Category — Iditarod

The actual racing starts today at 5PM CST/2PM AKST as the teams leave the starting line at Willow every 2 minutes for little over an hour. The average team will have 14 puppies and the musher.

Standings at 9:45PM CST (6:45PM AKST):
Beyond Yentna
1 Ryan Redington (5)
2 Brent Sass (14)
3 Dan Kaduce (11)
4 Bailey Vitello (3)^R
5 Jessie Holmes (2)
6 Hunter Keefe (12)^R
7 Mille Porsild (4)
Beyond Willow
8 Kristy Berington (6)
9 Matt Hall (7)
10 Anna Berington (8)
11 Nicolas Petit (9)
12 KattiJo Deeter (10)^R
13 Jennifer LaBar (13)^R
14 Richie Diehl (15)
15 Matthew Failor (16)
16 Eric Kelly (17)
17 Eddie Burke Jr (18)^R
18 Bridgett Watkins (19)^R
19 Jason Mackey (20)
20 Riley Dyche (21)
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1 Jessie Holmes (2)
2 Bailey Vitello (3)^R
3 Mille Porsild (4)
4 Ryan Redington (5)
5 Kristy Berington (6)
6 Matt Hall (7)
7 Anna Berington (8)
8 Nicolas Petit (9)
9 KattiJo Deeter (10)^R
10 Dan Kaduce (11)
11 Hunter Keefe (12)^R
12 Jennifer LaBar (13)^R
13 Brent Sass (14)
14 Richie Diehl (15)
15 Matthew Failor (16)
16 Eric Kelly (17)
17 Eddie Burke Jr (18)^R
18 Bridgett Watkins (19)^R
19 Jason Mackey (20)
20 Riley Dyche (21)
21 Gerhardt Thiart (22)^R
22 Kelly Maixner (23)
23 Ramey Smyth (24)
24 Joanna Jagow (25)
25 Jessie Royer (26)
26 Jed Stephensen (27)^R
27 Wade Marrs (28)
28 Gregg Vitello (29)^R
29 Christian Turner (30)
30 Aaron Peck (31)
31 Michael Williams Jr (32)
32 Peter Kaiser (33)
33 Deke Naaktgeboren (34)
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Anchorage & Campbell Airstrip
Willow
Skwentna & Yentna, Finger Lake, Rainy Pass, Rohn
McGrath & Nikolai, Takotna, Ophir
Shageluk & Iditarod
Anvik
Grayling & Eagle Island
Kaltag
Unalakleet
Shaktoolik
Koyuk
Elim
Golovin
White Mountain
Nome & Safety

It’s the southern route that includes the namesake ghost-town of Iditarod as the midpoint. The Stepping Stones, the Burn, Rainy Pass, the Glacier, all of the hazards of the first half are still part of the race, as well as the long open stretch between Ophir and the Yukon. The route that is normally taken in odd years.

The day will be about 10 and a half hours at Anchorage and the moon is waxing with a full moon on March 7th. The temperature is in 4°F-14°F range in Anchorage, which is a welcome change from recent years.

Things start off today, Susan Butcher Day, with the ‘parade’ from Anchorage to the airport. The actual racing starts on Sunday at Willow.

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It is the first Saturday in March which is Susan Butcher Day in Alaska and marks the Iditarod ‘parade’ from Anchorage to the airport. The actual race is set to start on Sunday in Willow.

Today should be the final day of the race, weather permitting.

Leaving White Mountain three rookies Sean Williams (2)^R, Bridgett Watkins (36)^R, and Gerhardt Thiart (39)^R got slammed by a weather change and had to be helped back to White Mountain where they scratched.

This morning Riley Dyche (15) is the only one moving. Jeff Deeter (34), KattiJo Deeter (19)^R, and Sebastien Dos Santos Borges (44)^R are camping together about 50 miles from Nome waiting for the winds to die down. The wind chill is -30°F and the puppies don’t like it. The final four teams are waiting it out at White Mountain.

Update: Iditarod mushers Sebastien Dos Santos Borges (bib #44, rookie), KattiJo Deeter (bib #19, rookie) and Jeff Deeter (bib #34, veteran) have scratched from the Iditarod between the checkpoints of White Mountain and Safety.

Update: It is possible that the Red Lantern will make it to Nome before midnight AKDT, but I need to go to bed. [I was right in my estimate with 20 minutes to spare.]

Standings at 2:39AM CDT (11:39PM AKDT):

Finished at Nome
1 Brent Sass (27)
2 Dallas Seavey (20)
3 Jessie Holmes (7)
4 Dan Kaduce (28)
5 Peter Kaiser (37)
6 Richie Diehl (18)
7 Chad Stoddard (46)
8 Aaron Burmeister (23)
9 Ryan Redington (17)
10 Aaron Peck (21)
11 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (12)
12 Travis Beals (42)
13 Ramey Smyth (8)
14 Mille Porsild (33)
15 Mitch Seavey (30)
16 Matt Hall (31)
17 Michelle Phillips (4)
18 Lev Shvarts (16)
19 Hanna Lyrek (13)^R
20 Paige Drobny (5)
21 Martin Massicotte (6)^Q
22 Mats Pettersson (11)
23 Anna Berington (9)
24 Kristy Berington (24)
25 Joe Taylor (22)^R
26 Martin Buser (38)
27 Amanda Otto (32)^R
28 Jeff King (3)
29 Deke Naaktgeboren (25)
30 Matthew Failor (10)
31 Matt Paveglio (48)^R
32 Karin Hendrickson (40)
33 Riley Dyche (15)
34 Eric Kelly (14)^R
35 Kailyn Davis (41)^R
36 Yuka Honda (49)
37 Apayauq Reitan (47)Φ

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Tomorrow is the final full day of the race.

