Iditarod

Dog sledding and mushing are a part of Alaska's history and way of life. At the Wildride Sled Dog Rodeo in downtown Anchorage, you can learn more about the sport while Day Trippin'. The brothers and sisters of the Seavey family -- plus some of their four-legged friends -- put on a show for spectators about mushing and the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race "Basically we took all the great information and all the great things about sled dogs -- the fun stuff to watch -- and condensed it and put it into something you don't have to be out there for a thousand miles and 50 below to experience," Dallas Seavey said.

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race played an important role in bringing 10-year-old autistic boy Logan Erickson and a service dog named Juke together, reaffirming a vision the Iditarod's founder had decades ago. There's a funny thing about history in Alaska: it tends to repeat itself. Just ask Logan’s mother, Donna Erickson. “When Joe Redington Sr. had a vision when he started the race, was that there was a relationship in the village between man and dog, and it meant survival,” Erickson said.

by Megan Baldino Saturday, March 6, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- One musher running the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race this year may not be one of the front-runners, but he will be one of the most inspirational mushers on the trail. Pat Moon is from Chicago. He first came to Alaska in 2006 as an Iditarider, and that day he told himself he was going to run the race -- but it wouldn't be easy. Moon has a disease called ulcerative colitis. He's on a strict diet and has to keep his stress level low -- not an easy thing on the Iditarod trail.

by Channel 2 News staff Sunday, March 1, 2009 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- It was once thought to be impossible. Now Sebastian Schnuelle will try to disprove it's impossible for anyone not named Lance Mackey. Schnuelle, who won the grueling Yukon Quest on Feb. 24, will try to pull off his own version of the Mackey Miracle beginning Saturday as the 2009 Iditarod kicks off. Before Mackey did it in 2007, no musher had ever won the Quest and Iditarod in the same year.

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race's leaders reached White Mountain early Tuesday morning and Dallas Seavey maintained his lead by checking out at 8:22 a.m. The rest of the top five leaderboard were listed still in White Mountain as of 9:00 a.m. Tuesday. Dallas Seavey arrived at White Mountain at 12:14 a.m., followed by Aliy Zirkle at 1:22 a.m. Tuesday. All teams are required to spend an 8-hour layover at White Mountain. Ramey Smyth continued his late surge into third place by checking in at 2:17 a.m. Aaron Burmeister trailed in fourth place with a check in time at 3:50 a.m. and Peter Kaiser rounded off the top 5 with a 6:55 a.m. check-in time.

by Channel 2 News staff Saturday, March 20, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The 2010  Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race ended Saturday evening with the arrival of the final musher in Nome. Rookie  Celeste Davis passed under the Burled Arch at 8:06 p.m., earning the Red Lantern award for being the last of 55 mushers to finish The Last Great Race this year. The 37-year-old musher made the trek from Willow to Nome in 13 days, 5 hours, 6 minutes and 40 seconds, giving her the fastest Red Lantern time in race history.

by Charlie Sokaitis Saturday, June 26, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Sled dog icon Lance Mackey may be making plans for a big change. The four-time Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race winner signed up Saturday to defend his crown and contend for an unprecedented fifth consecutive win in 2011. But Mackey, a cancer survivor who has overcome numerous obstacles in his career, says he's broadening his horizons with a push toward faster, shorter races. "Don't get me wrong -- I still have an Iditarod team that's going to be tough to beat -- but I'm realistic in the fact that my body's not going to hold up forever," Mackey said.

Less than a day after Mitch Seavey won the 2013 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, nearly two dozen mushers have made it to Nome -- but there are still a few slots left to end the race in the money. Seavey's Tuesday night repeat of his 2004 victory won him a new pickup truck and $50,400 from the Iditarod's $600,000 prize pool, with the remainder being divided among runner-up Aliy Zirkle and the rest of the race's top 30 mushers. As of about 3:20 p.m. Wednesday, race standings show 22 mushers across the finish line, with four-time champions Jeff King, Martin Buser and Lance Mackey taking third, 17th and 19th place respectively.

by Channel 2 News staff Monday, March 16, 2009 NOME, Alaska -- Channel 2 News and KTUU.com will carry the finish of Iditarod 37 live from Nome's burled arch. As Lance Mackey drives toward his third straight victory in The Last Great Race, it appears he will arrive late Wednesday morning or early afternoon, barring a dramatic change over the final few checkpoints. KTUU.com will send out e-mail and text message alerts with the approximate on-air time once Mackey reaches the final checkpoint of Safety . You can signup for alerts on the front page .

With the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race’s signup period now over, at least 59 adventure-seeking men and women will tackle the trail in 2011. Nine of last year’s top 10 are back, and 18 of the top 20. Late additions to the field included big-name mushers John Baker, Cim Smyth and the race’s only five-time champion, Rick Swenson. But 2010 champion Lance Mackey, winner of the last four years straight, is looking to provide Swenson a little company in that elite circle.