Runner-up Travis Beals pulled under the Burled Arch more than four hours after Jessie Holmes clinched victory.

The 44-year-old from Brushkana Creek off the Denali Highway is the first musher to defend an Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race title in a decade. Team Can’t Stop completed the race in 9 days, 7 hours and 32 minutes, having led most of the way after starting in Willow on March 8.

Jessie Holmes and Team Can't Stop have a four-hour lead over their closest competitor, veteran Travis Beals of Seward.

It’s the first dog death of the 2026 race. Last year, one dog died while racing.

Jessie Holmes and Team Can’t Stop have led much of the 2026 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Only a handful of mushers have won it consecutively, and it's been a decade since a repeat championship.

Iditarod teams now head onto frozen sections of Norton Sound, where windstorms have been known to derail a frontrunner’s championship aspirations.

For the second year in a row, Jessie Holmes and Paige Drobny are jockeying for the top spot. “That’s my closest neighbor, 26 miles away. It’s hard to root against her,” Holmes said shortly after pulling into the Yukon River checkpoint at Ruby just before 5 a.m. Friday.

Teams in the 2026 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race experienced windchill down to 45 below near McGrath, more than 300 miles into the 1,000-mile trail.

Despite their financial contributions, some Iditarod mushers are questioning what two businessmen are doing in Alaska’s Super Bowl of dog mushing.

Students in the IditaRead Challenge move along the trail one mile per minute spent reading.

Indigenous dog mushers have strong historical and cultural ties to the Iditarod. This year, two of the top contenders are Alaska Native former champions, and three of the rookies are also Indigenous.

The 2026 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race began Saturday in downtown Anchorage, as 37 teams set off on the city's streets and trails for an 11-mile run in front of thousands of cheering fans.