At 2018 Finisher’s Banquet, Tales from a Difficult Iditarod
![A trophy of Joe Redington, Sr. — known as the father of the Iditarod — awaits the 2017 champion at the finisher's banquet in Nome on Sunday afternoon.](https://knom.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/2017-03-19-Iditarod-Banquet-Joe-Redington-Sr-Trophy-iPad-1200x800.jpg)
During the 2018 Nome banquet, each Iditarod finisher collected their winnings and took time to express gratitude. Although he didn’t finish this year’s Iditarod, veteran musher Scott Janssen was given the sportsmanship award for helping to rescue fellow musher Jim Lanier near the notoriously unpredictable stretch of Iditarod Trail known as the “blowhole.”
With Eagle Island Stripped of 2018 “Checkpoint” Status, Iditarod Teams Brace for 130-Mile Haul to Kaltag
![Silhouette of musher wearing headlamp at night, looking down](https://knom.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/20180309-Aaron-Burmeister-during-a-quick-stop-at-the-Anvik-checkpoint-1200x800.jpg)
It wouldn’t be Iditarod without a little weather. And this year, that’s caused a critical checkpoint to all but shut down, forcing top teams to adapt their run-rest strategies amid the long, flat slog up the Yukon River.