Thirty-three sled dog teams raced out of Fairbanks Monday onto the longest Iditarod trail in history. The last-minute plan to change the route went off without a hitch despite significant changes to the original trail. The race start was moved up to Fairbanks due to dismal snow on the normal route in Willow.
Even still, it was a balmy 40 degrees at the front of Pike’s Waterfront Lodge, with the melting snow under the dogs’ booties starting to look a little like mashed potatoes by the 11 a.m. start time. Iditarod CEO Rob Urbach said he’s optimistic about the race ahead, but he acknowledged the strain of changing the route on such short notice.
“There's always challenges,” Urbach said. “We're synonymous with challenges. And this year, clearly the universe even decided, ‘Hey, we need more challenges to try to overcome.’ So, we try to laugh at adversity and focus our energies on just getting it done.”
The day was full of superlatives — race officials said this could be the warmest Fairbanks start on record. It’s also the longest Iditarod trail yet, and this year’s field of 33 teams is tied with the smallest in race history. Plus, it’s the 100-year anniversary of the 1925 serum run to Nome, when sled dog teams relayed antitoxin from Nenana to Nome to combat a diphtheria outbreak.
This year’s race will mirror that historic route, and the significance isn’t lost on Willow-based musher Gabe Dunham.
“The history of mushing that basically came in and helped save so many lives… I get goosebumps whenever you talk about it,” she said. “And that is the history of these dogs — they were modes of transportation and everything. It just encompasses everything that the Iditarod stands for.”
Dunham said the race is also the sum of the support it gets from sponsors and fans — like the one who gave her a tiny stuffed T-rex that is now lashed to her sled.
“I got him when I raced the Idaho sled dog challenge from a little, little guy that wanted to give me a gift,” Dunham said. “I zip-tied him on the sled, and he was starting to cry. And I'm like, ‘What's wrong?’ And he's like, ‘He's a dinosaur. He's gonna get cold.’ So, ever since then, he's kind of been my sled mascot.”
Hundreds of people lined the starting chute as Dunham and the other mushers readied their dog teams, including other young superfans like 9-year-old Lucy Lee who huddled next to the fence with her mom. Lucy said she isn’t rooting for any musher in particular — she’s solidly “team dog.”
“I just love dogs!” Lucy said, giggling. “I just love them so much.”
Further up the line, a few people carried signs who did not love what they were seeing. It wouldn’t be the Iditarod without PETA protestors, and the last-minute route change didn’t throw them off course. John Di Leonardo flew out from New York to protest the restart in Fairbanks, as well as the ceremonial start in Anchorage.
“The Iditarod doesn't resemble the serum run at all,” he said. “I think it's time that we evolve this tradition into something more humane and leave the dogs out of it.”
Fairbanks musher Jason Mackey was first up to the starting line — and grateful for it. He was also the first out when he raced this year’s Yukon Quest sled dog race. He scratched on the Quest, he said, due to poor weather conditions. But this time, Mackey said, he feels like the gold is in reach.
“My goal is everybody's goal, whether they tell you it is or not. It’s to get to Nome healthy, with a healthy team — but to get to Nome first,” he said. “I'm not saying I'm going to win the race, I'm not saying I'm not going to, but that's my goal. I'm not here to mess around.”
He said his team is in great shape to run. All but one of the dogs are Iditarod veterans, like him.
“I do have one dog in there that has never done this before,” Mackey said. “His name is Flash, he’s a team dog. He's a 3-year-old, but he's an all-star 3-year-old.”
Just after 11 a.m., Mackey and his seasoned team — and MVP Flash — charged through the corridor of cheering spectators and into the taiga beyond, with nearly 1,150 miles of snow and ice between them and the finish line in Nome.
