With the completion of the 350-mile distance race yesterday, many of our finished athletes are likely taking today to regroup and reflect on their experience while refueling their beaten and battered bodies. Those athletes are traveling home where “real” life awaits them, and the longing for the solitude and simple routines of the trail might start calling to their soul once again. This year 92 athletes started the 350 and 150 distances, 52 finished, yielding a 56% finish rate. Of the 17 women who started the 350 and 150 events, 8 finished.

While reflecting on this year’s races, a dominant theme has been the cold, wind, and snow. So how cold was this year compared to previous ones? Looking at weather data from Nikolai from previous years during the first 10 days of the ITI, I would like to share some information I compiled. The 2020 event started on March 1st, the average low in Nikolai from the 2nd to the 11th was -18.4 F, with the average high being 11.4 F.  The course in 2021 was modified to an out and back due to Covid restrictions. In 2022 the race started on Feb 27th, the average low was 10.8 F with an average high of 32.9 F. I was unable to find data for 2023. The race started in 2024 on Feb 25th with an average low of -12.7 F and high of 14.8 F. Last year, 2025, the race started on Feb 23rd and had an average low in Nikolai of 12.4 F and high of 30.7 F. So how does 2026 compare?....  The average low in Nikolai for the ten days was -30 F with an average high of 2.8 F. I think it’s safe to say that our 115 athletes who started in Anchorage got the angry side of mother nature for this year’s race. While the 108 athletes who are no longer on the course are reflecting on the brutality of this year's ITI, I’m sure the question of “why do I do these races” is swirling in some minds, and certainly the minds of their loved ones. I want to leave them with a quote by fellow racer Mayella Krause “The winter ultra world is small yet full of people who understand the hunger to move through a world where a single mistake can kill. We don’t just endure the wilderness; we seek it out craving the silence where we meet the hardest parts of ourselves.”

Meanwhile, 7 athletes remain on the trail, hopeful to still be able to make a push to Nome.  Twenty-three “Nomers” started in Anchorage, but historically tough weather conditions and a currently impassable trail past Ophir has whittled that number down to just 7 intrepid souls. 

Gavan is a 2024 1,000 ITI finisher. When asked what he is looking forward to the most while being on the trail he responded “being alone.”  Gavan is certainly getting his alone time over the last few days, as he set out solo towards Ruby from McGrath on March 1st. Making it 16 miles past Ophir on snowshoes, he ultimately needed to back track to Ophir and wait out the conditions. Ophir itself will give Gavan plenty of solitude. Once an active gold mining town, it is now only a few abandoned buildings. It is one of the many ghost towns left from the mining boom and bust in the Alaskan interior.

Herman (USA), Ryan (USA) and Erick (France) spent the night in Takotna, a small town of about 50 people. This morning Herman and Ryan both started towards Ophir around 6 am. Ryan has 4 finishes in Nome and this is Herman’s second attempt at the 1,000, DNF’ing in 2024. Herman met up with Gavan around 4pm today, and Ryan joined them an hour later. Erick Basset is no stranger to the ITI, having finished the full distance on both ski and foot. This year he is attempting on bike. Around 10 am Erick’s dot headed back to McGrath from Takotna, and he arrived in McGrath by 3:00 pm.

Back in McGrath we have Troy (Australia), Kendall (USA) and Mayella “Maya” (Brazil).  Troy has 6 Nome finishes under his belt, while Kendall and Maya “MK” are both Nome bound for the first time. Although new to this race distance, MK have proven to be well prepared for the elements, and both have plenty of winter knowledge under their belts. Maya has finished multiple winter races, the 350-mile ITI twice, and has backpacked from Fairbanks to Anchorage. Kendall is also an experienced winter bikepacker and has two 350-mile ITI finishes. Despite the seemingly daunting task of traveling 700+ miles on fewer and fewer days, we know the hearts of these athletes are still yearning for Nome. Certainly all the sacrifices that they and their loved ones have made throughout the last year in preparation to spend 30 days in Alaska is looming in their minds. In her pre-race survey, Maya points out that this race takes months of dialing in gear and going over scenario after scenario in your head to feel prepared.

As mentioned yesterday, in McGrath racers are enjoying the famous “Mancakes” provided by local supporters of the ITI. These plate sized, thick and dense blueberry filled pancakes are surely a welcome sight after long days of trail food. Gear repair/swap and sleep are also priorities as athletes set their sites on 200 miles of untravelled deep snow until the next inhabited town of Ruby. It is yet to be seen if our Nome travelers will wait until the Iditarod Sled Dog Race trailbreakers come through (a still yet unclear timeline, but hopefully sometime early next week), or if another push is made past Ophir by some adventurous soul willing to see if they can conquer the untamed expanse of Alaskan wilderness.

Photo Credit Faye Norby

Photo Credit Mayella Krause

Written by Jessica Roschlan

Thanks to Wild Winter Women - Allison Carolan, Amanda Harvey, Faye Norby, Jan Redmond Walker, Kari Gibbons, Leah Gruhn, Laura Wiesmann Hrubes, Lynn K Hall, Madeline Harms, Rashelle Hintz, Rebecca McVay-Brodersen, and Sarah Bergstrom.

Today was officially the last day of the 350 mile race, the trail has been quiet but the finish line was busy! 

We saw our last two women foot finishers, Sunny Stroeer and Gillian Smith who executed clean races and crossed the finish line all by early morning.  To finish on any year in any distance is an amazing feat, but if we haven’t mentioned it already, this was quite the year.  Congratulations to the rest of the 350 foot field coming in last night: Bryce Williams, Jacob Lankford, Luke Thomas,… and to the 1,000 athletes who made it to McGrath: the intrepid Klaus Schweinberger, Donald Kane, and Daniel Héon.

Around 10AM AK time our red lantern John Clarke crossed the finish line in McGrath. He not only completed the 350-mile race on his rookie year, but this is also his first ever winter ultra (after completing the ITI training camp)!  At 60 he says he is “retired, and living my life adventuring with travel and outdoor activities.”  Congratulations John, this should fall under the category of “outdoor activities.” 

While our 350-mile finishers were enjoying the traditional Man Cakes and no doubt reminiscing with fellow participants about the last 10 days, while sipping coffee under quilts, there is still a 1,000 mile race going on.  There had been no movement on the trail until the afternoon when Gavin continued his trek back down towards McGrath as did Takao Kitada.  When hearing rumors of the trail conditions the words “impassable” and “impossible” come up.  The other subject is the “trail math” conversation which is bad for any mode, but particularly crushing for the foot division.  With no trail set in, and a large amount of snowfall north up the trail, rumors of 45 and 50 miles average per day needed to complete the race in the allotted 30 days feels crushing.  

When will movement happen?  Any foot racers wanting to continue cannot wait for the trail breakers, who traditionally only come up two days before the lead dog team, as every minute they are stopped increases that daily mileage. Even though snow shoeing through thigh deep snow for hours and hours probably feels fruitless, some forward motion would need to happen.  Easier said than done, slower pace through deep snow means more calories exerted, which leads to more calories needed to keep said pace, which then leads to heavier sleds, compounding the situation, a 3 or 4 day crossing becomes 8 or 10.  

What about our bike division? If the trail breakers come through next week and it is passable, the bikes could potentially cross the Interior to the Yukon and gain some time back, the need for a good trail will be there all the way to Nome, as well as the necessity of being self sufficient and responsible, but it could be possible.

