Today’s Wild Winter Women update oversees the pivotal cutoff for Rohn at 2 PM, with several racers narrowly making it in time. Sunny Stoer and Laura Rushfeldt arrived in under an hour before the cutoff. Both skiers opted to bivvy high in the Dalzell Gorge last night. When it comes to river valleys in the Alaskan winter, higher is often warmer. In the words of a veteran, “If you have to bivvy, bivvy high in the Gorge. Once you drop onto the Tatina River, you are committed to getting to Rohn."

Those who reached Rohn before 2 PM can breathe a temporary sigh of relief, knowing they have four days to cover the final 120 miles to McGrath. The cutoffs this year have caught many racers who would’ve had no issues in most years. Amber Crawford, a 2x 350 champion and the first woman to complete the 350 in all three disciplines, flew back to Anchorage after mechanicals hampered her Rainy Pass ascent.

As the temperatures rose today, so did the winds, offering a 13 mph headwind for racers on the final stretch into Nikolai and a tailwind for those bound for McGrath. According to weather reports, racers entering the Farewell Burn will be at the whims of 19 mph crosswind gusts until tree cover resumes near Bear Creek Cabin.

Our skiers are no doubt welcoming the warmer (3F) temps and seem to be managing a bit of a glide today. Skiing in ultra cold temps is more like walking with the world’s most unwieldy snowshoes.

Amanda and Jennifer are biking towards Bear Creek Cabin. We’ll see if they opt to forgo the two mile round trip detour and camp along the route. Veterans Missy and Kinsey decided to skip the cabin last night. Both are former champions in the ITI 1000 and 350, respectively, and are currently bound for Nome this year. Kinsey has recently arrived in McGrath with Mark while Missy trails 25 miles out.

The last 20 miles leading into Nikolai features alternating marshes and woodland. Judging from the splits, cyclists are switching between walking and riding. The snow in these marshes can be paradoxically soft relative to the air temperature. Cyclists may find it impossible to dial in an appropriate tire pressure as the trail flips between marsh mush and hardpack in the woods.

Leah, Stephanie, Becca, and Mayella should be rolling into Nikolai this evening, after a layover last night at Bear Creek Cabin. Last year’s foot champion, Herman Watson, is also resting in Nikolai.

The Athabascan community of Nikolai is the first Native village on the ITI route. Racers staying in the local community center may have the opportunity to meet Stephanie Petruska, a longtime friend of ITI racers. Stephanie’s family has deep roots in Nikolai, the ITI, and the Iditarod Sled Dog Race. The ITI community is immensely thankful for the enduring hospitality of the Nikolai community.

Our women’s footrace leader, Faye Norby, is back on the trail after a 5 hour rest at Bear Creek cabin.

Faye has previously won the 350 women’s foot race in 2020 and 2022. This year, she is headed to Nome. As of today, she is the sole female foot racer left on the course.

Nicolas Janssen has just become the 350 men’s ski champion while Jesse Gladdish secures her spot on the 350 women’s bike podium. ITI 1000 leaders Miron and Tyson should be arriving at the Cripple Creek checkpoint soon.

The interior is forecasted to warm up on Monday with temperatures in the 20s, which will no doubt soften up the overland route. Hopes are pinned on the possibility of the Kuskokwim River trail being put in by then, offering a smoother and more efficient route to the finish line.

Written by Kendall Park.  Photo credit Derrick Seys of Finger Lake CP’s last racers Klaus Schweinberger and Thomas Dane on foot under starry skies.

The 350 distance is seeing a lot of action, today we have 14 finishes so far, and will have one more tonight!  Unfortunately we have 23 scratches but three 1,000 mile bikes have made it past McGrath and heading north at a pace that suggests the trail might not be hard packed.  

Nicholas Janssen, potentially our 1st 350 mens ski is just outside Nikolai, and after him athletes continue to battle the trail, and use Bear Creek cabin as a refuge when needed.  Faye Norby in the lead for the 1,000 foot has left Rohn and is heading towards the beautiful and stark Egypt Mountain.  As they say, “you can’t get to Nome if you don’t leave Rohn” so that box is checked.  

