Top Teams Move Up Norton Sound Coast, Check into Shaktoolik ‘Old Site’
Thomas Waerner and twelve dogs pulled into Shaktoolik around 9:30pm on Sunday evening, maintaining their lead in the 2020 Iditarod trail sled dog race. Waerner feels good about the lead he has on the other teams, he reached Shaktoolik about five hours before Jessie Royer in second position, although that is unofficial based on the […]
Waerner First Out of Unalakleet, Sass, Royer, and Burmeister Giving Chase
The 2020 Iditarod has reached the Norton Sound Coast. After seven days and 700 miles of round-the-clock running, KNOM’s Ben Matheson reports that a handful of contenders are chasing a new race leader and preparing to show race fans what their teams can do. On Sunday afternoon, Norwegian musher Thomas Waerner rested his 12 dogs […]
Iditarod Reaches the Norton Sound, Soft Trail and More Snow Storms Ahead
Day 7 of the 2020 Iditarod saw the first musher check into Unalakleet about five and a half hours ahead of the next team. Thomas Waerner’s sizable lead heading into the Eastern Norton Sound grew when he left the checkpoint just after 3pm, before the next musher had even arrived. KNOM’s Ben Matheson spoke with […]
Yukon River Racing, Some Top Iditarod Teams Yet To Take Required 8-Hour Breaks
By the middle of the day Saturday, 17 Iditarod teams had completed their 8-hour layovers at one of the four checkpoints along the Yukon River (Ruby, Galena, Nulato, and Kaltag). Not among those were race leaders Brent Sass, Jessie Royer, and Pete Kaiser. 3rd position, Thomas Waerner of Norway, was the only musher in the […]
Deeter’s Team Finally Eats, Says He Will Continue Monitoring Their Appetite
Jeff Deeter from Fairbanks was one of about ten Iditarod mushers who chose to spend 24-hours in McGrath. For his team, circumstances necessitated the early stop because his dogs would not eat the food Deeter was giving to them. The veteran musher was debating even continuing this year’s race, but by the time his 24-hour […]
Iditarod Musher Gets Her First ‘First To the Yukon Award’ In Ruby
Jessie Royer was the first musher to reach the Yukon River portion of the 2020 Iditarod trail. She checked into Ruby this morning under pale moonlight at 6:37am. Royer arrived with a full team, however one of her dogs was being carried in the sled. According to one of the race veterinarians, her dog K-dog […]
Nome Iditarod Events Postponed Due to COVID-19 Threat
Iditarod mushers will still be finishing on Front Street in Nome next week, but the City of Nome will not be hosting any race-related festivities. All non-essential City buildings will be closed from March 14-31st due to concerns over a potential outbreak of COVID-19. After meetings with state medical officials, the Iditarod Trail Committee announced […]
One Rookie, One Veteran, Both Competing with ‘A-Team’ Dogs
All of the 2020 Iditarod teams are unique, but this year both Sean Underwood, a rookie, and Tim Pappas, a veteran, have the same opportunity to run what would be considered other mushers’ dogs. KNOM’s Davis Hovey spoke with these two mushers about their insights into the four-legged animals they’re traveling behind. On a sunny, […]
24 Hour Layovers Underway, Decisions on Where to Stop Split
McGrath is certainly not as popular as Takotna when it comes to choosing a checkpoint for a 24-hour layover. The majority of the 2020 Iditarod mushers blew through McGrath in favor of Takotna, Ophir, and some even pushed onto Cripple before stopping. Wade Marrs, looking for a fourth top ten finish, was the fourth musher […]
Nome Common Council to Discuss Canceling Iditarod Festivities
The Nome City Council will be meeting at noon today, Thursday March 12, to discuss canceling Iditarod festivities due to the COVID-19 threat. The emergency session will be held in Nome City Hall at noon. Nome City officials say they have been putting out hand sanitizer in public places and doing extra cleaning in city […]