The difference between modes has never felt more acute, moving on the bike and walking, where a mere one and two miles per hour more can give you a fighting chance or end your race.  Right now we all wait, they wait on the dream of a snowmachine, we wait on them to choose.

Push through together with the cutoff looming?  Go alone, or go home? 

We can’t end a recap like that!  Last night was the first half of our beautiful thank you list from all of the participants, below is the rest.  If you are feeling gloomy, I encourage you to read through it.  Win, lose, or draw it is a really big deal to start this race and a LOT has to go right just to get here.  So cheers to friends and family, coworkers and pets, to those who had to listen for a year about counting calories, layering systems, and base weight.  This one's for you! 

Written by Kari Gibbons

Photo of Mayella Krause and Gillian Smith.  Photo credit: Mayella Krause 

A thank you from the participants: 

• Meg Inokuma: I’d like to thank all my experienced friends for sharing their experience on the trail, either as a part of the ITI or their individual trips.

• Michael Overbeck Cook: My wife, Giant-Norway, DerUte, Intersport, IK Hero, Backe, Deler AS, and My Mom

• Mike Braniff: Coach Janice Tower for sure!

• Mitch Dulleck: I would say Mammut, even though they are not a sponsor, they make Great Quality outdoor Gear! And thanks to Lynn and Amanda (tou guys know them both) showing me the way to McGrath! And my Family for their support!

• Natalie Taylor: My training buddies for getting me out in the wet uk weather this winter

• Nick Janssen: Beaver Sports, Fairbanks, AK!

• Nick Legan: Thank you to Kristen Legan of Rambleur Coaching (also my wife), Jay Petervary, and Shimano (best in the biz).

• Patrick McDermott: Taylor my wife

• Petra Davis: Yes!! To my family for their unwavering support throughout my life and this event, and borrowed gear. To my coach Janice Tower who has made me feel the most physically and mentally prepared I could be, also using her handlebar bag. To Tony Allen for multiple pieces of borrowed gear. To my boyfriend/assigned nutritionist for fueling cookies on training rides and ITI drop essentials and everything else. To everyone that has offered me advice and insights I so appreciate it especially Casey and Taz. Generally, I am so fortunate to be in a community that has supported and joined in my efforts not just for the ITI but throughout my life, may be solo on the trail but definitely a collective effort to get me to McGrath, I will be thinking of all my people on the bike.

• Scott Pariseau: My Family and friends who have all supported me along the way.

• Suman Baddam: Giti, Alex, friends and family

• Suzanne Stroeer: LOWA

• Tomas Vajdiak: My wife Martina. Family and friends. My colleagues to back me up while I am in Alaska.

• Tristan Carlson: My girlfriend, Harley. She's been incredibly supportive of me the whole time and it's clear she's proud of me for doing this.

• Vinny Mullin: KLM Gear -- my wife makes me new gear every year, including a beautiful new XPac sled bag with a U-zip and water bottle pockets

• Zach Anderson: My family is sacrificing a lot and banding together to allow me to be here. I can’t thank them enough. Now Bikes in Arden hills was also a huge player. Great people.

Thanks to Wild Winter Women - Allison Carolan, Amanda Harvey, Faye Norby, Jan Redmond Walker, Jessica Roschlan,Leah Gruhn, Laura Wiesmann Hrubes, Lynn K Hall, Madeline Harms, Rashelle Hintz, Rebecca McVay-Brodersen, and Sarah Bergstrom.

The days are stretching out now, seemingly calm from when our athletes were crossing the Alaska Range.  As those racers who made it through unscathed continue their way to McGrath, the calm is a mask for the ticking clock.  Now, as the remaining field make their way on the final stretch to McGrath, some will celebrate a finish, while the rest will need to make a decision on how to proceed.

In an unusual twist, the 1,000 mile race is being led by the foot division as most racers on bike have scratched.  We’ve been watching racers leave McGrath, turn around to come back. Why is this happening?  It is a perfect storm of trail conditions, mode, time, and what we are willing to endure. 

The last two years have been different than usual when it comes to this crossing of the Alaskan Interior.  From McGrath to Ruby lies roughly a 200 mile stretch of completely remote wilderness, and no aid or shelter beyond two safety cabins that dot the trail. 

In the past there had been a potential tent associated with the Iditarod Dog Sled Race that athletes could take advantage of (if invited), there are now no aid stations currently set up in Ophir and Cripple again (the same as 2025), and no trail set in.  This year anyone in the 1,000 who leaves McGrath will be tackling a two fold challenge.  The first and most immediate is that the trail leaving Tokotna has not been put in by the Iditarod Dog Sled Race, due to an unfortunate gap in the calendar. That race usually takes place one week after the ITI but this year it starts two weeks later. 

The reason for the gap between these two races is an unlucky calendar blip.  ITI is always scheduled to start on the last Sunday in February, and the ceremonial start for the Iditarod is always the first Saturday in March. Typically those two events are roughly a week apart, but this year due to the way that those dates fall on days of the week, they are roughly two weeks apart.

The leaders in the sled dog race are preceded by the Iditarod trail crew (ITC), who drive snowmachines down the Iditarod Trail; the snowmachine traffic has the effect of packing the snow and making the route more easily passable. In a typical year, the ITC crews would be on the trail around now, but this year they are not expected for days.  Even in deep snow, a semi-packed trail means the difference between waist or thigh deep snow and ankle deep snow with snowshoes on.  For bikes, it is the difference between pushing and riding.

The timing of the ITI sits in between two major events, the biggest events of the area actually, one being the sled dog race and the other is the Iron Dog, the world’s longest, toughest snowmobile race.  The Iron Dog will often pave the way, or more accurately, break trail on their out-and-back route starting in Anchorage, heading to Nome, and home to Anchorage.  This year they followed a different route to finish in Fairbanks, and the trail they previously set is now weeks old.  Lastly, the trail not being set in was one edge of the sword, the other edge is the large amount of snowfall in the area.  Any trail that had been laid by the Iron Dog, would have all but disappeared.  

What’s a girl to do!  Some have scratched, knowing the trail breakers are coming at some point, but unsure when, and after clearing the Interior, the racers still need to travel some 500 miles to finish in the allotted 30 days.  The cutoff to leave McGrath is at 2PM on Wednesday so simply remaining for the trail breakers is not an option.  Some are continuing on regardless, especially for foot division that simply takes more time to cross these expanses, forward motion is a must, even if it is at 1.5 mph.

Today we saw a lot of forward motion from the field as a whole and the leader of the 1,000-mile race, Gavan Hennigan.  He had left Tokotna and spent last night at the Ophir Airport (the airport consists of a small clearing in the woods, don’t get excited!).  After a short bivy he left early this morning and made his way onto the Innoko River similar to what he did in 2025 when the trail had also not been put in.  He did travel via snowshoes for sometime before getting turned around by yet more relentless deep snow.  

Further back our 1,000 mile bikers Ryan Wanless and Erick Basset had left McGrath and made for Tokotna, as well as two more foot division athletes, Herman Watson and Takao Kitada.  After Takotna is where the trail disintegrates, and we will have to wait with baited breath until tomorrow to see what they decide.