Almost to Rohn, Jennifer McConnel, bike 350 from Girdwood, Alaska says “This will be mentally and physically the hardest thing I've ever done. I'm really excited, Anything can be accomplished with baby steps”  and she is trucking along!  Special shout out to North Pole High School students and my mom (Nurse Lorraine)!

The weather has continued to be a challenge for our athletes.  Winds have been blasting as athletes make their way up the pass, causing several to return to Puntilla Lake to scratch. The winds are not bad on the lake, but as they climb up into the Ptarmigan Valley, athletes are hit in the face with winds at over 60 knots and wind chills far below -40F.  Some of those that do continue on bike are needing to hike a bike vs ride the rolling terrain to the base of the pass.  This afternoon we watched Joshua Brown, 1,000 mile ski, begin to take the Hells Gate route (not recommended) close to Rainy Pass.  He soon realized his mistake and is now making good time over the pass.  We watched Amber Crawford embark and then return to the lodge, she had tire issues and needed to get to a safe space to fix it. She has since left again and is making her way, pushing her bike, to the pass.  We currently have 7 athletes in the lodge, a far cry from the 32 yesterday. 

Moving down the trail, there were a lot of downed trees in the section between Finger Lake and Puntilla. The ITI trail crews spent the past several days trying to keep up with cleaning them, but the relentless winds continued to knock them over.  Fortunately we only have two more athletes in that section, 1,000 foot racers Klaus Schweinberger and Donald Kane.  1,000 mile foot athlete Mark Hines described that section as “The roughest race conditions I've dealt with were yesterday's approach to Fingerlake CP. Leaving it wasn't much better. This was followed by almost perfection.”  So at least some of the trail is getting better! 

Tonight a special shout out to 350 foot athlete Ryan Fox.  A Nome resident,  middle school teacher and cross country coach!  Ryan has a GoFundme for the NEW nome track and field team https://gofund.me/a9aa0721  

His hope is that his run inspires kids to want to test their limits in healthy ways. And a “Shout out to my roomate Aaron and the rest of my Nome family who has supported me these last several months.  I would not be towing the line without their countless words of encouragement.  It's hard training for a big event like this in a small town where the number of endurance athletes is relatively small.  95% of my runs the last 5 months have been alone.  See ya in Mcgrath!”

Written by Kari Gibbons  Photo by Ryan Wanless, of Ryan and Beat, both multiple 1,000 mile finishers, heading to Nome again this year.

 What a day!  We have the first finishers on the 350 bike as the field continued to battle tough conditions.  Kevin Breitenbach and Clinton Hodges finished together in 3 days, 6 hours and 11 minutes.  No strangers to the course, this is Kevin’s 5th 350 finish and Clinton’s 7th finish.  They were not the last finishes of the day, being 2 of 8 that have completed their race today and there are 5 more set up to finish including Lael Wilcox who will probably be done by the time this is posted. When asked about her finishing goals she just wanted to go “as fast as I can” and after resting and eating, when she gets home, she is going to “get the wheels in motion for Tucson GRIT, my middle school girls cycling mentorship program”  AWESOME!  Also a nice treat after pushing bikes for hours, it looks like riders are currently enjoying 7 to 8 MPH between Nikolai and McGrath, what a way to finish, huge congratulations to everyone today!  

Meanwhile!  The weather continued to be a huge hurdle for the entire field.  Overnight to this morning, there were 32 athletes nestled in Rainy Pass Lodge, waiting out the storm.  This is a good time for getting rest and enjoying the camaraderie of fellow participants.  The few that had gone out to brave the pass at night had stopped to bivy a few hours after leaving.   Jessie Gladish had stopped for over three hours at the base of the pass to rest after her epic push and is now in Rhone resting and eating brats (brats might be speculation).   

Later, sometime after 5 am AK time, a large human train of bikers, skiers, and walkers left Rainy Pass Lodge to make a push for the pass.  Currently, 24 people are making their way to Rhone Including 1,000 mile biker Leah Gruhn and Kinsey Loan, and first 1,000 mile foot Herman Watson. All are heading to a 6 person tent on the other side of the pass, try not to think about it!  The bikes have been moving around 1.5 to 2 MPH all day, and they are moving right along with the ski and foot division, which means they are pushing bikes and will continue to do so for potentially 30 miles.  All disciplines and all distances traveling together, it has been a treat to watch.  

