaron Burmeister followed a few hours later. APRN trail reporter Emily Schwing is in Koyuk. She says King’s dogs looked good when they passed through the checkpoint.
Jeff King First To Leave Koyuk
Less than 170 miles separate Jeff King from Nome, as he left the Koyuk checkpoint just six minutes after checking in at 8:16 a.m. Monday.
Iditarod Teams Begin Moving Up The Coast
Dog teams face the last 250 miles of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. The trail runs along the windy coastline of the Bering Sea from Unalakleet to Nome. It’s getting close to the time when mushers will make some of their last moves. It’s only a matter of time before decisions on the trail turn into race results.
Mitch Seavey First Into Unalakleet
Former Iditarod champion Mitch Seavey was the first musher into Unalakleet, checking in at 10:13 a.m. Sunday. Aaron Burmeister is hot on Seavey's heels, riding into Unalakleet less that 15 minutes later.
Mushers Prepare To Tackle The Bering Sea Coast
With a climb through the Alaska Range and a run down the Yukon River now behind them, Iditarod mushers have only to tackle the Bering Sea coast before they cross the finish line in Nome. But there’s still a third of the race to go. Overnight, the front-runners left Kaltag for Unalakleet. It’s the longest run of the race. KUAC’s Emily Schwing caught up before they set off.
Buser Keeps Lead Out Of Eagle Island
About three hours separate Martin Buser from Aliy Zirkle and the rest of the pack. Buser checked out of Eagle Island at 2:41 a.m. Saturday morning for his 60-mile run to Kaltag. Seven other mushers have departed Eagle Island, including Zirkle, Mitch Seavey, Jessie Royer and Aaron Burmeister.
Mushers In The Middle Of The Pack Remaining Competitive
Iditarod mushers running outside of this year’s top-20 are just as competitive as the front of the pack, but they have different reasons for travelling the trail.
Buser Retakes Lead, Departs Grayling
Martin Buser has again regained the Iditarod lead, departing Grayling at 12:52 p.m., staying at the checkpoint for only 10 minutes. Aliy Zirkle, Aaron Burmeister, Jake Berkowitz and Sonny Lindner round out the top-5. Buser is the only competitor in the top-5 that has used both the mandatory 8-hour and 24-hour layovers.
Most Iditarod Teams Remaining Large So Far
Iditarod mushers start the race with up to 16 dogs. The can drop dogs along the trail, but they have to finish with six. Many mushers will drop dogs in Iditarod after completing the longest single run along the trail. It’s 80 miles from Ophir, but most teams remain large halfway through the race.
Zirkle Leads Mushers Into Grayling
Aliy Zirkle has taken the lead in the 2013 Iditarod. She checked into the Grayling checkpoint at 9:54 a.m. Friday. Aaron Burmeister and Jake Berkowitz arrived in Grayling about 30 minutes apart, at 11:06 a.m. and 11:37 a.m., respectively.
Summer View of the Iditarod Checkpoint
Iditarod, the namesake of the dogsled race to Nome, doesn't get a lot of visitors, and there is very little left standing that alludes to the gold rush-era importance the town once had, but it was once a bustling hub on the Historic Iditarod Trail that many prospectors journeyed through as they searched for the riches Alaska had to offer, In the summer of 2011, APRN's Josh Edge and KSKA's Kristin Spack had a chance to go out to the ghost towns of Iditarod and Flat, located about 10 miles apart, with Kevin Keeler, from the Bureau of Land Management. Here's a sneak peak inside Iditarod and once of it's focal points, the N.C. Store.
Buser Takes Iditarod Lead
Martin Buser has regained the lead in the 2013 Iditarod. After just under five hours of rest at the checkpoint, Buser left Iditarod at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday to begin a 55-mile jaunt to Shageluk.
Lance Mackey First Into Iditarod
Lance Mackey was the first musher to reach the race's namesake checkpoint of Iditarod. He checked in at 8:36 p.m. Wednesday. Sonny Lindner arrived at the checkpoint shortly after 10:00 p.m. Wednesday.