Third into Nome Wednesday, Aaron Burmeister finished Iditarod 2015 in third place, greeted by a warm welcome from Nome residents and tourists alike. Burmeister pulled under the burled arch to cheering fans and friends, while the drumming and dancing of Nome St. Lawrence Island singers and dancers added to the festivity.
Aaron Burmeister had a great race this year, pulling into the lead in Huslia after nursing his dogs with stomach troubles for most of the first half of the race. He was able to keep up front for the second half of the race, battling for lead with Dallas Seavey on the run to the coast. It was on the run from Shaktoolik to Koyuk that Dallas Seavey made his move to front, ultimately maintaining that position to the finish in Nome. Aaron says it was on that run that weather came in. “There’s not much you can do about that. You can’t always plan for Mother Nature getting the best of you sometimes.”
Overall Aaron was pleased with his team’s performance. “The dogs performed phenomenal all the runs all the way through the race.” Although his goal to win the race didn’t come to pass this year, Aaron’s not convinced he’ll be back on the runners for Iditarod 2016 to try again. He says he’ll be talking to his sponsors, to his wife, and his partner Tony Browning, among others. “I’m just honored to be the guy that was on the runners this year driving them to Nome…It’s time that I spend a little bit of time with family…I’ll certainly be back, but there’s other things in life besides Iditarod.”