Rumor had it a large group was going to wait until midnight to go, but the conditions must be improving as many continue to file out and make for the Pass, still there are over 20 camped at the lodge, including Amanda Harvey who said yesterday “that it’s going to get cold but I’m ready for it”.  

Moving back down the trail, athletes continue to make their way from Finger Lake. 

Eric Thomason, 350 foot division,  missed the turn after the Happy River Steps and added a projected 10 miles total (5 out and 5 back) and 5 hours to his Iditarod Trail Invitational.  How quickly an athlete can mentally bounce back from something like this is instrumental in their success, he is now on track and moving well!  

I’m happy to report that everyone has covered the trail between Shell Lake and Finger Lake. Yesterday the trail was completely blown with winds howling at over 50mph and racers were forced to find the trail with their feet.  How do you know if you are off trail?  Take a step - if you don’t post hole, you are on the trail.  Apparently there was a moose situation but I’m waiting on details for that.

We finished the day with 14 total scratches and 8 finishes with a projected 5 more.  One of those we’ll give a special shout out to, Tazlina Mannix who is on bike and on her way to her first finish in McGrath now.  When asked about a cause she was riding for this year, she stated “My dad died suddenly eight months ago. He loved adventuring in remote Alaska by foot, skis, raft/packraft, bike, etc, and I'm so grateful he passed that on to me (and many others). He was one of my heroes, and I'll be thinking about him a lot while I'm on the trail. My family established the Arthur Mannix Memorial Fund in his honor: 

https://alaskacf.org/funds/arthur-mannix-memorial-fund/. 

The fund is dedicated to connecting people with nature through recreation, art, education, and science.

We’re happy she will get to finish today, with her husband Casey Fagerquist 350 bike, who says she’s his “best friend” and is “ excited for her to experience it.“

It will be a long night for everyone out on the trail, and days of hard conditions really stack up, especially for our 1,000 mile racers.  This morning lead bikers Miron and Tyson Flaharty spent very little time in Mcgrath before heading out and are now less than 13 miles to Ophir.  For them, the adventure is just beginning.  Lead skier for this distance Asbjoern Skjoeth Bruun is on his way to Rhone along with Faye Norby, and Leah Gruhn.  Remember the 6 person tent mentioned earlier?  It’s a good thing these athletes are comfortable sleeping outside. 

Written by Kari Gibbons, photo credit Leah Gruhn, athletes commiserating at Rainy Pass Lodge before braving the storm. 

On day 4 we are seeing Alaska really show up and challenge our racers.  Temperatures overnight in the swamps between Skwentna and Shell reached -25°F. And it was very slow going with the trail completely blown out and thigh deep snow drifts in some areas.  This morning three of the lead men cyclists took a nice rest and hopefully snooze at Bear Creek Cabin around 4 am AK time, now Clinton Hodges and Kevin Breitenbach both on bike for the 350 are on their way to the finish line in McGrath.  Miron was in the lead for the 1,000 bike and he has now linked up with Tyson Flaharty as they make their way to McGrath.

Leading 350 womens bike Lael pulled an all nighter and is still in the lead despite bike issues early on in the race.  After 7am she too took a break at the cabin as well and is now 16 miles to Nikolai. Less than ten miles behind her is number two women for the 350 bike, Nikki Potter.

A huge pile of bikers including womens 350 athlete Tazlina had breakfast in Rhone this morning before filling out to tackle the Farewell Burn.  This checkpoint is a welcome treat after climbing up and over the pass, however there is a “one in, one out” rule for sleeping as the tent is fairly small.  I am wondering who got to snooze on cozy straw and who had to bivy outside!  Nikkie Potter was sitting .9 miles from Rhone for 7 hours, maybe this was a calculated rest stop to avoid the shuffle!  Five athletes including Jessie Gladish on bike  are still climbing the pass and on their way to Rhone, it has been a long day for them, and the speed they moved indicated they are pushing bikes, in that group is also Nicolas Janssen, 1st male 350 on ski, steadily moving upward. 