Kendall Park and Mayella Krause had a nice rest at Nikolai and have been making strong progress on the 50 mile stretch to McGrath, playing the smart game. They will have a chance to rest there before leaving tomorrow. 

On the final stretch from Nikolai to McGrath there is a strong line of 350 athletes making their way to the finish including Sunny Stroeer who has finished the 1,000 in the past and Gillian Smith who might just have that on her bingo card for next time.  On his way to the finish, here is a special shout out to the ever cheerful Luke Thomas, who has a good thought for anyone wanting to try this race, “The trail is magic” and I think that is true, and if you can get through the high winds and plunging mercury, the miles of solitude, the hours of unassuming company, then there is a quiet magic that exists for those who are looking. 

Congrats to race finishers since yesterday’s update: 350-mile racers Casey Bredeson (Cavalier County, North Dakota, bike) and Kristoffer Jonson (Seattle, Washington, foot), as well as 1,000 mile racers who have reached McGrath, which is only another checkpoint in the race of that distance - Troy Szczurkowski (Australia, bike), Beat Jegerlehner (Boulder, Colorado, foot), and Mark Hines (UK, foot).

As the 350-mile race begins to wind down, every person will look back at their experience, win, lose, or draw, and have stories to tell for years to come.  If there is one lesson we have learned this year, it is that none of us do this alone.  Whether on the trail or back home, there is much to be grateful for when it comes to our support group, sponsors, and cheerleaders.  We asked people to talk about who they are grateful for, tonight and tomorrow we will list them all.  We are all truly, Stronger Together.  

Written by Kari Gibbons

Photo credit Kendall Park

Thanks to Wild Winter Women - Allison Carolan, Amanda Harvey, Faye Norby, Jan Redmond Walker, Jessica Roschlan, Leah Gruhn, Laura Wiesmann Hrubes, Lynn K Hall, Madeline Harms, Rashelle Hintz, Rebecca McVay-Brodersen, and Sarah Bergstrom.

A thank you from the participants: 

• Andy Weinzierl: Galleria Bicycle for keeping my bike in great shape, and my wife for putting up with me obsessively talking about the ITI over the last year.

• BRIAN HAMILTON: In training my Northern Lites snow show broke, and thy immediately overnighted me upgraded replacements so I would not miss out. I loved this customer service so a shout out to this brand.

• Bryce Williams: My Mother

• Cayden Boll: Everyone who's experiences I've learned from in getting to this point.

• Curtis Henry: Tyson with Goldstream Sports and Apocalypse Design has been incredibly helpful preparing for the race. The Fairbanks Community and a few veteran racers have done a lot to convince me to sign up for this race.

• Derrick Seys: Inspiration and support from my wife Anne, family, and No Ride Around teammates. Tks to the entire ITI and supporting communities.

• Elias Miner: My wife Meg for supporting me through all the training, planning, and preparation.

• Frances DeBlare: My extremely supportive wife and my artist side gig DeBlare Designs that helps me pay for training, those “panic buy” gear purchases and race costs each year!

• Ginny Robbins: My huge support network, and the whole extended cheering squad! Also my friend and bike mechanic Frank Trotter who removed almost all my bike-related worries.

• Hilary Kunz: Jordan (hubby)

• James Mowbray: Family

• Jamie Hollingsworth: About five years ago, my family's life changed forever when my wife Teresa was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. She passed away this past May. Colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer-related deaths for those under 50. The Colon Cancer Coalition is following me in this race to help me raise awareness of the disease. Awareness and prevention is key. Please consider donating at https://coloncancercoalition.org/

• Jason Hutchins: Thank my wife Sarahi Ruiz, donations made to intrepid path on my behalf, and Old Elliott Provisions (my little gear company) because I relearned the whole sewing process to be able to make my own dyneema overboots for the race. They are custom fit and weigh about 9 ounces for the pair. I hope to sell them to other racers next fall

• Jason Mancini: My wife, Rachel

• Jason McDaniel: My wife Christine. She is a superstar.

• Jerry Palmer: Melissa my wife, always.

• John Clarke: My daughters, India and Natasha.

• Kenneth Bruun Jørgensen: My girlfriend for buying the ticket.

• Kristopher Kleine: My Family, Happy Tails Veterinary Care, The Hub Bicycles

• Laura Rushfeldt: Friends, family, Wy&Wo

• Luke Thomas: My wife Odara, the dogs Meesh and Hazel, and the cat Pearly.

• Matt Webb: My wife Connie

(photo: Sunny Stroeer)

Alaska changes you. Something about it gets in your blood and draws you back. Whether you’ve spent time on the trail, in the communities, or simply viewed its vast wilderness from a distance, it’s overwhelmingly vast and raw. It pulls you in and offers you the opportunity to experience adventures you can only dream of. It takes you back in time, for not even time can change the Alaska interior. If you appreciate feeling small in a big, beautiful world, experience Alaska. It’s simple and rugged, it’s harsh and unforgiving, it offers you something you won’t find anywhere else, but you have to be there to find out what that is.

This year, ITI athletes have been treated to a winter not seen in over half a century. Extreme winds and brutal temperatures have been relentless. Blowing and drifting snow make navigation difficult and progress slow. The eerie stillness of deep cold. The brittle snow sounds like glass breaking beneath you. The deafening wind that disorients your senses. There is no room for error on this trek. 

Regardless of mode or distance, whether a finish or a DNF (did not finish), this experience is life-changing for ITI athletes and volunteers. Each attempt or completion is a journey of learning and growing, more tools and knowledge for the next adventure, more friendships forged through shared experiences. If you haven’t experienced trail community before, this is what it’s all about. It’s a strange mix of being alone, but together. You go for solitude, embrace the loneliness, and walk away part of a family. You take care of yourself, and you look out for others. You are alone, but someone has your back. This is the delicate balance of these extreme endeavors. 

To sum up our race progress so far: the 150 is complete with seven finishers. 

Nine athletes remain on course for the 350 (cutoff is Wednesday, March 4th at 2:00 pm AKST).  Since last night’s update, we have had three more official finishers for the 350. Congratulations to Paul Turner (Molalla, Oregon) on foot and rookie Caydon Boll (Rio Rancho, New Mexico) on bike and Doug Amidon (White Mountains, Alaska) on ski. Also on the final stretch to McGrath in the 350-mile race tonight is Casey Bredeson (Cavalier County, North Dakota, bike) and Kristoffer Jonson (Seattle, Washington, foot).  

Also noteworthy is the strong progress of five 1000-mile racers who are currently enjoying a well-deserved break in McGrath - racers arriving in McGrath in the past 24 hours include Ryan Wanless (Sioux Falls, South Dakota, bike), Herman Watson (Bozeman, Montana, foot), and Takao Kitada, (Japan, foot). Soon to join them are Troy Szczurkowski (Australia, bike), Beat Jegerlehner (Boulder, Colorado, foot), and Mark Hines (UK, foot), who all left Nikolai today. Five additional racers in the 1000-mile race are resting in Nikolai. 

Gavin Hennigan (Ireland) is currently our only athlete pressing on towards Nome past McGrath. He is on foot, making slow and steady progress through fresh snow on an ungroomed trail. Yesterday, Jay Petervary (Victor, Idaho) attempted to continue on by bike from McGrath - he made 21 miles past McGrath and ascended a long, graded hill twice, only to meet deep snow, forcing him to make the difficult decision to retreat to McGrath and scratch from the race. All racers are hopeful that the Iditarod trailbreakers come soon.

