Among the 22 mushers who have signed up so far for the 2026 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is a longtime backer competing under modified rules.
Norwegian businessman Kjell Inge Røkke's entry is drawing mixed feelings from the dog mushing community.
“My initial reaction was a billionaire just bought his way into this race,” six-time Iditarod finisher Mille Porsild said.
Companies and subsidiaries owned by Røkke have sponsored the Iditarod since 2018. Røkke has even mushed sections of the trail with dogs trained by 2020 champion Thomas Waerner.
The Iditarod’s new Expedition Program will allow Røkke to race with outside support – unlike other competitors. Porsild said the announcement, which was released at midnight on June 14, caught her by surprise.
“What is it he bought himself into? Where are the rules? What is this?” Porsild said.
In the announcement, the committee’s CEO, Rob Urbach, called the creation of its Expedition Program a “new chapter in Iditarod history." He claimed it would enhance the sport’s “global visibility, financial sustainability, and cultural outreach.”
Røkke will receive a modified “Expedition Class Finisher’s Buckle” for finishing the race, but is ineligible to actually win.
A spokesperson for the Iditarod Trail Committee said in an email that Røkke’s exemptions from the rules “mostly pertains to no outside assistance."
Røkke will also skip the requirement to qualify by competing in shorter races like the Yukon Quest. Porsild said that troubled her the most.
“Anybody is not going to go, you know, participate in the Olympics,” Porsild said. “He needs to qualify, like any other musher, and show that he can actually manage a team of 16 dogs.”
Saturday signups
At the June 28 sign-up event in Wasilla, 2024 and 2025 runner-up Matt Hall said Røkke’s name didn’t come up.
“It was a fun day, and that's how it should have been. I take that as a really good thing, you know, that whatever the little initial drama over it was and et cetera, has kind of passed,” Hall said.
Hall said he was holding out for more information, like how many snowmachines may be running support for Røkke.
“This gentleman isn't there to take the first-place prize,” Hall said. “We don't even really understand if he's gonna be listed officially as a position or just a finisher. It's information I want to know closer to date so that I can plan accordingly.”
Nic Petit, an 11-time Iditarod finisher, said he hoped Røkke’s inclusion would benefit mushers at the back of the pack.
“I understand you can't hold volunteers over forever, but the biggest problem is that they can't keep vets there forever,” Petit said. “But if this guy's gonna be traveling with his own vet crew, then it'd be great for his vet crew to sign on to helping the back of the packers not have to go home.”
In exchange for being exempted from the full rulebook, Røkke is adding $100,000 to next year’s race purse and pledging $10,000 each to 17 villages along the race’s route. He also halved the registration cost for mushers entering the race and sent some cash to Iditarod HQ too.
Røkke’s contributions only apply to next year’s race, unlike other multi-year sponsorship agreements the Iditarod has brokered. In an interview with the Anchorage Daily News, Urbach said he hoped the Expedition Program would attract the likes of Elon Musk, Richard Branson or Snoop Dogg. But Petit said he took issue with that model.
“That's one of the things about this guy, he's been around the dogs,” Petit said. “I don't think that you should be allowed to just hop on a sled you lease because you got some money and you know nothing about what you're doing.”
Røkke declined a request for an interview, but told Norwegian news outlet VG that planning for next year’s race had been underway for over three years.