Finished at Nome
21 Martin Massicotte (6)^Q
22 Mats Pettersson (11)
23 Anna Berington (9)
24 Kristy Berington (24)
25 Joe Taylor (22)^R
26 Martin Buser (38)
27 Amanda Otto (32)^R
28 Jeff King (3)
29 Deke Naaktgeboren (25)
30 Matthew Failor (10)
31 Matt Paveglio (48)^R
32 Karin Hendrickson (40)

Standings at 7:45PM CDT (4:45PM AKDT):
Beyond White Mountain
33 Riley Dyche (15)
34 Jeff Deeter (34)
35 KattiJo Deeter (19)^R
36 Sean Williams (2)^R
37 Sebastien Dos Santos Borges (44)^R
38 Bridgett Watkins (36)^R
39 Gerhardt Thiart (39)^R
At White Mountain
40 Kailyn Davis (41)^R
41 Eric Kelly (14)^R
42 Yuka Honda (49)
43 Apayauq Reitan (47)

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From the press release:
Veteran Iditarod musher Lisbet Norris (bib #43) of Fairbanks, Alaska, scratched at 11:50 p.m. on March 16, 2022, at the Unalakleet checkpoint. Norris made the decision to scratch in the best interest of her race team. Norris had 10 dogs in harness at the time she made the decision to scratch.

Her Siberians were the best looking dogs on the trail.

Finished at Nome
11 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (12)
12 Travis Beals (42)
13 Ramey Smyth (8)
14 Mille Porsild (33)
15 Mitch Seavey (30)
16 Matt Hall (31)
17 Michelle Phillips (4)
18 Lev Shvarts (16)
19 Hanna Lyrek (13)^R
20 Paige Drobny (5)
21 Martin Massicotte (6)^Q
22 Mats Pettersson (11)
23 Anna Berington (9)
24 Kristy Berington (24)
25 Joe Taylor (22)^R
26 Martin Buser (38)
27 Amanda Otto (32)^R
28 Jeff King (3)

Standings at 8:45PM CDT (5:45PM AKDT):
Beyond Safety
29 Deke Naaktgeboren (25)
Beyond White Mountain
30 Karin Hendrickson (40)
31 Matthew Failor (10)
32 Matt Paveglio (48)^R
At White Mountain
33 Riley Dyche (15)
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The top 10 are finished this morning. Hanna Lyrek (13) appears to be locked in for rookie of the year.

Finished at Nome
1 Brent Sass (27)
2 Dallas Seavey (20)
3 Jessie Holmes (7)
4 Dan Kaduce (28)
5 Peter Kaiser (37)
6 Richie Diehl (18)
7 Chad Stoddard (46)
8 Aaron Burmeister (23)
9 Ryan Redington (17)
10 Aaron Peck (21)
11 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (12)
12 Travis Beals (42)
13 Ramey Smyth (8)
14 Mille Porsild (33)
15 Mitch Seavey (30)
16 Matt Hall (31)
17 Michelle Phillips (4)
18 Lev Shvarts (16)
19 Hanna Lyrek (13)^R
20 Paige Drobny (5)

Standings at 9:00PM CDT (6:00PM AKDT):
Beyond White Mountain
21 Mats Pettersson (11)
22 Martin Massicotte (6)^Q
23 Kristy Berington (24)
24 Anna Berington (9)
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At 05:38:43 AKDT [08:38:43 CDT] Brent Sass and 11 puppies crossed under the burled arch at Nome to win the Iditarod in 8 days 14 hours 38 minutes 43 seconds of race time. Dallas Seavey made a great run but missed his sixth win by an hour and 12 minutes.

Finished at Nome
1 Brent Sass (27)
2 Dallas Seavey (20)

Standings at 8:45PM CDT (5:45PM AKDT):
Beyond Safety
3 Jessie Holmes (7)
4 Dan Kaduce (28)
Beyond White Mountain
5 Richie Diehl (18)
6 Peter Kaiser (37)
7 Aaron Burmeister (23)
8 Chad Stoddard (46)
9 Ryan Redington (17)
At White Mountain
10 Travis Beals (42)
11 Aaron Peck (21)
12 Ramey Smyth (8)
13 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (12)
14 Mille Porsild (33)
15 Matt Hall (31)
16 Mitch Seavey (30)
Beyond Elim
17 Michelle Phillips (4)
18 Lev Shvarts (16)
At Elim
19 Hanna Lyrek (13)^R
20 Paige Drobny (5)
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From the Press Office:
Veteran Iditarod musher Josh McNeal (bib #45) of Fairbanks, Alaska, scratched at 8:05 p.m. today (3/13) at the Galena checkpoint. McNeal made the decision to scratch in the best interest of his race team. McNeal had 10 dogs in harness at the time he made the decision to scratch.

