Ben Matheson, Alaska Public Media - Anchorage

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a dog team

Redington is first out of Safety, with just 22 miles to Iditarod finish line

Ryan Redington’s closest competitors are Pete Kaiser and Richie Diehl
two people look into the wind

Ryan Redington in command of Iditarod as ‘childhood dream’ comes alive on Bering Sea coast

Ryan Redington arrived in Unalakleet early Sunday after a monster run from Kaltag to the coast, putting more distance between him and his rivals.
A man with curly hair and a head lamp

Two young mushers take aim at Iditarod Rookie of the Year honors

Eddie Burke Jr. and Hunter Keefe will need to face the windy Bering Sea coast before final placings get within reach.
A man in a green hoodie and a seal hat and a parka

‘Best in the world’: Tight race shapes up for lead as top Iditarod teams head for the coast

With defending champ Brent Sass out, the top of the Iditarod field is scrambled, leaving four main teams at the top.
A man in a white ruffed fur parka

Reigning Iditarod champ Brent Sass drops out of race over health concerns

Sass said he had been sick the entire race with a bad cold and also had three cracked teeth.
a man in a red jackegt

‘I just knew I was taking him to Nome’: Jason Mackey mushes with Lance Mackey’s ashes

Jason Mackey says he knows that the Iditarod trail was home for his brother.
two dogs sleep

Photos: Rest and recovery in Shageluk

The community of about 140 people is roughly halfway into the race.
a person gives snacks to dogs

Iditarod mushers recover from rough trail and crashed sleds in Shageluk

Cold overnight temperatures froze the softened trail into a bobsled track.
a man feeds his dogs

A tight pack of top Iditarod teams eye their next move at the halfway mark

Iditarod contenders are recalibrating their race strategies as the trail pushes through its most remote stretches.
a dog on a leash looks to the side

Senior, who’s so good he got a new name

Hunter Keefe’s dog Senior brings years of Iditarod experience to his musher’s rookie run.
resting dogs

It’s eat, rest and repeat as Iditarod teams take their 24-hour stops

As the race transitions from big mountains and technical terrain into the heart of Alaska’s Interior, mushers are watching their teams come into race form.
two dogs next to each other, attached to a dog team

Mach 10, mastering the art of slowing down

Iditarod musher Matthew Failor is excited that his leader Mach 10 has picked up a new skill: the art of the trot.
a dog leans against his owner

Moose, leading the charge to the next snack break

Meet Moose, the “heart dog” for KattiJo Deeter.
a dog leaps into the air, on a dog team

Dusty, the smallest dog with the biggest energy

Meet Dusty, a leader on Iditarod rookie Jennifer LaBar’s team.
a collage of five photos of mushers

Meet 5 Iditarod rookies from a Denali climber to a former garbage truck driver

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