Backtracking to Puntilla lake, there are currently 17 athletes hunkering down at the welcoming Rainy Pass Lodge, including our first 1,000 mile foot athlete Herman Watson, and several  womens bikers including Leah Gruhn and Missy Schwarz, who went out earlier and came back to rest a knee, both in the thousand.  Stephanie Schmit and Mayella Krause,for the 350 bike are also there, do yourself a favor and check out who Mayella is sponsored by, you won’t regret it!  With the wind being so bad and the temperature dropping, this large group decided to stay the night and make a push for the pass tomorrow morning.  “Temperatures are the focus of the forecast for the next several days as cold air plunges south out of the Arctic. Overnight temperatures will plunge into the 20 below to 40 below range across the Interior, with the coldest temperatures occurring the valleys”  Not everyone is staying in however, after a break just a few miles out of the Happy River Steps, 1,000 mile bikers Kinsey Loan and Mark Moeller have made the brave decision to head out now, and tackle the pass at night.   

As I write this, our 1,000 mile foot Leading Lady, Faye Norby and her partner Jeff Leuwerke are walking down the Happy River Steps, a tiered and winding trail that drops them down onto the Happy River for a jaunt before a nice climb back out.  It can be treacherous if icy, but these two are pros.   Magdalena, the other womens 1,000 mile foot has left Finger Lake as well, where a few more athletes including Wild Winter Women Amber Crawford and Carole Holley are waiting out the bad weather.  Amber commented about the incredible wind today adding an expletive, but strategizing this event is something she is very good at.

Sunny Stroeer is steadily making her way to Finger Lake, and will probably catch her partner Paul Gagner there, which would be a welcome treat for them.  Behind her is 1,000 mile foot athlete Mark Hines, overcoming some physical adversity the day before, recovering and now pushing on. Multiple 1,000 mile finisher Petr Ineman (this year on skis) and fellow 1,000 mile skier Joshua Brown are also on their way to finger lake.  Joshua battled stomach problems that kept him from eating or drinking for more than 30 HOURS and is moving well on his way to Nome.  Our Red Lantern tonight is the delightful Sarah Hurkett, who is taking a break at Skwentna, once she leaves the building it is a very exposed hike for several miles to the Shell Hills, I imagine she will stay put for a bit as well.  

There are a lot of things that can go sideways out in the Alaska range; we have had a few drops this year, including Erick Basset, Ronnie Carrara, Jeremy Fields, and my amazing friend Jeff Goldstein.  Often pure grit will get you far, but a healthy dose of luck also plays into it.  The amount of planning and training that each person does for months is just incredible, and true bravery shows when we don’t know what will happen out there, but try anyway.  We hope to see each of you on the trail again.  

Written by Kari Gibbons, photo credit Tiziano Mulonia

What a day it has been for everyone making their way toward and over the Alaska Range!  As I write this, 350 leaders Kevin Breitenbach and Clinton Hodges have just rolled into Rohn after a rugged bike push up, over and even part of the way down Rainy Pass. Five more cyclists, including Nome-bound Miron Golfman, Tyson Flaharty and Lael Wilcox, are not far behind. What a good feeling to leave the breathtaking and sometimes harrowing Dalzell Gorge and the Tatina River onto the brief bit of wooded trail leading to Rohn, settle in to enjoy a delicious brat, and break open your drop bag and see what treats await. One downside to being first in the checkpoint is that you don’t get to rummage through the treats that other racers left behind!  

Nikki Potter and Tazlina Mannix are currently pushing their bikes up the narrower part of Rainy Pass amidst eight other cyclists. Though cyclists generally have faster finishing times overall on the ITI, some conditions are much more favorable for skiers and foot travelers and this is one of them! For perspective, Amber Bethe’s bike, loaded with gear for Nome, weighs 85 pounds–approximately “0.7 Ambers”. That’s quite a lot of weight to push into the wind, uphill, through the snow. 

