Anna was still in the finish chute under the burled arch in the wee hours Sunday morning when Lauro Eklund arrived in 14th place. He arrived less than 5 minutes after Anna... she worked crazy hard to help the dogs over the last miles to hold on to her 13th place finish.
Just over an hour later, Samantha LaLonde, of Farmington Hills, Michigan, arrived at 2:20am Sunday in 15th place. As the first rookie in the race to make it to Nome, she earned the prestigious Rookie of the Year award. Well done to Samantha and her dogs!!
Jason Mackey arrived in 16th place a little after that, wrapping up the Sunday morning flurry of teams. There was a lull in traffic, but things picked up again Sunday afternoon and evening with 4 more rookies arriving at the finish. This crew all finished the race with 13-day handles on their times and rounded out our top 20 finishers. Emily Ford, a rookie from Duluth, Minnesota, was included in that group, arriving in 18th place with 10 dogs in harness. Way to go, Emily!!
Finally, as St. Patrick's Day arrived Monday, March 17th, the final two active racers arrived in Nome. Rookies Dane Baker and Ebbe Pederson pulled under the arch a little after 1:30am and within about 5 minutes of each other. They each spent over 13 days and 13 hours out on the trail.
At the time of Ebbe's arrival in 22nd place, he didn't know he was the official Red Lantern, as one final rookie, Jenny Roddewig, was still in the race. It wasn't until about 4 hours after he arrived that Jenny opted to scratch, setting her snowhook one final time in White Mountain, 71 miles from the finish.
The brief report on Iditarod.com indicates that Jenny scratched in the best interests of her team and that all of her dogs were reported in good health. I'm sure this decision to scratch, so close and yet so far from Nome (you go walk 71 miles and tell me that's nothin'), was both easy and hard. Making a decision that's in the best interests of the dogs is easy. Maybe feeling like you let them or yourself or your sponsors or fans down would be tough.
Jenny, I don't know if you'll ever see this - but you rock! As a rookie in the Iditarod, you made it 1,057 miles. That is further than you would have had to travel had this been either of the traditional northern or southern trails. You had an epic journey with your dogs and have a great deal to be proud of. I hope you feel that. On behalf of Seeing Double, we hope you and your dogs have safe and swift travels home.
And so with this Race Update 13, after 13 days, 13 hours and change... 1,128 miles later, the 53rd Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is complete. For the longest Iditarod ever, we had 22 of 33 racers finish. 11 mushers scratched (or were withdrawn), or 33.3% of the field. That is a high removal rate vs the race's average since inception (21.9%). Of the finishers, 7 were Iditarod rookies getting to the arch for the first time.
Which means, by this Mad Blogger's tally, we now have 849 separate individuals ever that can say they successfully completed the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Anna and Kristy are 2 of those 849 people. You know how many people are on this planet?! To say you finished the Iditarod puts you on a very small, very elite list.
Mushers and other volunteers attended the Finishers Banquet Sunday night, enjoying some good food and swapping stories from the trail. Travis Beals earned the award for the fastest run time between Safety and Nome. In addition to being our Red Lantern, Ebbe Pederson also received an award honoring perseverance on the trail. Two mushers tied for this year's Most Improved award (those mushers who improved most from their previous best finish). Nic Petit was honored with the Sportsmanship Award, as nominated by his fellow mushers. And 3rd place finisher Paige Droby was awarded what might be the most coveted prize... the Humanitarian Award, recognizing outstanding dog care while remaining competitive during the race.
For a full list of awards and how they were achieved, as well as this year's cash purse awards, check out this article on Iditarod.com.
This Mad Blogger left Nome Sunday afternoon before the banquet and finally reached home in Wisconsin late morning Monday. The twins, meanwhile, got things sorted in Nome. They weren't able to get the dogs on a return flight until Tuesday evening and will finally be headed back to the kennel in Knik themselves on Wednesday, March 19th.
I'll give Anna a day or two to decompress and be back with the closing Seeing Double Iditablog post of 2025. Among other things, I promise adorable dog pictures from my time in Nome!
