Print article McGRATH In the final big push of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race on Sunday, top competitors were leapfrogging one another, jockeying for a lead as they re-cross the Alaska Range. Aaron Burmeister passed four-time champion Dallas Seavey on Saturday afternoon, as the front-runner rested his dogs by Tin Creek, about two dozen miles from the Rohn checkpoint. “This is what we’ve been building up the team for the entire race. It’s taken a lot of patience but it’s the game plan I came in with,” Nome/Nenana musher Aaron Burmeister told Iditarod Insider in McGrath.
Print article Things are heating up in an Iditarod that has dished out extreme cold in recent days. Aaron Burmeister and a full team of 14 dogs were the first to reach Rohn as the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race rushes to what could be a dramatic conclusion. Burmeister arrived at the Rohn checkpoint at 4:26 p.m. Saturday, but Dallas Seavey stole the lead while Burmeister was taking a break. The third musher to reached the checkpoint, Seavey left after six minutes. He’s on his way to Rainy Pass as teams make an unprecedented return trip through the Alaska Range in this year’s novel out-and-back race.
The four-time champion left the final checkpoint before the finish line at 8:44 p.m. Sunday. A win would match Rick Swenson’s record five championships.
“Hello, Central!”
If you’ve been to Nome for the Iditarod finish, you’ve definitely heard the resounding voice of longtime resident and beloved Mayor Richard Beneville. We will miss his enthusiasm when the race returns to Nome for the 50
th anniversary running, but we know that his spirit will be there welcoming each and every team as they cross the finish line. Below are the storylines to watch, and you can access these clips via the Iditarod Insider-led press pool Dropbox here: http://bit.ly/Iditarod21.
Front of the pack
Dallas Seavey’s team is catching the eyes of fellow competitors who say his team is looking great. Dallas made an overnight dash to McGrath and is working to set his team up for the win. He details his strategy for using his smaller sled and gives an update on his pack of 13 to the Insider crew in McGrath.
UPDATE, 1 p.m. Friday: The two mushers who shared Gunnar Johnson’s tent in Nikolai had not been identified as of noon Friday, race officials said. Additionally, COVID-19 testing is being added to two more checkpoints on the return route Rainy Pass and Skwentna. In-bound mushers will also be tested in McGrath.
Original story: Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race officials are trying to identify two mushers who shared a tent at a checkpoint with Gunnar Johnson, the Minnesota musher who was pulled from the race this week after testing positive for COVID-19. Johnson, 52, tested positive Wednesday in McGrath, a town 300 miles into the race where every musher is being tested on their northbound journey. He shared a tent in Nikolai with two mushers the previous night.