In general, travel was a lot slower today than yesterday, especially for those on wheels.  A few inches of snow fell along much of the trail and reports are that it is windy even down by Skwentna and Shell Lake. Missy Schwarz is still leading the women’s bike race to Nome, followed by Leah Gruhn and Kinsey Loan, who have been traveling together, with Kinsey’s fiance Mark Moeller, for the latter part of the day. Leah got some sleep along the trail last night just shy of Shell Lake after she and Tiziano Mulonia left the Iditarod Trail for a different path. While the ITI has no required route to follow, the path of least resistance is usually the historic Iditarod Trail. There are a few areas between Skwentna and Finger Lake where the Iditarod Trail crosses mining roads. Sometimes these roads provide good travel for short stretches, but sometimes they entice racers down a path that ends up being more difficult, which is what happened to these two last night.

Faye is still leading the women’s foot race to Nome and is currently on Shell Lake with Jeff Leuwerke making solid, steady progress about 14 miles behind Herman Watson, who is leading the men on foot to Nome. Ashbjoern Skjoeth Bruun is past Shell Lake, averaging 3.8 mph on skis and Sunny Stroeer took a very short break at Skwentna and is moving on, maybe to take a longer break at Shell Lake.

The Shell Lake Lodge was always a favorite stop for ITI racers, but sadly it was destroyed by fire in February 2023, a couple weeks before last year’s race began.  The owners have kindly allowed racers to use two cabins that still stand on the property and anticipate having their lodge rebuilt by the end of this coming summer, which is no small feat anywhere, let alone off the road system in the Alaskan bush!

For the 350, Ryan Fox and Brian Hamilton are at Shell Lake leading the men’s foot division, with Dean Denter right behind them. Carole Holley is in a mix of other foot travelers who may get to Shell Lake just past dusk tonight. Nicholas Janssen is at Finger Lake making excellent progress on skis and Laura Rushfeldt should be at Skwentna in time for a hot meal if she chooses to take a break.

While last night was a chilly -25 on the river, temperatures on the trail have been relatively mild today.  Tomorrow we may know more about the snow situation north of the Alaska range, which can be wildly different than what racers have experienced to the south. As I wrap up today’s report, Kevin, Clint and Miron are already back out on the trail from Rohn. Racers will likely see much colder temperatures on the north side of the range, with lows in Nikolai forecast to be around -30F for the next few days.

Thank you Emily Wanless for the photo of Faye Norby and Ryan Wanless under a bluebird sky at Skwentna!

Written by Kori Marchowsky

Welcome to day two of the Iditarod Trail Invitational! For many racers, it was a cloudy, mild day with temperatures in the teens. While overnight temperatures on the Yentna River reportedly dipped to 15 below with a stiff breeze, racers were prepared and there have only been three scratches so far. Tonight’s forecast calls for 1-2 inches of snow and lows around 5.
In the women’s bike race, Lael Wilcox is charging hard and is in second position overall after leaving Finger Lake, mile 126. Lael’s tracker seemed to be having problems, and there was some confusion about her position. She checked into Instagram on Monday morning and reported she had ridden 114 miles in 18 hours and was dealing with a stripped bolt in her seat post that caused her saddle to slip down. The smallest issues with a bike can cause big problems, and in this case, the broken clamp is forcing her to “ride low” — which is hard on the knees — or stand while riding. Hopefully, Lael can find a solution, but it doesn’t appear to be slowing her down.
Tazlina Mannix and Anchorage and Nikki Potter of Fairbanks aren’t far behind, as Tazlina just left Finger Lake and Nikki is resting there with Lael about 10 miles ahead. The trail beyond Finger Lake appears to be much slower going than the first 125 miles of the course. This is often the case — this section features a seemingly endless ripple of direct climbs and descents in and out of steep drainages as racers approach the Alaska Range. But with even the strongest riders moving at walking speeds, trail conditions must be worse than before.
Leading the women’s bike race to Nome is Missy Schwartz of Fairbanks, Alaska. Missy has been riding a conservative, well-paced race with an eight-hour rest at Yentna Station, breakfast in the cozy confines of Bentalit Lodge, and lunch at Skwentna. Leah Gruhn of Minnesota is a few hours back, followed closely by Kinsey Loan of Eagle River, Alaska. Both women have been taking similarly civil breaks. As of this report, Amber was about to arrive at Bentalit Lodge. From Yentna Station, Amber reported “great trail conditions, -10 on the river with a decent breeze. Moving slow but feeling decent!”
Leading the women’s foot race is Faye Norby of Minnesota, who currently has a solid lead on her fellow 1,000-mile racer Magdalena Paschke of Germany. Magdalena appears to be traveling with 350-mile racers Carole Holley and Stacy Fisk. Faye Norby is a strong runner, having come into McGrath just an hour shy of the women’s foot record in 2022. The 6-day, 12-hour record belongs to Anne Ver Hoef and has stood since 2013.
Our women skiers — Sunny Stroeer of Utah and Laura Rushfeldt of Massachusett — are close together on their way to Yentna Station. Sunny is aiming to not only be the first woman skier to Nome in the Iditarod Trail Invitational, but the first skier period. Why has this not been done before? In a recent Instagram video, Sunny admitted that the skis aren’t the most practical mode of transport on the Iditarod Trail. It’s rough, narrow, often riddled with bumps, and sometimes scoured down to ice or dirt. Unless a skier is exceptionally skilled, it’s difficult to make the kick-and-glide work in their favor. Instead, Sunny compared the endeavor to walking a thousand miles in less comfortable footwear. So why choose skis? I hope Sunny will have her answer under the burled arch.
Thank you to Linda Bulawa Klim for the photo of Sunny skiing out of Knik on Sunday afternoon. - Jill Homer