Just over an hour later, Samantha LaLonde, of Farmington Hills, Michigan, arrived at 2:20am Sunday in 15th place. As the first rookie in the race to make it to Nome, she earned the prestigious Rookie of the Year award. Well done to Samantha and her dogs!!
Jason Mackey arrived in 16th place a little after that, wrapping up the Sunday morning flurry of teams. There was a lull in traffic, but things picked up again Sunday afternoon and evening with 4 more rookies arriving at the finish. This crew all finished the race with 13-day handles on their times and rounded out our top 20 finishers. Emily Ford, a rookie from Duluth, Minnesota, was included in that group, arriving in 18th place with 10 dogs in harness. Way to go, Emily!!
Finally, as St. Patrick's Day arrived Monday, March 17th, the final two active racers arrived in Nome. Rookies Dane Baker and Ebbe Pederson pulled under the arch a little after 1:30am and within about 5 minutes of each other. They each spent over 13 days and 13 hours out on the trail.
At the time of Ebbe's arrival in 22nd place, he didn't know he was the official Red Lantern, as one final rookie, Jenny Roddewig, was still in the race. It wasn't until about 4 hours after he arrived that Jenny opted to scratch, setting her snowhook one final time in White Mountain, 71 miles from the finish.
The brief report on Iditarod.com indicates that Jenny scratched in the best interests of her team and that all of her dogs were reported in good health. I'm sure this decision to scratch, so close and yet so far from Nome (you go walk 71 miles and tell me that's nothin'), was both easy and hard. Making a decision that's in the best interests of the dogs is easy. Maybe feeling like you let them or yourself or your sponsors or fans down would be tough.
Jenny, I don't know if you'll ever see this - but you rock! As a rookie in the Iditarod, you made it 1,057 miles. That is further than you would have had to travel had this been either of the traditional northern or southern trails. You had an epic journey with your dogs and have a great deal to be proud of. I hope you feel that. On behalf of Seeing Double, we hope you and your dogs have safe and swift travels home.
And so with this Race Update 13, after 13 days, 13 hours and change... 1,128 miles later, the 53rd Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is complete. For the longest Iditarod ever, we had 22 of 33 racers finish. 11 mushers scratched (or were withdrawn), or 33.3% of the field. That is a high removal rate vs the race's average since inception (21.9%). Of the finishers, 7 were Iditarod rookies getting to the arch for the first time.
Which means, by this Mad Blogger's tally, we now have 849 separate individuals ever that can say they successfully completed the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Anna and Kristy are 2 of those 849 people. You know how many people are on this planet?! To say you finished the Iditarod puts you on a very small, very elite list.
Mushers and other volunteers attended the Finishers Banquet Sunday night, enjoying some good food and swapping stories from the trail. Travis Beals earned the award for the fastest run time between Safety and Nome. In addition to being our Red Lantern, Ebbe Pederson also received an award honoring perseverance on the trail. Two mushers tied for this year's Most Improved award (those mushers who improved most from their previous best finish). Nic Petit was honored with the Sportsmanship Award, as nominated by his fellow mushers. And 3rd place finisher Paige Droby was awarded what might be the most coveted prize... the Humanitarian Award, recognizing outstanding dog care while remaining competitive during the race.
For a full list of awards and how they were achieved, as well as this year's cash purse awards, check out this article on Iditarod.com.
This Mad Blogger left Nome Sunday afternoon before the banquet and finally reached home in Wisconsin late morning Monday. The twins, meanwhile, got things sorted in Nome. They weren't able to get the dogs on a return flight until Tuesday evening and will finally be headed back to the kennel in Knik themselves on Wednesday, March 19th.
I'll give Anna a day or two to decompress and be back with the closing Seeing Double Iditablog post of 2025. Among other things, I promise adorable dog pictures from my time in Nome!
 Above - Anna and her 13th place trophy at the Finishers Banquet. Top right - Anna and Mad Blogger. Bottom right - Mad Blogger lovin' on YoYo in Nome. |   |
Gazing out over Norton Sound, North Pacific Ocean, Sunday March 16th.
