Day 1: The race is on!!

Northern lights as seen from Anchorage the night before the race start. Photo: Faye Norby

The Wild Winter Women (WWW) are back at it again this year and we are so excited to follow the Iditarod Trail Invitational (ITI) in Alaska, call the race as we see it, and cheer on the racers!!

As in previous years, starting today, we from the Wild Winter Women group write daily updates that are posted every evening, prioritizing the women’s field but cheering on all athletes. We obsess about the race and closely track the dots, follow updates on social media, and get snippets of intel from racers and volunteers on the trail. Many of us in the Wild Winter Women have spent time on the trail, and as a result are familiar with the people, landscape, checkpoints, and other points of interest. We figure that we may as well share the scoop as we see it. All the info put together makes an intriguing story!

Who are we? WWW supports and celebrates women in the winter ultra-endurance space and provides a community for these athletes to share knowledge, skills, and ideas to help others succeed. That’s who we are collectively but during the ITI, specifically, we’re a crew of twelve dedicated ITI nerds. Together we’ve finished either the 1,000 mile or 350 12 times and look forward to even more.

The racers are off! They started at 2 pm Alaska Time. But first to back up a little bit…

This year there are 115 racers in what looks to be the largest field yet! 23 folks are racing 1000 miles to Nome, 81 racing 350 miles to McGrath, and 11 racing 150 miles to Puntilla Lake. Within each distance, racers have chosen their mode of transportation - bike, foot, and ski. So, in actuality, it is nine races in one! This year among all three distances there are twelve women on foot, five women on bike, and two women on skis. Two women are racing all the way to Nome, both on bike – Mayella Krause and Kendall Park.

The pre-race meeting happened on Friday night at Speedway Cycles in Anchorage. It was a mixture of nerves, excitement, meeting the other racers (and past racers!) and a chance for fun and to unwind in what can be an otherwise stressful last few days in Anchorage before the race. There is so much to be done before heading off for something like this - for folks flying in, it’s assembly of bike, prepping of equipment, last minute decisions, last minute impulse buys, buying camping fuel, getting enough sleep and rest, reuniting with friends, and finishing getting one’s personal life in order to the extent that they can go off the grid for a period of time.

The vibe at the meeting depended on who you talked to. Most of the 1000-mile racers are veterans of the 1000-mile race, so they were fairly laidback - it's just another ride/run/ski up north again for them! There were mixed feelings amongst the 350. Veterans that did their first 350 last year are excited to get "a real ITI" this time. Many rookies seem to be nervous about route finding, drifted trails and ground blizzards. And the weather... they are forecasted to have a cold snap right on the 2nd-4th days of the race, which is definitely on the forefront of their minds. Many of the folks in the 150-mile race seem excited to tackle the challenge, and keeping their minds on the weather.

The race started today at 2 pm at Knik Lake under fair skies – a beautiful day, although the snow was a bit squirrelly at the start for bikers.

As you may be aware, the ITI has no set route and athletes make their way through a series of checkpoints and generally follow the historic Iditarod trail. Thus, you’ll see them taking a number of different routes. The area between the start and the Susitna River is very popular for snow machines, and generally is a maze of different trails that the racers will follow for the first 40 miles of the race. Navigation skills will be tested, and some athletes may get turned around or lost. Once they reach the Susitna River, there’s a well-traveled and nicely marked trail all the way to Skwentna.

Today racers are making their way to the first checkpoint at Butterfly Lake. The first man on bike, Justinas Leveika got to the checkpoint around 4:15 this afternoon; the first woman on bike, Petra Davis, got there around 4:45 pm; the first woman on skis, Tracie Curry, arrived there around 7:25 pm; and the first woman on foot, Natalie Taylor, arrived there around 7:45 pm. Due to today’s warmth, some folks got a little bit sweaty on the way there, and not everyone took the time to dry out before heading back on the trail, which could be tough given the overnight temps. A few racers from previous years were at the Butterfly Lake checkpoint and on the trail to cheer on the racers.

There are so many amazing women out there on this first night that we can’t write about each of them individually, we’ll leave you with a teaser of photos from the start. Many athletes will push through this first night, and by tomorrow morning racers will likely be strung out along 150 miles of trail.

The forecast tonight for the Yentna / Susitna confluence is for calm winds, cloudy skies likely obscuring a waxing crescent moon, and a low of 7 degrees F. The forecast for the coming days is for snow and then much colder conditions, so some will choose to make hay while the sun shines.

The ITI is rooted in community and respect for the environment. Through the Intrepid Path Association, the ITI supports locally identified needs in rural Alaskan communities, promoting year‑round engagement and long‑term resilience beyond race week. Donations can be made here - https://www.givengain.com/cam.../iditarod-trail-invitational

Stay tuned for more updates and stories from the trail, the next of which is coming tomorrow night. Until then, you can follow the racers on the tracker.