Knowing that anything can happen on the Iron Dog trail, it really was anyone's race even this far along the trail.  The top 5 teams (6, 9, 10, 14, 39) have been swapping positions and paint since the Kotzebue checkpoint, more than 1000 miles ago.  Having just 1 hour and 43 minutes separating the top 5 teams in more than 2,400 miles of racing is pure consistency on the racers part.  Incredible. With a razor thin 8 minute lead over Team 14, Team 39 barreled out of the Whiskey Bravo checkpoint at 10:00AM and were hungry for a first time win.  Everyone eating the trai ..read more

Firstly, my apologies for not getting a Day 5 update.  Tough Alaska weather was 'enjoyed' all over the state yesterday which delayed some travel for both remote workers and Iron Dog racers alike. Yesterday was the day teams tackled all the necessary repairs and maintenance needed to get their machines in race-worthy condition to tackle the remaining 1,000 or so miles back toward where they started, in Big Lake.  Teams are allowed two additional people to assist in this endeavor.  Often family and friends fly to Nome to help with this but also teams in m ..read more

Cody Barber of Team 39 was screaming across Safety Sound at over 70mph as he and his race partner, Brett Lapham, secured their first position into Nome at mile 1,469.  Below you can see what the racers were up against in this quick video from the Selawik checkpoint. Quotes from racers included things like 'Can’t see 5 feet from the sled. Terrible ground storm' from Collin Clayton of Team 24 along with 'Survival. Worst ground storm I have ever been in. Phase 4.5, can’t see 20 feet in front of me. Lost sight of my partner but I could hear him on the radio. “Dad there are muskox out there ..read more

After 339 miles of racing, all but one Pro-Class pair took layover in McGrath last night.  The majority declared a 14 hour layover, with the exception of Team 49, and are cozied up somewhere in town taking a break. MORNING UPDATE: Team 'Sons of Thunder' are 126 miles back taking a 12-hour layover in Tatina as they were recovering from sinking one of their Skidoo MXZ X-RS sleds in the water and towing back to the checkpoint.  Update: Just before 10AM the team has decided to throw in the towel, marking the second Pro-Class team scratching from the race.  Klint shared this via an ..read more

The start of todays 2024 Iron Dog race marks 40 years that racers have sped across the wild terrain of Alaska in hopes of a win.  Going back in history we find that the first ever Iron Dog started on Tuesday, March 27th 1984.  Due to the late spring weather which caused some hazardous conditions on the southern part of the trail, the starting line was moved to McGrath, which is at mile 339 of the normal race course.  This meant that the first Iron Dog was a scant 746 miles.  This years race totals a staggering 2,503 from start to finish. 1984 Champions John Faeo & Rod ..read more

Big game hunting.  It's largely the only kind of hunting our family has ever done.  Sure, my brother and I grew up chasing squirrels and put lots of spruce grouse into a frying pan, but hunting birds with a shotgun?  Nah...not really our thing. Our son, Connor, who is now 16, has recently joined the local shooting sports team and is in his second season of shooting skeet, trap, and the myriad of games they play.  It has been a great learning experience for both of us as we navigate the relatively new world of shotguns and how to shoot clay targets out of the air. Natu ..read more

Once they had it, they never let it go.  Team 7 of Tyler Aklestad and Nick Olstad secured yet another championship as they crossed the finish line in Big Lake, Alaska, after 2,503 miles on the race trail. Securing this repeat of last year in 52 hours, 58 minutes, and 32 second with an overall moving average of 47.25mph Aklestad and Olstad add another notch to their belt of wins.  A flurry of friends and family met the returning champions at the finish line. Many of the below photos are courtesy of Harriet Hamilton Fenerty, often lovingly referred to as the 'Iron Dog Den Mother ..read more

After posts from several Iron Dog officials to include the Executive Director and Race Marshal there still seemed to be a whirlwind of continued speculation, confusion, and anger surrounding the Poorman fuel situation. I think the complexity of the race can be lost on race fans as we are so often surrounded by 'right now' answers, information, etc.  Logistically this race is enormously complex even if we had reliable communication along the entire 2,500 mile trail, which there isn't.  In the case of the Poorman fuel issue, communication is limited to short text-message spurts via a ..read more

The 2023 Iron Dog was officially put on hold at noon today in light of a logistics issue involving fuel along the race trail.  Snow conditions along the trail had worsened overnight and these precautions are ensuring that every racer is able to fill all of their fuel tanks to contend with the increased snow they are likely to encounter.  Dennis Falldorf snapped a great photo showing the race machines in Galena at milepost 1,916! Accumulation of snow on the trail means the machines burn more fuel, heat up drive belts faster and to higher temperatures, and overall just makes the sleds ..read more

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