We have four women left on the course. Sunny Stroeer (Kanab, Utah) and Gillian Smith (Whitehorse, Canada) are still going strong and making their way to McGrath for a 350-mile foot finish. After long, long days with little sleep, Sunny was able to spend some extra time in Nikolai today. She has done an amazing job managing the temperatures and pushing through fatigue while taking advantage of good rest when possible. She has one final 47-mile push to the finish.  Go get it, Sunny!  Gillian has shown a steady, strong style throughout her race. She is an ITI veteran, having done the 350 on a bike last year. This is her first time attempting it on foot, and she is crushing it. Her pace has been consistent, and we’ve heard that she’s feeling great. In the 1000-mile race, Team Kendall and Maya are on a bike working together to traverse the miles to Nome. They spent a little extra time at Bear Creek cabin today solving a leaky tire, but they both made good time and arrived in Nikolai this evening.

The Nikolai checkpoint (mile 260) is welcoming its final influx of racers as the cutoff looms at 2:00pm AKST tomorrow. Only four racers are still making their way there. Gillian Smith and Luke Thomas are less than two miles out. John Clark is about 8 miles out, and James Mowbray has about 23 miles to Nikolai.

Watching dots progress and hanging on to tidbits of info from the field has us all on the edge of our seats! We are personally and collectively cheering on each racer, praying for safety, and rooting for success. 

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.

Written by Rashelle Hintz

Thanks to Wild Winter Women - Allison Carolan, Amanda Harvey, Faye Norby, Jan Redmond Walker, Jessica Roschlan, Kari Anne Gibbons, Laura Wiesmann Hrubes, Leah Gruhn, Lynn Hall, Madeline Harms, Rashelle Hintz, Rebecca McVay-Brodersen, and Sarah Bergstrom.

Photo by Ignacio Pellejero

3/1/2026

The 18th-century phrase "in like a lion, out like a lamb" describes March's shift from winter's bite to spring's gentler days. This year, March arrived in the Alaska Range roaring.

As previously reported, frigid air swept across the Alaska Range on Friday, with temperatures plunging as low as -45°F and winds estimated at 40 mph on Rainy Pass — one racer reported consulting a wind chill chart that put the apparent temperature near -107°F. A NOAA meteorologist volunteering in Nikolai (thank you Jonathan) calculated wind chills approaching -70°F at Rohn early Friday morning. The deep cold held firm through the weekend. Sunday brings only marginal relief, with air temperatures hovering around -20°F in Nikolai — and likely closer to -30°F along the river corridor.

But, as is tradition, we begin tonight’s update with celebration, before circling back to tales of the lion.

Congratulations to Ellen Humberston (Wausau, WI) on her imminent finish as the ITI 350 Women's Foot Champion! Ellen left Nikolai around 4:00 AM Sunday after a short night of sleep and made one final strong, steady push along the overland route into McGrath. While Ellen is just now crossing the threshold to ITI veteran status, in her pre-race survey she humbly named "self doubt" as her biggest challenge in race prep. We'd say she put that doubt to rest in a big way. She also reflected that "the journey of learning to support yourself and the confidence you gain is amazing" — and after a beautifully executed race in one of the most brutally challenging years in recent ITI memory, we imagine that confidence has deepened considerably. We are so inspired by Ellen's journey and can't wait to hear more from her in post-race interviews.

Celebrating other recent finishers: Tremendous congratulations to Scott Hoberg (Duluth, MN), winner of the men's 350 foot division and 2x foot champion. Scott executed a smart, strong race from start to finish. This victory was hard-won and well-deserved.

Congratulations to second place men's 350 foot finisher Jason Mancini (Metuchen, NJ). Jason revealed in his pre-race survey that he chose this event because his wife said "this would be safer than climbing Mt. McKinley." The jury is still out on that one, but by all accounts Jason finished unscathed. Paul Turner is also expected to finish this evening, rounding out the men's 350 foot podium.

Today’s additional 350 bike finishers included Jamie Hollingsworth (Fairbanks, AK), Michael Braniff (Anchorage, AK), Frederick West (Anchorage, AK), Michael Cook (Eidsvoll, Norway), and Luke Kiskaddon (Anchorage, AK).

Every finisher carries their own story to the start line, but some carry the weight of others with them every mile. Jamie Hollingsworth is one of those racers. Here he is in his own words: "About five years ago, my family's life changed forever when my wife Teresa was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. She passed away this past May. Colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer-related deaths for those under 50. The struggle to get to this race is nothing compared to what people go through with colorectal cancer. If I can impact one person, all my training has been worth it. The Colon Cancer Coalition is following me in this race to help raise awareness, as awareness and prevention is key. Please consider donating at coloncancercoalition.org." Jamie, we are in awe of your strength on and off the trail. Thank you for inspiring us with a race with such purpose.

Behind these finishers, more are expected in McGrath this evening in the men's 350 bike division as follows: Mark Selland (Anchorage, AK), Cameron Lawson, Joaquin Candel (Las Vegas, NV), Derrick Seys (Geneseo, IL), Tristan Carlson (St. Paul, MN), Andy Weinzierl (Duluth, MN), and Matthew Webb (Farmington, MN).

Honorable mentions to Gavan Hennigan (Ireland), men's 1,000 foot, and Erick Basset (Caen, France), men's 1,000 bike, who both reached McGrath on Saturday evening, en route to Nome. Takao Kitada (Osaka, Japan) is also expected at McGrath tonight.

Still on the trail between Rohn & Nikolai four women remain: 350 foot athletes Sunny Stroer & Gillian Smith, and 1000 bike division Kendall Park & Mayella Kraus. We have heard reports that Kendall & Mayella slowed their race progress to assist other athletes in the past few days, but they are still progressing forward steadily.

As endurance athletes, we train ourselves to expand our capacity for discomfort. When energy reserves are depleted, muscles are aching, and sleep deprivation clouds judgment, we may even tell ourselves: Keep going. This is temporary. Anyone standing on the start line of an event of this magnitude has almost certainly developed an extraordinary ability to endure hardship.

But there is a line.

When discomfort begins to cross into true danger — to life or limb — racers must discern which internal voice to heed and which to quiet. They must make that call while exhausted, cold, and far from easy help, and decide whether the suffering of the moment is truly temporary — or something more lasting.

One racer, arriving in Rohn on Friday evening before scratching, put it plainly: "I had to make the tough decision to scratch at Rohn. I'm trying to learn the difference between suffering and causing permanent injury." That distinction lies at the heart of winter ultra-endurance sport.

Today, the scratch list stands at 47 experienced winter athletes. We've received reports of cold-related injuries and racers requiring assistance from fellow competitors on the trail — most of the injuries were caught early by athletes who trusted their instincts and made difficult but wise decisions to end their races. We wish each of them a smooth recovery and hold their decisions in deep respect.

We heard today from Tracie Curry, women's 350 ski division athlete and reigning 2025 ski champion, who scratched last evening in Rohn. She shared that this year was a learning experience, but she is already planning to give it another shot. We have no doubt she will.