Starting at 2 p.m. Sunday, the 2024 Iditarod Trail Invitational was off like a rocket as racers enjoyed sunny skies, temperatures in the 20s, and fast trails. 

The women’s field is the largest yet. The total number of ladies on the course is 23 — 15 cyclists, six runners, and two skiers. Seven — four cyclists, two runners, and one skier — are aiming to reach Nome. 

The ITI has no set course — the rules only require that racers hit each checkpoint, the first being at mile 27 on Butterfly Lake. The Susitna River Valley is a veritable maze of designated snowmachine trails, gas line trails, railroad lines, and social trails. Picking the “best” route to the Yentna River is one of the first puzzles everyone must solve. Past years have shown all kinds of creative deviations. Since the Iron Dog Snowmachine Race finished in Big Lake on Sunday, the most logical choice was the freshly tracked trail across Big Lake, which most racers chose. The few deviations seemed similarly fast; everyone was making good time to checkpoint one. 

In 2023, the first racer to Butterfly Lake arrived with 2 hours 51 minutes on the clock. This year, according to the tracker, Clinton Hodges III arrived at Butterfly Lake with 2 hours 21 minutes on the clock — a half hour faster than last year. Tazlina Mannix of Anchorage was the first woman to arrive at the checkpoint, pedaling to mile 27 on the course in 2 hours and 28 minutes. Smokin’!  Rookies Lael Wilcox and Nikki Potter weren’t far behind. 

Sunny Stoeer, the skier aiming for Nome this year, was one of three people who chose to take the standard Iditarod Trail. Sunny is keeping close company with Nome veteran walkers Donald Kane and Klaus Schweinberger. 

As of this writing, all six women on foot were keeping close company across Big Lake, trying not to choke on the smog left behind by Iron Dog traffic (thanks to 1,000-mile racer Faye Norby for the photo, which shows Magdalena Paschke and Carole Holley.)

As racers head into the night, they are likely to encounter a stunning drop in temperatures and possibly some overflow and deeper snow as they head upriver. With clear skies, the temperature can easily plummet to 20 below on the Yentna River overnight. Since it was so warm at the start, these big (and common) swings often catch rookie racers off guard. Most of the race’s injuries happen during the first night. 

According to a Facebook post from Deschka Landing, a heavy, wet storm that hit the area three days ago also may have a large impact. They wrote: “Only a half inch of snow fell from Deshka Landing to Yentna Station, but from 20 mile slough to Imm’s Inn there is about 10 inches of snow, Lake Creek to Skwentna received anywhere from 2 to 3 feet of snow, and Skwentna to Finger Lake received anywhere from 2 to 4 feet of snow.” 

Wishing everyone a great night out there, and hoping for no frostbite in the morning. 

