Iditarod

Tim Bodony, APRN – Anvik The leaders of the 2011 Iditarod are on the Yukon. Sebastian Schnuelle is currently leading mushers in the Iditarod, ...

A trio of Iditarod teams declared their 24-hour rests immediately on pulling into Tokotna Tuesday night.

Organizers have decided that a lack of snow in the Anchorage area won't force a route change for this year's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. The start of the race will be staged as usual in Willow, about 50 miles north of Anchorage. Download Audio

Hugh Neff is leading the Iditarod. The winner of this year’s Yukon Quest left Rainy Pass at 2:58 this afternoon. Ray Redington, Jr. left the checkpoint at 3:09, followed closely by Aaron Burmeister and Lance Mackey.

Dog teams moved swiftly down the Yukon River all Friday afternoon. Many came off an eight-hour rest, but some mushers chose to push their teams before taking the mandatory break on the river. KNOM’s Emily Schwing reports. Download Audio

We check in from the trail, where mushers covered the first 100-plus miles from the Willow restart Sunday to the first checkpoints, Yentna and Skwentna, and on to Finger Lake. Alaska Public Media's Zachariah Hughes talked to mushers at Skwentna overnight, and we take a listener question on sled design. Also, today's episode features an extended interview with Ester musher Paige Drobny, an Iditarod veteran and one of a record field of female mushers.

In less than 24 hours, the Iditarod front-runners have made it to the Finger Lake checkpoint, 123 miles into the 1,000-mile race. But not before checking in at Yentna and Skwentna, the first two checkpoints after leaving Willow. And, even before that, KNOM's Davis Hovey caught up with two top candidates for Rookie of the Year: Two Rivers' Matt Hall and Nenana's Jessie Holmes.

Martin Buser and his son, Rohn, stopped for only a few minutes in Takotna and bolted into the Iditarod lead Wednesday morning. Martin Buser arrived in Takotna about 8:30 am, stopped a few minutes and then headed towards the ghost town of Ophir. Rohn, who won the Kusko 300 earlier this year, reached Takotna about 9:45 am and left almost immediately. As of 11:30 Wednesday morning, Aliy Zirkle, who had led much of the race, was still in Takotna.

Diana Haecker, APRN - Nome & Tim Bodony, APRN - Anvik It is John Baker, with a solid lead as teams head for Elim, White...

We talk about this year's Kuskokwim 300, touch on the importance of mid-distance mushing races leading up to the Iditarod and talk to KUAC-FM reporter Zoe Rom about covering the Yukon Quest, Alaska's other 1,000-mile sled dog race. Also: We talk about the Anchorage ceremonial start, who we expect to see running at the front of the pack and answer our first listener question!

About 34 teams are taking their mandatory 24-hour break in Takotna during this year’s Iditarod sled dog race. The church and other buildings are filled with sleeping mushers. Two Rivers musher Aliy Zirkle was the first to reach the checkpoint late last night. She says so far, she hasn’t had any surprises.

Top teams in the 2019 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race are reaching the Yukon River on Friday as the race enters its fifth day, with snow and more warm temperatures in the forecast. Girdwood's Nicolas Petit and Norwegian-by-way-of-Willow musher Joar Leifseth Ulsom have continued to leapfrog each other, with Nic winning a five-course meal in Anvik. We hear more about the different strategies as they came into focus earlier in the race and take a listener question about team positions for dogs.

Aliy Zirkle was the first musher to ride into Nikolai at 9:14 a.m., followed by reigning champion John Baker at 9:36 a.m.. Lance Mackey isn't far behind, making it into the checkpoint just before 10:00 a.m.

The 77th Fur Rendezvous kicked off Friday in Anchorage. One of the main events was the start of the Open World Championship Sled Dog Race. KSKA’s Daysha Eaton was there and chatted with some of the people attending.