Iditarod

Since the Iditapod left off, after Brent Sass's epic first Iditarod victory, teams have continued to arrive in Nome, including a fun race for 3rd and 4th place, two Yukon-Kuskokwim mushers in 5th and 6th, an impressive 7th place finish for a second-year musher and a Nome local coming home to finish in 8th before stepping away. We're also going to step away, but not before we answer another listener question and bring you one last Dog of the Day.

In this hour-long interview, we hear more from 2022 Iditarod champion Brent Sass about how he’s forged a unique bond with his dog team, how he draws inspiration from his idols like Susan Butcher, and how his life in his remote homestead has made him the musher he is. Alaska Public Media’s Lex Treinen sat down with Sass, along with a group of other reporters, and Sass’s dad Mark at the Nome Nugget newspaper in downtown Nome.

Veteran Iditarod musher Aaron Burmeister talked to Alaska Public Media’s Jeff Chen at the Nome radio station, KNOM, roughly a day after Burmeister finished his 21st Iditarod. Burmeister talks about stepping away from the Iditarod, about how his race went this year, and how much dog mushing has changed over the many years he’s been a competitive musher.

Gerhardt Thiart and Bridgett Watkins were rescued and flown to Nome.

Burmeister has been competing in the Iditarod since his rookie run in 1994, when he was rookie of the year.

Mille Porsild of Denmark, Michelle Phillips of Canada and Riley Dyche of Fairbanks were penalized for taking dogs inside shelter cabins to ride out the storm with winds so strong, they whipped up white-out conditions.

Mille Porsild and Michelle Phillips were the top female finishers in this year’s race. On one of the final runs they moved their dogs indoors to get out of a severe windstorm.

An Iditarod sled dog was found safe after disappearing from a checkpoint in the race three months ago and covering nearly 150 miles.

The four-time Iditarod victor's kennel said he died Wednesday night after a long battle with cancer, following his re-diagnosis last year.

Christian Turner is an unlikely entrant in the 1,000-mile sled dog race, but not for lack of experience: He’s a two-time finisher, placing his highest at 15th in 2015, his last Iditarod.

Some legendary careers are winding down. Other mushers are taking a break. All are grappling with higher costs in an already-expensive sport.

As the Iditarod has become more competitive, the middle- to back-of-the pack mushers who made it more of a cultural event have struggled with rising costs.

Hugh Neff has finished the Iditarod 13 times, placing as high as 5th in 2011. But over the past few years, he has had trouble in both the Iditarod and the Yukon Quest.

Alexie beat the second place finisher, veteran Pete Kaiser of Bethel, by 14 minutes.

All race checkpoints will now be road accessible, a change that could increase entries before a sign up deadline that’s been extended until Friday.

First climate change and now financial worries are forcing some competitors to stay off the trail this year.

The once-iconic 1,000-mile race has splintered into separate, shorter races on the Alaska and Canadian sides of the border.

From frosty dogs to frosty mushers.

The three-day sprint mushing event brought veterans and rookies alike, all competing for the glory and prize money in front of a packed crowd.

Nearly all of last year’s top dog teams are returning to the Iditarod, though some of the mushers have changed.