Iditapod

Dallas Seavey has won the 2021 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, tying Rick Swenson's five first-place finishes for the most ever. Will he be back next year to vie for a sixth? That is the question... Also, a sleepless but not tired Alaska Public Media reporter Tegan Hanlon fills us in on the scene at the finish, including interviews with Seavey and Aaron Burmeister, who took second.

The Iditarod can be a cathartic experience, with all those good dogs, bad dogs, #uglydogs… In this episode we catch up on the race and discuss how it's nearly impossible to analyze who's really in the lead as mushers start to take their mandatory 24-hour layovers at different checkpoints. Alaska Public Media's Tegan Hanlon has a story about Jeff King's substitute Sean Underwood, AKPM's Zach Hughes and Ben Matheson take in the Blood Moon in Takotna, we have a somewhat surprising answer to a listener question, and Brent Sass talks about his lead dog, Jeep.

Dog musher Quince Mountain sat down with Raymie Redington, son of Iditarod founder Joe Redington Sr., to talk about dog mushing, the history of the race and a lot more.

Reigning Iditarod champ Brent Sass talks about his hectic life in the tiny town of Eureka, his newfound confidence and his mushing philosophy.

As Alaska Public Media reporters Jeff Chen and Lex Treinen head out on the trail, Iditapod host Casey Grove updates some of the early Iditarod standings. Plus, we have a story of an ER nurse whose training for the Iditarod helped him cope with the trauma of working on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. Lex also brings us a report on the Sunday restart in Willow, as well as another dog profile, and we have a couple questions with a couple different answers (watch out: one involves some math).

Kaktovik dog musher Apayauq Reitan, the first out trans woman to compete in the Iditarod, talks to Iditapod colleague and Alaska Public Media contributor Shady Grove Oliver - originally for a piece in the Guardian newspaper - about Reitan's goals for this year's race, what it's like to mush dogs, her Alaska Native culture, coming out as trans and a lot more.

The 2019 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is over, and we left off in our last episode with a lot of loose ends. So here's to tying up loose ends, maybe a minor correction and hoisting the Red Lantern and other awards we failed to mention earlier! Also: We play "Can't Let It Go," because, frankly, we can't get over -- or done with -- the Iditapod. See you next year!

In Episode 5 we talk about the ceremonial start of the 2017 Iditarod, and: Fur Rendezvous; trailgating; mushers' reactions to the allowance of two-way communications devices on the trail; and innovative musher clothing designs.

It’s Tuesday, and we have a two-fer on dog profiles here on the Iditapod. And as we anticipate Norwegian musher Thomas Waerner winning the 2020 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Nome early Wednesday -- barring any unforeseen changes -- we have a story about the modified Shaktoolik checkpoint, a remembrance of an all-star volunteer checkpoint leader in Unalakleet and a little about how a major, longtime sponsor of the Iditarod has announced it’s pulling out. (Maybe not all in that order).

Iditarod mushers took their sled dog teams on an untimed, celebratory fun run from downtown Anchorage on the city’s trails, with hundreds of fans cheering along the way. We hear from mushers and fans – maybe the pitter patter of little dog feet – as well as a joyful bride, a grumpy bear, a curious moose (or three), a former Miss Alaska and her mom, who had a fox on her head, and more!

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!

Two Rivers musher Aliy Zirkle and all 14 of her SP Kennel dogs made it to the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race's halfway point, the Iditarod checkpoint, for her 24-hour layover. Other mushers coming off their 24s are expected through there Thursday. Earlier on their breaks, mushers shared stories of injuries, sled mishaps and wildlife encounters, as well as sled dog litter-naming conventions.

With plenty of snow on the Iditarod Trail this year, some of the more technical runs have not been as difficult as years past. But the Happy River steps and the Dalzell Gorge are always a challenge, and Alaska Public Media's Tegan Hanlon joins Iditapod host Casey Grove to discuss why we call both of those sections "technical."

On the eve of Iditarod 2020, we discuss four-time champion Jeff King dropping out due to a medical emergency, how his rookie handler is taking King's top-notch team, and how heavy snow along the Iditarod Trail (a trench in places) will surely affect this year's race. Host Casey Grove is joined in the studio by Alaska Public Media reporters Tegan Hanlon and Zachariah Hughes.

The 40-year-old Ryan Redington has won his first Iditarod and the first championship for the Redington family, on his 16th try (and after six previous scratches). "I've just been on pins and needles," said his mom, Barb, at the finish line. We'll hear Redington's finish itself in this episode, and from Alaska Public Media's Lex Treinen about the finish and how Redington arrived there first. The dog friends that did the leading into Nome -- Sven and Ghost -- are our obvious picks for Dogs of the Day. And we have a listener question about dog-human friends, with a fun answer from a friendly musher.

This is a quick report from our morning radio coverage of the Iditarod. It's called a radio module, and it details Norwegian musher Thomas Waerner winning the 2020 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race at 12:37 a.m. Wednesday, March 18. Waerner's team logged a time of 9 days, 10 hours, 37 minutes and 47 seconds.

In Episode 4, we take a look at the 2017 Iditarod, including: The race route from Fairbanks to Nome, big rule changes, mushers to watch, the ceremonial start, and we answer a few questions from our listeners.

The 2018 Iditarod kicks off with the ceremonial start in Anchorage and an 11-mile jaunt through downtown and the city's trails, past race revelers that call themselves "trailgaters." We introduce KNOM News Director and trail reporter Davis Hovey, and hear from DeeDee Jonrowe, Nicolas Petit and some of the folks along the trail.

In this episode, we talk about the 2017 Iditarod, what happens after the mushers reach Nome, and the person behind the @IditaTrump Twitter account.

In Episode 13, we talk about Mitch Seavey's rush up the coast, what's going on in the middle of the pack, a musher reflecting on his dog's death, and we address a bunch more listener questions.