Iditarod

The three mushers leading this year’s Iditarod pack passed through Unalakleet yesterday afternoon. The racers arrived in very differing shape, offering signs of what could be ahead in the last stretch toward Nome.

There's been a shakeup along the Iditarod trail. Bad weather along the coast earlier today hampered the race's front runners. Listen now

Currently, the top of the Iditarod leader-board is filled out with younger mushers, most of them in their 20s and 30s — the race’s up-and-comers. Many esteemed members of mushing’s old guard are content to watch a new generation inherit the mantel. Listen now

There was a major shakeup at the front of the 2018 Iditarod on Monday, when Joar Leifseth Ulsom slipped past previous leader Nicolas Petit while Petit lost the trail on the Bering Sea coast between Shaktoolik and Koyuk. The table is now set for Ulsom, first to White Mountain and only 77 miles from the finish in Nome, to win his first Iditarod championship and the first for a Norwegian -- or anybody else not originally from the U.S. -- since 2005. But, as we hear in this episode, a lead and a long rest at White Mountain hasn't always translated to a win. Meantime, many of mushing's old guard are happy to pass the mantle to the next generation of elite mushers (not including defending champ Mitch Seavey, still mushing near the front in third place).

Coinciding with the Iditarod sled dog race, Unalakleet issued an emergency ordinance to address loose dogs running free around the community. Many residents complained about a problem, and not everyone is happy with the solution.

The 31-year-old Norwegian is the first musher to disrupt the Seavey dynasty, in a grueling race that has dragged on longer than recent years. Listen now

The Iditarod has crowned a new Norwegian champion: Joar Leifseth Ulsom. The 31-year-old pulled under Nome’s Burled Arch at 3 a.m. Wednesday with eight dogs in harness to claim his first championship, taking the win in Iditarod 46. Ulsom is the first Norwegian musher to win the thousand-mile sled dog race since Robert Sørlie in 2005. Girdwood's Nicolas Petit arrived a little over two hours later, and he spoke to reporters about how his race went and where it went wrong.

A dog has died at a checkpoint along the Iditarod trail. Listen now

Alaska Public Media's reporter on the Iditarod Trail, Zachariah Hughes, talks from Nome about the scene there as race finishers mush into town, and KNOM interviews with third-place finisher Mitch Seavey shed some light on his race, including a tough trail along the Bering Sea coast and becoming better friends with Joar Leifseth Ulsom (the new champ!) and runner-up Nicolas Petit. Plus, we go rapid-fire with questions about how fast the dogs run, trail mail and the Burled Arch.

The 2018 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race has come to an end, as 52 out of the original 67 mushers have crossed the finish line in Nome. Listen now

Ramping up our 2019 Iditarod coverage, we look back at the history of dog mushing in Alaska, the dawn of long-distance racing and... yes, we talk a little about last year's race.

Along one of the most remote stretches of the state's road system is a wilderness lodge that's become thoroughly popular with elite dog-mushers.

We take a quick look back at competitive mid-distance sled dog races that many Iditarod mushers use as qualifier or tune-up races. And though...

He's sitting out this year's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race -- that starts March 2 in Anchorage -- but Eureka musher Brent Sass just won the Yukon Quest again, after taking a year off from racing. Sass is a former Iditarod Rookie of the Year, and though he's struggled in a couple other attempts at that race, he said his young dog team will likely be ready for an Iditarod run next year.

The 47th running of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is underway. 52 dog teams sped out of Willow Sunday afternoon for the 1000-mile race to Nome. 

The 47th running of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race began Sunday, with 52 dog teams speeding out of Willow along for the 1,000-mile trail to Nome.

We talk about trail conditions, which teams look like contenders for the Top 10, our Rookie Of The Year Picks, and the best ways to follow the race. Also, a quick intro to our team on the trail.

We talk about why the Ceremonial Start in downtown Anchorage is a thing, hear what mushers are talking about this year, and visit with the Trailgaters. It's the last time anyone gets to catch their breath before the real start of the race. And maybe catch a few hotdogs, too

Fifty-two mushers headed out of Willow as the 2019 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race began in earnest Sunday, March 3. Iditapod host Casey Grove is joined by KNOM's Ben Matheson and Braver Mountain Mushing's Quince Mountain for discussions of the restart, early-race strategy and some of the numbers of the Iditarod, including that this year's race features the highest-ever percentage of female mushers.

We check in from the trail, where mushers covered the first 100-plus miles from the Willow restart Sunday to the first checkpoints, Yentna and Skwentna, and on to Finger Lake. Alaska Public Media's Zachariah Hughes talked to mushers at Skwentna overnight, and we take a listener question on sled design. Also, today's episode features an extended interview with Ester musher Paige Drobny, an Iditarod veteran and one of a record field of female mushers.