Iditarod

Well, we’ve got a race, folks. Obviously, with 45 mushers out on the Iditarod Trail vying for positions, we’ve got a race. But at the very front, it’s looking like a real battle setting up between Brent Sass and Dallas Seavey for first place. As the frontrunners head for the Bering Sea coast, we’ll have a look at the teams reaching the Yukon River, we’ll talk about a pretty big scratch, women mushers, a bit about superstition, and of course we have a dog profile and a listener question.

Sass charged through the first coastal checkpoint in Unalakleet, with Dallas Seavey resting for a few hours there before pushing ahead.

While she’s a newbie to the Iditarod, Lyrek has already proven her mettle in long-distance dog mushing. At age 19, she won the 2019 600-kilometer Finnmarksløpet, one of the biggest races in Europe.

Seavey talked to reporters during his pause in Unalakleet early Sunday. Listen to the interview.

In this extended interview from before the 2022 Iditarod, 22-year-old Norwegian musher Hanna Lyrek told Alaska Public Media's Lex Treinen about competing in Norway's biggest sled dog race, the Finnmarksløpet, how she got her dog team to Alaska, her goals for the Iditarod and... about her dogs, of course!

A lot can go wrong on 1,000 miles of trail.

Sass pulled in at 11:05 a.m. Monday. He can race on at 7:05 p.m.

Chatanika musher Kaduce says it’s a combination of luck and good dog care habits that have helped him surge to the front of the pack,

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.

Brent Sass and his 11-dog team dashed out of the White Mountain checkpoint at 7:05 p.m., with just 77 miles to the finish line.

“Nice to be in Eskimo country!” said Iñupiaq musher Ryan Redington. He said his mother was born and raised in Unalakleet, and it’s been nice to visit with the community.

Alaska Public Media's Lex Treinen caught up - just in the nick of time - with Brent Sass, who mushed into White Mountain and a mandatory eight-hour rest in the lead, in a great position to win his first Iditarod.

The 42-year-old musher took command of this year’s race around the halfway point and never gave it up.

The two six-year-old Alaskan huskies led for most of the 1,000 miles, through headwinds and over hills.

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.

Brent Sass and his team tumbled down a hillside in a raging windstorm on his final run into Nome. "The whole time I was like, ‘Yep, here we go, pulling a Sass again, making it interesting, and the last leg of the frickin race every single time.’"

Kaduce said he opted to keep 14 dogs in harness instead of sending the slower ones home.

“He's a really special dog all the way around,” said Aaron Burmeister.

We’ve been publishing a “dog of the day” during the Iditarod. Here’s a round-up of who we’ve met so far.

Pete Kaiser and his dog team raced across the Iditarod finish line at 9:45 p.m. Tuesday in fifth place. Family and friends from Anchorage, Aniak,...