Race Season
Shaktoolik Changes Iditarod Checkpoint, ‘Protects Its Own’, But Residents Pitch-in to Help Mushers
Shaktoolik’s city leaders decided to close their official checkpoint for the Iditarod trail sled dog race on Friday due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19. They planned to leave the straw and drop bags for mushers at the ruins of the old village site, two miles away. But as KNOM’s Emily Hofstaedter reports, Shaktoolik…
Read MoreTop 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…
Read MoreWaerner 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…
Read MoreIditarod 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…
Read MoreYukon 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…
Read MoreSerum Run Expedition Finishes in Nome
After traversing nearly 750 miles from Nenana, the 2020 Serum Run Expedition came to a close in Nome on Thursday afternoon. KNOM reporter, JoJo Phillips, spoke with Nome musher, Stephanie Johnson on the sea ice. If you missed KNOM’s coverage of the live finish, take a listen here:
Read MoreNome-Golovin 200 Postponed After Being Delayed 24-Hours
UPDATE: Due to poor weather conditions, the 2020 Nome Golovin Race has been rescheduled for March 28th at noon. Racers will also have to signup again during a rescheduled meeting on the evening of March 26th. More details to come. ORIGINAL: Despite many canceled events around the state, snowmachiners from across Alaska will take off…
Read MoreDeeter’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…
Read MoreIditarod 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…
Read MoreNome 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…
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