It's been said that nothing in life is certain but death and taxes. Wilderness adventurers might add a third: nature always bats last. Those who venture deep into remote wilderness understand this unspoken agreement — conditions may be serene or severe, and they can change in an instant. We cannot dictate what the landscape delivers; we can only respond with the tools, judgment, and preparation we carry. And sometimes, the very systems that worked flawlessly in one race fail us in the next.

Winter racing resists predictability. The variables are staggering: metabolism, blood sugar, hydration, electrolyte balance, accumulated fatigue, sleep deprivation, temperature swings, wind, precipitation, trail softness, snow age, glide, physiologic stress, wildlife encounters, and an endless matrix of gear decisions. Even for veterans who have finished the ITI many times, it is nearly impossible to have the same race twice.

Nearly every iteration of the ITI brings at least a few days of harrowing weather or trail conditions. This year stands apart. The deep freeze paired with ground blizzard conditions arrived precisely when the largest concentration of athletes across all divisions were stretched over more than 125 miles of remote trail — a section combining higher elevations, exposed terrain, and technically demanding travel through remote mountain wilderness.

To even stand on the start line, racers complete challenging qualifying events, submit detailed applications, and accept race rules stating that "evacuations and medical services, if necessary, are solely the athlete's responsibility" and that "you, alone, are responsible for the consequences of your decisions while participating in the ITI." Preparation, sound decision-making, and self-reliance are not optional — they are foundational. A coordinated evacuation of a large field across that distance and terrain is simply not feasible. Each athlete carries not only their gear, but the responsibility for their own judgment — and the will to help a fellow athlete should the need arise in spite of every athlete’s best preparation.

The lion has indeed been loud these past few days. The decisions made in its presence have required clarity, humility, and a different kind of courage. For the 'Nomers' who may head out soon beyond McGrath, 700 miles of trail still remain, with weeks of unknown conditions ahead. No one knows whether the lion will continue to roar through the interior and to the coast, or whether the lamb will make an early appearance, but it may not matter much. They have likely already accepted that nature bats last, and that they must take in stride whatever they are given each day on the trail.

Update written by Allison Carolan

Thanks to Wild Winter Women - Amanda Harvey, Faye Norby, Jan Redmond Walker, Jessica Roschlan, Kari Anne Gibbons, Laura Wiesmann Hrubes, Leah Gruhn, Lynn K Hall, Madeline Harms, Rashelle Hintz, Rebecca McVay-Brodersen, and Sarah Bergstrom.

Sunlight through the trees (photo: Zach Pavlik)

It’s been cold, especially overnight, and there has been a full house at Bear Creek Cabin and Rohn. This morning at Rohn, the wind chill was recorded at -70°F, with an air temperature of -35°F and a wind speed of 23 mph. Given these intense conditions (even for ITI standards), athletes need extra rest and may be reluctant to head out and into the elements. At this point, it’s a mind game as well as a physical one that racers must battle. The body and its central governor want to protect us from danger and injury, and overriding those strong signals to stop is incredibly difficult. At the same time, cold-related injuries are a real threat on the course this year. Some racers have been affected by cold injuries or other cold-related impacts, while others have scratched to avoid the risk of cold injury. 

Tracie Currie (Fairbanks, Alaska; 350 ski) was one athlete who made the prudent decision to drop today. Tracie is the women’s record holder and defending champion for the 350 ski. She is also an amazing human and an inspiration to us all, and we very much hope to see her back soon.

Jay Petervary has been the only of the 1,000 mi bikers to have left McGrath so far, and he has made it 19 miles to the next village of Takotna. Takotna is the last inhabited village before the 170-mile stretch to Ruby. Because this 170-mile stretch between villages is uninhabited and runs through ghost towns and historic mining districts, the trail does not have regular snowmachine traffic. At this time it is unclear (to the WWW authors anyway) if there has been any snowmachine traffic there since the Iron Dog race passed through the trail there a couple of weeks ago. In the past week, the area received a foot of snow, and the sense among the racers is that there may be feet of unpacked snow. Any travel through this area is expected to be exceptionally slow and challenging, and it remains to be seen whether the route is passable by the racers.

Meanwhile, the women’s 350-mile foot leader, Ellen Humberston, is within two miles of Nikolai (mi 259) and has been moving steadily all day through exceptionally tough conditions. She has a huge lead on the rest of the women’s field. Ellen, an ITI rookie, but no stranger to winter ultra-endurance races, stated in her pre-race survey, “I crave the all encompassing nature of an adventure like this (and other winter ultras) - where life gets pretty damn simple and you only focus on staying warm, eating/drinking, maybe moving forward, and appreciating the incredible beauty of the world around us. As a human, I can get caught up in a lot of dumb drama, and winter adventures give me a new perspective.” We imagine that she is getting exactly the experience she hoped for on the Iditarod trail. As for the rest of the women’s field, Sunny Stroeer is the second female at mile 217, Gillian Smith is in third at mile 210, and Carol Seppilu is at mile 198.

Scott Hoberg (Duluth, Minnesota) is leading the men’s 350-mile foot race and is just four miles away from the finish line in McGrath; three miles behind him is Gavan Hennigan (Ireland), who continues to lead the men’s 1,000-mile foot race.

Kendall Park and Mayella Krause (1,000 bike) are still resting in Rohn. Word is that they are considering a midnight departure. It can be difficult to find the trail out of Rohn, so most racers try to leave in daylight. An athlete must constantly weigh the pros and cons of getting adequate rest versus departing at an optimal time of day at these checkpoints, especially when they may not reach another warm place to rest for several days.

Congrats to race finishers since yesterday’s update -

• 350 ski - Tucker Costain (Fairbanks, Alaska), who arrived last night for the WIN on skis!

• 350 bike - Pavel Machacek (Czech Republic)

Now that the 150-mile race has concluded, we’d like to share sponsors, brands, or people that the racers in that distance want to thank for getting them out there:

• Dave Walker: My wife, Gussie, has been so supportive. I can't thank her enough. Thanks also to my friend, Brian, for traveling to Alaska with me and accompanying me on my reconnaissance of a good route to the first checkpoint.

• Jen Novobilski: My run group for being patient while I practiced lighting my stove on every weekend long run!

• Jim Ryan: I owe my slippery slope into winter ultras to my friend Chris Ragsdale. Thanks Chris…I think.

For some racers, this is a vacation (or to be fair, at least it is how they choose to spend their vacation time from work), but for others, they have made this race about something much bigger than themselves. Given that Ryan Haug (Fargo, North Dakota, bike, 350, finished on Thursday evening) is in Alaska and on a part of the Iditarod trail, he thought it would be a good time to do a fundraiser for Homeward Animal Shelter in the spirit of the famous sled dog race! The staff and volunteers there work tirelessly to ensure the animals are cared for and find their forever homes. Please consider donating at https://www.homewardonline.org/welcome.html.

Stay tuned for more updates and stories from the trail!

Written by Madeline Harms, 7:25 PM AKST

Thanks to Wild Winter Women - Allison Carolan, Amanda Harvey, Faye Norby, Jan Redmond Walker, Jessica Roschlan, Kari Anne Gibbons, Laura Wiesmann Hrubes, Leah Gruhn, Lynn Hall, Rashelle Hintz, Rebecca McVay-Brodersen, and Sarah Bergstrom.

Ginny Robbins, ITI 350 Women’s Bike Champion

Day 6, 2/27/2026

Oh, what a difference a day makes.

