Iditarod

Red, white and blue flags flew high at this year’s Iditarod start line, but they weren’t the flags one might expect at an American race. These flags bear the Scandinavian cross and they were flown by fans who came out to cheer on more than ten percent of the race field. There are more Scandinavians in this year’s Iditarod than ever before. Iditarod - Day 1

A little before 8 p.m. last night, Iditarod mushers started to come off their 24-hour mandatory rests.

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race gets underway this weekend. The race has had its share of unusual mushers over the years. There have been blind mushers, one legged mushers, a musher in kilts, even three generations of one family all running in the same race. But this year, race viewers may do a double take when identical twins Kristy and Anna Berington take to the runners.

In our first daily Iditarod dog profile, we bring you Stealie, rookie Eric Kelly's main leader.

"We've been dealing with the moguls from the start," says Richie Diehl. "It'll be nice to be on the river."

After taking the lead from Aliy Zirkle early Monday morning, Jeff King has extended his Iditarod lead to nearly an hour, rolling into White Mountain at 7:02 a.m. Zirkle checked into White Mountain at 7:59 a.m. with 11 dogs to King's 12.

At this point in the Iditarod, just about every top team has declared their mandatory 24-rest, and is either recuperating, or else charging back onto the trail. The rest gives both dogs and mushers a chance to catch their breath and rebuild some strength. And it’s one of the main indicators of a musher’s strategy, finally giving shape to the accelerating race in the days ahead.

Iditapod goes on a deep dive talking about "old school" Eureka musher Brent Sass, who won his first Iditarod championship early Tuesday in Nome. That was despite howling wind that almost caused him to stop in the final miles, with five-time champ Dallas Seavey still in pursuit, just about an hour behind. We'll take you to the finish line, plus Sass's Golden Harness dogs Slater and Morello are the subject of our listener question AND the Dog(s) of the Day.

The Iditarod - and Iditapod - are heading into the Nome stretch, as Eureka's Brent Sass has maintained his lead, aiming for his first win, with five-time champ Dallas Seavey still on his tail. We’ll have more about the race at the front, as well as more about musher mistakes, how things are going for the top rookie - Hanna Lyrek - and the speedy team of Dan Kaduce. Plus… more pizza? Yep, and another peppy dog of the day, a listener question and an answer from the trail.

Jason Mackey says he knows that the Iditarod trail was home for his brother.

Never in Iditarod history have as many teams finished the 1000 mile race in under nine days, but this year, eight of the top ten teams did just that. Some of the mushers who crossed the finish line faced enormous adversity on their way to Nome. But without any major weather events most of the mushing that took place was simply the fastest in the race’s history. Download Audio

With defending champ Brent Sass out, the top of the Iditarod field is scrambled, leaving four main teams at the top.

One musher has regrets. Another is focused on canine appetite. And a third is relieved to have survived the "spiciest" trail.

For the sixth year in a row, a member of the Seavey mushing family has claimed the top spot in the Last Great Race. This year it was Mitch Seavey who finished the Iditarod at 3:40 p.m. on Tuesday, March 14. Listen now