Standings at 10:00PM CDT (7:00PM AKDT):
At White Mountain
1 Brent Sass (27)
2 Dallas Seavey (20)
Beyond Koyuk
3 Dan Kaduce (28)
4 Jessie Holmes (7)
5 Chad Stoddard (46)
6 Aaron Peck (21)
7 Richie Diehl (18)
8 Aaron Burmeister (23)
9 Peter Kaiser (37)
10 Travis Beals (42)
11 Ryan Redington (17)
12 Mille Porsild (33)
At Koyuk
13 Mitch Seavey (30)
14 Michelle Phillips (4)
15 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (12)
16 Matt Hall (31)
Beyond Shaktoolik
17 Lev Shvarts (16)
18 Ramey Smyth (8)
At Shaktoolik
19 Hanna Lyrek (13)^R
20 Paige Drobny (5)
21 Anna Berington (9)
22 Kristy Berington (24)
23 Mats Pettersson (11)
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[[!!Don’t forget the time change!!]]

Standings at 8:00PM CDT (5:00PM AKDT):
Beyond Shaktoolik
1 Brent Sass (27)
2 Dallas Seavey (20)
Beyond Unalakleet
3 Aaron Burmeister (23)
4 Richie Diehl (18)
5 Jessie Holmes (7)
At Unalakleet
6 Dan Kaduce (28)
7 Mille Porsild (33)
8 Michelle Phillips (4)
9 Ryan Redington (17)
10 Chad Stoddard (46)
11 Travis Beals (42)
12 Peter Kaiser (37)
Beyond Kaltag
13 Mitch Seavey (30)
14 Aaron Peck (21)
15 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (12)
16 Lev Shvarts (16)
17 Ramey Smyth (8)
18 Paige Drobny (5)
19 Matt Hall (31)
20 Anna Berington (9)
21 Kristy Berington (24)
22 Hanna Lyrek (13)^R
23 Mats Pettersson (11)
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Don’t forget the time change tonight (2:00AM becomes 3:00AM Sunday).

There are wind warnings up for the Nulato Hills and the Eastern Norton Sound. The run up the coast could get “exciting” as the puppies don’t like to run into the wind. If you’re on the ice you can get blown off the trail.

Standings at 9:30PM CST (6:30PM AKST):
Beyond Kaltag
1 Brent Sass (27)
2 Dallas Seavey (20)
At Kaltag
3 Jessie Holmes (7)
4 Richie Diehl (18)
5 Ryan Redington (17)
Beyond Nulato
6 Aaron Burmeister (23)
7 Mille Porsild (33)
8 Mitch Seavey (30)
9 Peter Kaiser (37)
10 Travis Beals (42)
At Nulato
11 Chad Stoddard (46)
12 Dan Kaduce (28)
13 Michelle Phillips (4)
14 Aaron Peck (21)
15 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (12)
16 Ramey Smyth (8)
17 Lev Shvarts (16)
Beyond Galena
18 Paige Drobny (5)
19 Matt Hall (31)
20 Hanna Lyrek (13)^R
21 Anna Berington (9)
22 Kristy Berington (24)
23 Deke Naaktgeboren (25)
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According to the press release: Veteran Iditarod musher Ryne Olson (bib #35) of Two Rivers, Alaska, scratched at 5:02 p.m. today (3/10/22) at the McGrath checkpoint. Olson made the decision to scratch in the best interest of her race team. Olson had nine dogs in harness at the time she made the decision to scratch.

Rookie Iditarod competitor Julie Ahnen (bib #29), of Cantwell, Alaska, scratched at 9:30 a.m. today at the McGrath checkpoint. Ahnen made the decision to scratch in the best interest of her race team. Ahnen had 10 dogs with her at the time she made the decision to scratch.

Veteran Iditarod musher Hugh Neff (bib #50) of Anchorage, Alaska, scratched at 11:40 a.m. today at the Ruby checkpoint. In conjunction with Iditarod Race Marshal Mark Nordman, Neff made the decision to scratch due to their concern for his race team. Neff had 11 dogs in harness at the time he made the decision to scratch.

Almost the entire field has finished their mandatory 24-hour rest stop and the start times have been equalized, so the race is on.

Standings at 9:30PM CST (6:30PM AKST):
Beyond Galena
1 Brent Sass (27)
Beyond Ruby
2 Dallas Seavey (20)
3 Jessie Holmes (7)
4 Richie Diehl (18)
5 Paige Drobny (5)
At Ruby
6 Ryan Redington (17)
7 Aaron Burmeister (23)
8 Mitch Seavey (30)
9 Mille Porsild (33)
10 Travis Beals (42)
11 Michelle Phillips (4)
12 Peter Kaiser (37)
13 Dan Kaduce (28)
14 Chad Stoddard (46)
15 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (12)
16 Lev Shvarts (16)
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