At this time yesterday, the first men’s 350 bike champion had just rolled into McGrath. Fast forward 24 hours and the finish line has been busy: 13 racers have now crossed in the 350, with several more closing in. As of 4 PM AKST, however, the scratch count has climbed to 34. The day has delivered both celebration and hard decisions.

Let’s start with the good.

Newly crowned 350 bike women’s champion Ginny Robbins of Victor, Idaho, may be an ITI rookie, but she’s no stranger to tough events. She’s finished the Drift five times (across multiple disciplines) and completed a Fat Pursuit. Ginny signed up for ITI chasing northern lights, big views, camaraderie, and the chance to experience Alaska’s lodges and communities. By all accounts, she found all of it. A self-proclaimed “puffy coat” and “pogie snack” enthusiast, this year’s deep cold likely made her gear preferences look like smart decisions. What an incredible ride.

Right behind her was women’s 350 bike second-place finisher Petra Davis of Anchorage. Another rookie who rode like a veteran, Petra has built an impressive Alaska resume from the Susitna to the White Mountains to the Kenai. She shared that she’s dreamed of ITI for years, inspired by the stories—both the triumphs and the struggles—of past racers. Now, she’s added her own chapter to that history. Her best advice to others considering a dream is to “Always go for it.” 

The 350 bike finish line also welcomed: Tomas Vajdiak (Czech Republic), Ryan Haug (Fargo, North Dakota), Elias Miner (Anchorage, Alaska), Ignacio Pellejero (Girona, Spain), Cameron Ramey (Boulder, Colorado), Cayden Boll (Rio Rancho, New Mexico)
Eric Thomason, Kenneth Jørgensen (Denmark) and Zachary Anderson (Apple Valley, Minnesota).

In the 150-foot division, the finishers included James Ryan (Snohomish, Washington), Joilson Ferreira (Brazil), and Thomas Keene (Clawson, Michigan). Earlier this morning, Jen Novobilski (Anchorage, Alaska), claimed the women’s title around 9:00 AM, with Sarah Kingstrom of Nome, AK and Else Rabou of Courtenay, France, finishing next. Strong efforts across the board. We heard that Sarah powered her race efforts on my Little Pony inspired High Chews candy for inspiration and good vibes, and that she loved them… until she didn’t.

Meanwhile, women’s 350 foot leader Ellen Humberston is just south of Bear Creek Cabin and moving steadily through exceptionally tough conditions toward Nikolai.

Finally, an honorable mention for the 1,000 mile racers who reached McGrath, which is only another checkpoint in the race of that distance - Jay Cable (Fairbanks, Alaska, bike) and Jay Petervary (Victor, Idaho, bike), Brian Stone (Anchorage, Alaska) with Tiziano Mulonia (Italy) expected soon.

And then there’s the gnarly…

Beyond Puntilla, Rainy Pass lived up to its reputation. Late last evening, a veteran racer described conditions as “insane,” noting that “so many people are leaving and then coming back,” and chose to wait before attempting the crossing. He wasn’t alone. A party began forming at Puntilla, and that cautious approach defined much of the day.

Overnight ground blizzards slowed progress to a crawl, with some foot racers logging speeds of just 0.3–0.5 mph. A post from Jay Petervary showed his thermometer needle buried below -40F air temp.

Some racers pushed on regardless. A group left Puntilla late afternoon and moved into the night, with 350-foot athlete Laura Trentini bringing up the rear. As conditions intensified, the gap between Laura and the next racer grew steadily. Several athletes attempted the pass only to turn back—sometimes to wait out weather, sometimes to adjust layers and try again, and in some cases, to end their races.

Five racers—Eric Johnson, Dean Engelhaupt, Jason McDaniel, Kendall Park, and Mayella Kraus—left Puntilla yesterday morning and ended up spending 15 hours overnight bivied in a somewhat protected stand of alders and willows just before the high point of Rainy Pass.   Bivying in “cold cold,” especially when bodies are depleted and stressed, takes a toll. They were not comfortable overnight, but they made it through. Eric, Dean, and Jason caught a ride back to Puntilla in the morning, and we heard reports of one flying back to Anchorage. Today what we saw was racers looking out for each other and helping other racers to stay safe. The conditions have been exceptionally challenging for this year’s edition of the race, and we have seen racers setting their race aside to take care of each other.

Laura Trentini also bivied for several hours a few miles up trail, then got moving again around 10:00 AM, heading toward Rohn just ahead of Mayella Krause and Kendall Park

Back at Puntilla, 350 skier Laura Rushfeldt made the difficult decision to withdraw. After brutal winds over the pass soaked her gear and drained her energy, and with dangerously cold temperatures forecast, she assessed the risks as outweighing the reward. In true ultra fashion, today marked a DNF—“did nothing fatal.” A strong, thoughtful call.

Mid-morning, the final pack of 350-foot racers departed Puntilla with the five-day cutoff looming. Gillian Smith, Sunny Stroeer, Carol Seppilu, and Hillary Kunz are all progressing steadily. Hillary briefly paused and appeared to backtrack, likely seeking shelter from wind and making layer adjustments.

In classic ITI fashion, Bryce Williams in the men’s 350 briefly took a wrong turn toward Hells Gate but corrected it early. The Hells Gate route—better known to Iron Dog racers—loops around Rainy Pass, adds 20-plus miles, and follows the Kuskokwim River with multiple crossings. It’s not a casual detour.

Beyond the pass, reports say the South Fork of the Kuskokwim River is plugged with snow—fresh and old—making for slow going. The swamps and river corridors of the upper Kuskokwim Valley are notoriously cold. With the Nikolai airstrip weather station sitting at least 15 vertical feet above the river, actual temperatures down in the valley could run 10 degrees colder, dipping into the -40s tonight.

At Rohn, there’s at least a touch of comfort: a new tent with space for two-plus additional sleepers and a bit more “luxury.” We’ve also heard a report that “Fireball angels” who went through on a snowmachine were offering Fireball shots between Rohn and Rainy Pass late yesterday, though at Rainy Pass it was reportedly “not worth exposing face even for Fireball.”

From Nikolai to McGrath, racers face a choice: the shorter overland route with more elevation, or the longer, flatter river route—which isn’t always in. This year so far, all racers have chosen the hilly overland route.

It’s been a day of podiums, perseverance, patience, smart calls, and a few hard stops (this time). The good, the bad, and the gnarly—all in 24 hours on the Iditarod Trail.

Stay tuned for more updates and stories from the trail!

Written by Allison Carolan 

5:00 PM AKST

Thanks to Wild Winter Women - Amanda Harvey, Faye Norby, Jan Redmond Walker, Jessica Roschlan, Kari Anne Gibbons, Laura Wiesmann Hrubes, Leah Gruhn, Lynn Hall, Madeline Harms, Rashelle Hintz, Rebecca McVay-Brodersen, and Sarah Bergstrom, Allison Carolan.

Racers sharing a meal at Rainy Pass Lodge at the Puntilla checkpoint (photo: Kendall Park)

Today racers continued to battle frigid headwinds and tough trail conditions throughout last night and today (windchill was reported as -50 deg F at Puntilla last night). As always, the wilderness does what it does regardless of the ambitions of humans traversing through it. After a long night resting at Finger Lake Checkpoint (mile 124), perhaps hoping for conditions to improve, Annie Connelly (Palmer, Alaska, 150, foot), traveling with her younger brother Michael Connelly, left this morning. However, both turned around after a few miles and scratched from the race. 

