At the start of Iditarod 44, Aliy Zirkle could not have predicted the challenges she’d endure over the course of this year’s race.
Heading down the Yukon River on the Iditarod Trail outside of Nulato, Aliy experienced swipes by a snowmachiner, who narrowly missed her and her dog team.
After the incident, she told KNOM’s Emily Schwing, “And anyway, I just want to talk about it some time, but probably some time after the race, because it’s bringing a lot of negativity into my team. So maybe we can just chat after.”
Aliy managed to keep the incident from getting the better of her, as she fought to maintain her position towards the front of the pack of this year’s exceptionally competitive field of mushers.
Just after sunrise on Tuesday morning, Aliy crossed under the Burled Arch in third place, her fifth top-five finish in five years, with a total race time of 8 days, 18 hours, 42 minutes, and 36 seconds.
