Iditarod

More than one in four competitors in this year’s Iditarod are rookie mushers.

How are Iditarod trail conditions? Why so few mushers this year? We answer those questions and more.

Meet Dusty, a leader on Iditarod rookie Jennifer LaBar’s team.

That's right, it's Iditarod time, and we're back with another season of Iditapod. In the first episode of our seventh season, host Casey Grove and trail reporters Lex Treinen and Ben Matheson discuss the smallest field in race history and how a quarter of the mushers in the 2023 Iditarod are rookies. We also recap last year's race, talk about the legacy of the late four-time champion Lance Mackey and we even have a Dog of the Day, a spunky little leader named Dusty.

With just 33 teams in this year’s Iditarod, many are questioning how the organization can keep attracting mushers to the expensive sport.

Thirty-three teams and dozens of sled dogs dashed down city streets and trails on Saturday, ahead of the official race start Sunday.

Reigning Iditarod champ Brent Sass talks about his hectic life in the tiny town of Eureka, his newfound confidence and his mushing philosophy.

Meet Moose, the “heart dog” for KattiJo Deeter.

Iditarod mushers took their sled dog teams on an untimed, celebratory fun run from downtown Anchorage on the city’s trails, with hundreds of fans cheering along the way. We hear from mushers and fans – maybe the pitter patter of little dog feet – as well as a joyful bride, a grumpy bear, a curious moose (or three), a former Miss Alaska and her mom, who had a fox on her head, and more!

Some mushers were trying to calm their nerves Sunday, and others had nerves of steel.

Iditarod musher Jed Stephensen said the 3-year-old dog is "just a constant explosion."

Iditarod mushers took their sled dog teams on an untimed, celebratory fun run from downtown Anchorage on the city’s trails, with hundreds of fans cheering along the way. We hear from mushers and fans – maybe the pitter patter of little dog feet – as well as a joyful bride, a grumpy bear, a curious moose (or three), a former Miss Alaska and her mom, who had a fox on her head, and more!

Mushers shrugged off jackets and dogs sunbathed in the snow as temperatures hovered around 40 degrees — hot by Alaska winter standards.

The Rainy Pass checkpoint is about 150 miles into the race and, tucked into the Alaska Range, it’s a scenic place to rest.

Once JoAnna gets going, she doesn’t stop. 

This year’s mushers include a former all-conference football player, an Ironman triathlete and a member of a national championship ski team.

Iditarod teams are contending with warm weather in the thousand-mile race, many choosing to run in the cool of night as much as possible. We'll talk about that in this episode, plus a little about what other sports some mushers have participated in outside of mushing. We have another Dog of the Day -- this time, a trusty leader named JoAnna and, as always, a listener question.

Iditarod officials had warned mushers that the trail into Nikolai would have the worst moguls in race history.

Mushers slept. Dogs slept. And sled repairs got underway.

The Iditarod this year looks almost exactly as it did pre-pandemic.