A finish is never guaranteed at the Iditarod. DNFs (Did Not Finish/Did Nothing Fatal) are commonplace here, especially with the brutally cold and windy conditions racers are facing this year. Other drops today included Meg Inokuma (Palmer, Alaska, 350, foot), who was reported to be at Rohn (mile 188) last night and was on track for the 350 women’s foot course record, Natalie Taylor (UK) who was leading the field at times during the race but struggled with breathing issues Wednesday evening, and Frances Deblare (Palmer, Alaska, 350, bike). Meg, Natalie, and Frances are all rookies at the ITI.

Meanwhile, other racers continue onward. Ellen Humberston (Wausau, Wisconsin) now leads the 350 foot race, and is nearly to Rohn (mile 188) after crossing over Rainy Pass in exceptionally tough conditions today. In second, Laura Trentani (Italy) is headed over the pass this evening in the midst of many other racers. Finally, the rest of the women’s 350 foot field are all within five miles of each other and are approaching Puntilla (mi 153); that group consists of Gillian Smith (Whitehorse, Canada), Hilary Kunz (Golden, Colorado), Carol Seppilu (Nome, Alaska), and Sunny Stroeer (Kanab, Utah).

Earlier today Elsa Rabou (France) had been leading the women’s 150 foot race just a mile ahead of Jen Novobilski (Anchorage, Alaska), with 15 miles left in that race to Puntilla (mi 153). However, Elsa took a detour off of the Iditarod trail on a spur trail, allowing Jen to take the lead. At this point, given that Elsa is roughly four miles off route, it seems unlikely that Elsa will be able to make up the time to catch Jen. Sarah Kingstrom (Nome, Alaska) was resting the past few hours at the Finger Lake (mi 124), which is now closed. She will now make the 29 mile to Puntilla (mi 153) and needs to arrive by 2 pm tomorrow in order to meet the time cutoff.

Leading the 350-mile race on bike, Ginny Robbins (Victor, Idaho) is in 9th place overall, and has been resting in Nikolai today and tinkering with her bike after the long push from Rohn without a break. Petra Davis (Anchorage, AK) is arriving at Nikolai after a push from Bear Creek cabin (mi 228) today. Bear Creek cabin is not a true checkpoint; it’s a cabin about a mile off the trail, but is the only potential warm place to rest on the long stretch between Rohn (mile 188) and Nikolai (mile 259). Some years there is no trail to the cabin, but this year trail breakers from ITI rode through with the snow machines and created a path that some cyclists have already taken advantage of. Athletes will do a cost benefit analysis to either take the trail and maybe get a warm shelter if there is wood and a trail; or keep pushing through to bivy on the trail. For foot it is a two day crossing from the pass to Nikolai, and water is available to pull from Sullivan Creek, which is just seven miles beyond the cabin. 

In the 1,000-mile bike race, Maya Krause (Brazil) and Kendall Park (St. Louis, Missouri) are racing together and going over Rainy Pass currently, bound for Rohn (mi 188). They have both completed the 350-mile race twice before but are rookies in the 1,000-mile bike. Earlier today, Maya was feeling a sense of confidence that she has gained since first embarking over Rainy Pass for the first time just two years ago, when she made the trek alone in exceptionally challenging conditions, really similar to what they are experiencing now. She knows that she can get through it. She drew an analogy to the experience of playing video games that are tricky and challenging, but this time through Rainy Pass she has the cheat codes and knows what she needs to do.

Tracie Curry (Fairbanks, Alaska) leads the 350 ski race and is closing in on Rohn (mi 188). Behind her is Laura Rushfeldt (Boston, Massachusetts), arriving at Puntilla (153), and can now enjoy the warmth and hospitality.

This race can be a wild experience in extremes, where racers go from dinner at Rainy Pass Lodge, with can be a fun party with friends, good food, wine, warmth, in a cozy atmosphere to the most brutal and exhausting conditions imaginable, going up to the mountain pass in -50s deg wind chills. Generally speaking, this trail can provide the highest highs and lowest lows. These contrasts between the challenges and joy make the moments of joy that much more special. These intense experiences, which are hard to find in regular life, can foster deep friendships and can keep many ITI athletes returning year after year. 

Congrats to race finishers since yesterday’s update -

350 bike - Seth Harney (Buena Vista, Colorado), Curtis Henry (Fairbanks, Alaska), Chris Olsen (Big Lake, Alaska), John Phelps (Montrose, Colorado), and Tom Kavanaugh (Ridgway, Colorado).

… as well as the first 1,000 mile racer who has reached McGrath, which is only another checkpoint in the race of that distance - Tyson Flaharty (Fairbanks, Alaska, bike).

In a challenging race such as this, not everyone who starts the race finishes it. However, getting to the start line and giving it your all is a tremendous feat, worthy of celebration. For those of you who did not finish your race for whatever reasons, you should know that we’ve been rooting for you and we’ve loved cheering you on as much as every finisher and you are an important part of the ITI family. Most of the folks in the WWW group have been there before, and we wish you the very best in your recovery and in all of your future endeavors!

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

Written by Madeline Harms

Thanks to Wild Winter Women - Allison Carolan, Amanda Harvey, Faye Norby, Jan Redmond Walker, Jessica Roschlan, Kari Anne Gibbons, Laura Wiesmann Hrubes, Leah Gruhn, Lynn Hall, Rashelle Hintz, Rebecca McVay-Brodersen, and Sarah Bergstrom.

852 miles to Nome, at Finger Lake checkpoint (photo: Maya Krause)

Today has been windy and cold. Really cold, and tonight the forecast is for temps as low as -42 deg F at Nikolai (mi 259) and windchills as low as -55 deg F at Puntilla (mi 153); at Puntilla, the wind is blowing right at the faces of racers going up to Rainy Pass. As per Maya Krause (Brazil, 1,000, bike) regarding conditions earlier today between Finger Lake (mi 124) and Puntilla, “Wind wasn’t bad in the trees, but in the open areas, the wind was really, really ripping and intense. Super cold.” From another racer on foot near Finger Lake, “Trail is good!!! Windy as heck.” as well as other words that are not fit to print here. The wind and cold were so intense today that multiple racers set out from Puntilla, only to decide to turn around to go back to the cabins at Puntilla to rest and wait for better conditions.

Cold conditions have also led to cramped and sardine-like conditions overnight at some checkpoints, with some checkpoints (e.g. Puntilla) housing more than 20 racers at times. Rohn (mi 188), on the other hand, has a strict first in, first out policy, which means that for racers arriving at the tent, there is a guaranteed bed on pine boughs in the heated tent, but it also means that when someone comes in off the trail, that it is time for the person to leave who has been there the longest. When that happens and it is your time to leave, you can either hit the trail or go and sleep outside in the -30 deg F cold dark night. Most racers will choose to get moving on the trail, even if it’s 2 am (which is what happened to Tiziano Mulonia (Italy, 1,000, bike) and others this morning).

Back on Sunday and Monday, the portion of the trail located in the interior, north of the Alaska Range, got about a foot of snow Sunday and Monday, from the pass to McGrath (mi 306). On Tuesday the ITI Logistics Lead Adrian and a friend drove their snowmachines from Rohn to McGrath and back for supplies. Their snowmachine tracks have been the only traffic to pack the trail from Rohn to McGrath, making travel exceptionally slow for the lead racers in that portion of the course.

