Life in the Fast Lane

Day 3 of the Iditarod Trail Invitational

There’s fast, and then there’s Tyson Flaharty fast. Congratulations to the 2025 ITI 350-mile men’s bike champion, Tyson Flaharty. He finished in McGrath this morning just before 11am with an unofficial Trackleaders time of 1 day, 20 hours, 53 minutes, making this the 2nd fastest finish in McGrath. Amazing! He says he slept for 12 minutes in Nikolai since he had been fighting the sleepies coming in. He took the river route to McGrath where he was greeted by a number of people outside. This is his fastest time by 3 hours, and the 2nd fastest bike time to  McGrath just beating out Kevin Breitenbach’s second place finish time in 2015 of 1 day, 21 hours, 30 minutes. Congratulations, Tyson!

Also finishing today are Clint Hodges, Tim Berntson, and John Lackey (current record holder at 1 day, 18 hours, 32 minutes). All of these guys are former champions of the 350-mi race. This group of four led the race from the gun; congrats to all on a great ride.

Lael Wilcox left Nikolai this evening and is expected to finish in McGrath tonight. Lael is near a record-setting pace for the women’s 350. Kate Coward is nearing Nikolai. 

A few things to note on the route from Nikolai to McGrath: The lead bikers have taken the river route instead of the overland route. Astute dot watchers will notice that the racers have usually followed big bends in the river vs. the Trackleader's “red line” of the route that often cuts overland between river bends. This is because the usual overland cutoffs that are on the river route have not been put in by the Iditarod trailbreaking crew since the Iditarod Dog Sled race is not taking the route to McGrath this year. These cutoffs usually take off several extra miles. This section looks to be around 58 miles this year, so around 10 or so miles longer than normal. Nonetheless, travel on the river appears fast and racers are making good time. 

The great weather is holding. The next few days on the west side of the range (Nikolai and McGrath) call for highs in the teens and lows from 0 to -10 degrees F. with calm winds. Temps on the east side of the range have been a bit warmer with some soft trail conditions during the afternoons, but everyone is still making great time. Unfortunately, we’ve heard the trail is dirt from Rohn to the Salmon River, which may slow people down in that section. 

Two bike racers, Cameron Ramey and Philip Roadley, missed the turn to Rainy Pass and we imagine at a certain point, they decided to see if the scenic route through Hell’s Gate was doable. Alas, it appears they hit open water that was unable to be crossed, and are backtracking to the main trail now. We believe this is the first time that Ptarmigan Pass has seen bikers since 2017, so we hope they have a good story to tell and pictures to share. A double- Hell’s Gate trip would be something we haven’t seen before! The Iron Dog race uses this route during their race, and it was likely last traveled at least 4 days ago. 

So, what happens if you take a wrong turn? - Sometimes, there is a way to get back to the route. For instance, in recent years, there has been a SnowCat machine trail by the Happy River Step area that leads out onto the Skwenta River. Racers will sometimes miss the ITI trail turn, but can keep on that Cat track and join back up with the Iditarod Trail on the other side of the Happy River without adding much additional mileage, if any. Other times, racers must forge their own route, which requires much energy to bushwhack and can be dangerous in areas with unstable ice. Other times, racers will need to backtrack. There is no set route for this race; the only rule is the racers must sign in at each checkpoint and they must go to each checkpoint in order. 

On a side note, the SnowCat track, often used in the mining area roughly between Skwentna and Finger Lake, appears to not be in this year, resulting in very few deviations from the trail thus far. 

In the men’s foot field, 350-mile racer Scott Hoberg continues to set the pace with 1000-mile foot racer, Gavan Hennigan, not far behind. The women’s foot race is currently led by 1000-mile racer Magdalena Paschke, then fellow 1000-mile racer Kari Gibbons. Ski leader Tucker Costain is making excellent time. 

This year we have five athletes taking on the 150-mile course, which ends at Puntilla Lake. Biker Jason Munns finished today, congrats Jason! One of the 150-mile racers on foot, Carol Seppilu, is an inspiring person we want to highlight. Carol was born and raised in rural Alaska, and is a Siberian Yupik Alaskan Native living in Nome, Alaska, the end of the 1000-mile race. Carol turned to running as a way to cope after a life-altering event. Determined to push her limits, she runs long distances despite a permanent tracheostomy, which is a narrow tube she breathes through. This can be a particular challenge in extreme cold and winter weather. Despite this, Carol continues to break barriers and inspire us with her tenacity and drive. She says she hopes to inspire everyone to keep moving forward. “Many times in my life I thought I couldn’t take another step but here I am. We just have to breathe through any storm we may face, and every time I’ve done that, the beauty and calm of life makes me feel so blessed to have made it this far.” 

Last year, Carol greeted every racer who made it to Nome, and in a few years, it is her goal to “walk all the way home.” 

 You can follow her on Instagram @nasqaq and can learn more about her story at these links. 

https://www.trailrunnermag.com/people/hope-pass/

https://themoth.org/storytellers/carol-seppilu

Be sure to keep an eye on the @wildwinterwomen Instagram page, as we’ve been sharing lots of racer’s and volunteer’s photos and videos from the trail. The Iditarod Trail Invitational Instagram page has been able to livestream from Rohn and the finish, giving you amazing looks inside the action. 

Author: Faye Norby