-Jill Homer

Congratulations to Beat Jegerlehner, the ITI 1000 foot champion! Beat finished in 22 days, 22 hours and 42 minutes for his second win in the foot race to Nome.

Congratulations to Gaizka Aseguinolaza, Jussi Karjalainen, Roberto Gazzoli, Graham Muir, Tiziano Mulonia and Willy Mulonia for finishing the ITI 1000 in 18 days and 5 hours!

The six international athletes from Spain, Finland, Italy and New Zealand rode much of the trail from McGrath to Nome together and crossed under the burled arch as a group.

Jussi, Roberto, Graham and Willy were members of the Unalakleet Eight in 2020, a group of racers who were stopped short of the sea ice by a storm surge and the coronavirus pandemic. Congratulations to them and to Gaizka and Tiziano for conquering the countless challenges they faced on the Iditarod Trail and for finishing the ITI 1000.

Congratulations to Petr Ineman, the ITI 1000 bike champion! Petr rode the entire distance from McGrath by himself and finished in 16 days, 4 hours and 42 minutes.

Congratulations to this year’s Iditarod Trail Invitational champions!

Men's Bike

Tyson Flaherty and Ryan Atkins. 2 days 7 hours and 57 minutes.

Women's Bike

Amber Bethe. 4 days 11 hours and 38 minutes.

Men's Ski

Chet Fehrmann. 4 days 13 hours and 25 minutes.

Men's Foot

Thierry Corbarieu. 5 days 19 hours 44 minutes.

Women's Foot

Faye Norby. 6 days 13 hours 54 minutes.

Women's Ski

Jaclyn Arndt. 7 days, 22 hours and 20 minutes.

If one was looking for adventure, challenge and an emotional rollercoaster, the 2021 Iditarod Trail Invitational did not disappoint. It all started when the world began to shut down during the 2020 ITI and ended when the final athletes crossed the finish line a few days ago on March 10th.

For more than a year, the ITI family collectively faced more adversity and uncertainty than ever before, and the athletes who left the starting line endured innumerable struggles even before they arrived at Knik Lake on February 28th. But, true to the nature of the hearty people who return to the Iditarod Trail each year, those who crossed the finish line in 2021 dug deeply within themselves and found a way to overcome all of the setbacks, disappointments, mechanical failures, weather conditions, errors and other problems they confronted both before and during the ITI.

Thank you to all of the resilient people - athletes, supporters, volunteers, staff and business partners - who made the 20th anniversary Iditarod Trail Invitational possible. The stories from the trail each year are a testament to the power of the human spirit but never more so than they were in 2021.

At 10:17pm on March 5, Rebecca Rusch, of Idaho, rolled across the Iditarod Trail Invitational finish line in Big Lake, taking the crown in the women’s bike race. Together with her husband, Greg Martin, Rusch also was the top finisher in the race’s inaugural “self-supported” class. The two traveled 350 miles without receiving any of the meals, indoor recovery, or other outside support athletes in the general class typically receive. They slept outdoors alongside the trail, clocking about 14.5 total hours of rest during the race.

Martin and Rusch had not made a pact to race as a team this year—“It just happened organically,” she said. They moved point to point together, but did not know until the very end, she says, that they would finish as a team.

Rusch was also the top women’s finisher in 2019, her rookie year.

Fletcher is our 2nd place finisher!! Way to go!!

Winner, winner, chili mac dinner!! Aaron’s our 2021 ITI 350 men’s bike winner!

Anxiously awaiting our top finishers, Aaron Thrasher from Anchorage and Fletcher Yancy from Fairbanks, to arrive at the finish for the 20th Anniversary Iditarod Trail Invitational. Aaron appears to be following his original track out, whereas Fletcher is following a more northern snowmachine trail. This could be an exciting finish!!

Veteran athlete Jay Petervary and 16 year old Jacob Hora headed out of the Finger Lake check point this morning.

Athletes battling deep snow and white out conditions on day 2 of the race.

A beautiful show from Mother Nature on the first night of the race.

Aaron Thrasher is the first to arrive at Checkpoint #1, Butterfly Lake, just minutes ahead of Jay Petervary and Jacob Hora.