The trail was so slow that bikers looked to be going at walking speeds going down from Rainy Pass, whereas they would be averaging 10 mph or more under better conditions.

Despite the exceptionally challenging conditions, we have a men’s winner in the 350-mile race on bike! This evening Justinas Leveika (Lithuania) won the bike race in a time of 3 days, 4 hours, and 48 minutes. Although a rookie at the ITI, Justinas is quite possibly the global king of ultra-distance bikepacking races and has had many victories and course records in recent years (including the Tour Divide course record previously held by the late Mike Hall, considered unbeatable by many). Justinas rode a borrowed Trek Farley, provided by the Trek Bicycle Store of Anchorage, and local Billy Flamingo's tires. He was very excited by the time that he got to Nikolai last night, since he had a ~ 28-hour push from Rohn. When he got to Nikolai, he was content to rest overnight so that he could see the last 50 miles of the trail in the daylight. He said that this race had given him a variety of conditions - good trail, then warm and soft, then snowy with a bit of freezing rain on top and then very cold. He said that he would be excited to see McGrath and stay there to welcome in some friends. Justinas, welcome to the ITI Family, congrats on your race, and thanks for the inspiration!

We also have our men’s winner of the men’s 150-mile race on bike! Yesterday Shane Cramer (Anchorage, AK) won the bike race in a time of 1 day, 21 hours, and 40 minutes. Kudos to you!

Tonight the tracker of Meg Inokuma, an ITI rookie from Palmer, Alaska, puts her at mi 139.5 but she has been reported to be going over Rainy Pass (~mi 172). If it’s correct that she is going over Rainy Pass now, Meg may be on track to break the women’s 350 foot record, held by Anne Ver Hoef of Alaska, who in 2013 recorded a time of 6 days, 12 hours and 20 minutes! Meg loves to meet new people and see scenery that she has never seen before, and she is thriving. Let’s go Meg!!

An additional challenge that has affected many racers has been route-finding. Most racers will stick to the Iditarod Trail most of the time, but there are lots of other trails in the area. There have been numerous times in the past few days when racers have deviated from the Iditarod Trail, and it’s hard to know if the decision to deviate from the Iditarod Trail is inadvertent, or if the intention is the hope of a shortcut or easier trail. In some cases, folks who follow a spur trail decide to turn around and backtrack to rejoin the Iditarod Trail, but in other cases, they have kept going forward on the alternate trail until it rejoins the Iditarod Trail. These detours and bonus miles can be irritating at the time but hopefully make for good stories later.

What are the women (as per the trackers)?

1,000 bike - (1) Maya Krause (Brazil) and (1) Kendall Park (St. Louis, Missouri) are together and resting at Puntilla (mi 153), ready to make a push for the pass.

350 bike - (1) Ginny Robbins (Victor, Idaho) is in 8th place overall, has had a heckova push from Rohn (mi 188) to Nikolai (mi 259) and will be at Nikolai soon; (2) Petra Davis (Anchorage, Alaska) is resting at Bear Creek Cabin (mi 228); (3) Frances DeBlare (Palmer, Alaska) is resting at Shell Lake Lodge (mi 103).

350 foot - (1) Meg Inokuma (Palmer, Alaska)’s tracker puts her at mi 139.5 but she has been reported to be going over Rainy Pass (~mi 172) - see above comment about the women’s 350 foot record; (2) Natalie Taylor (UK) and (2) Emily Humberston (Wausau, Wisconsin) are resting at Puntilla (mi 153), ready to make a push for the pass; (4) Laura Trentani (Italy) is on her way to Puntilla (mi 153) after a detour earlier today; (5) Hilary Kunz, (5) Carol Seppilu, and (5) Gillian Smith and are all resting at Finger Lake (mi 124); and (8) Sunny Stroeer is on her way to Finger Lake (mi 124).

350 ski - (1) Tracie Curry (Fairbanks, Alaska) is resting at Puntilla (mi 153) with Maya and Kendall; and (2) Laura Rushfeldt (Boston, Massachusetts) is resting at Finger Lake (mi 124), a place that she knows well from volunteering that checkpoint in last year’s ITI.

150 foot - (1) Annie Connelly (Palmer, Alaska) is resting at Finger Lake (mi 124); (2) Elsa Rabou (France) and (3) Jen Novobilskis (Anchorage, Alaska) are on their way to Finger Lake (mi 124), and (4) Sarah Kingstrom (Nome, Alaska) is resting at Shell Lake Lodge (mi 103).

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.

Written by Leah Gruhn.

Thanks to Wild Winter Women - Allison Carolan, Amanda Harvey, Faye Norby, Jan Redmond Walker, Jessica Roschlan, Kari Anne Gibbons, Laura Wiesmann Hrubes, Lynn Hall, Madeline Harms, Rashelle Hintz, Rebecca McVay-Brodersen, and Sarah Bergstrom.

Congratulations to Justinas Leveika, the 2026 ITI 350 Men’s Bike Champion, who crossed the finish line in 3 days, 4 hours and 55 minutes.

We are on day three of the Iditarod Trail Invitational!  There is now over 160 miles between the first athlete and last, if you want to think about how much of a logistical nightmare hosting a 1,000 mile race with three modes in Alaska is.  We don’t though, we are busy cheering on these dots and what a day!  We finished last night with some excitement as Justinas Leveika and Curtis Henry were the first to successfully cross Rainy Pass and safely get to Rohn, the trail was tricky for them but not too much time was wasted, in no short order they were headed for Nikolai with (maybe) bellies filled with Adrian's famous brats.  

Further back down the trail athletes were getting into their groove and taking rest when and where they could.  At midnight some were on the trail taking advantage of the firm snow and some found reprieve at various checkpoints.  At that time over 12 people were resting at Hooligans Retreat, which is an official checkpoint of the ITI.  Here they can order food off of a menu including a hot breakfast, and climb into one of the many cozy bunk beds in the cabins.  Carol Seppilu took 5 hours here to sleep and rest, after getting some unfortunate food poisoning.  This is something that can and does happen during the race, most likely due to tight quarters where germs spread quickly, sometimes it is a game ender and sometimes not.  Well done Carol for muscling through.  350 Skier Laura Rushfeldt also took several hours here before continuing on for a (most likely) lunch at Skwentna Lodge.  Fellow and lead skier, Tracie Curry made it to Shell Lake for a couple hours after some bonus miles, a few people have unfortunately continued to take this wrong path, it’s safe to say she will not be the last!  

Our cyclists had an exciting day as Ginny’s solid riding has now put her in first place, she had some longer rests yesterday and Petra had spent more time on the trail, but it looks like the rest and consistent speed paid off for Ginny.  They are not too far apart and worked together to head over Rainy Pass, which is always a good idea not to go alone.

Further back down the trail, for our two Nome Bound cyclists Kendall Park and Mayella Krause, today was all about strategy.  After getting to Shell Lake around 1am they had a purposefully slow morning, leaving later to give the trail time to set up and the weather time to wind down.  Oftentimes athletes will plan to have a layover at Rainy Pass lodge to wait for a weather window, that is a good idea but it can get crowded quickly.  Remember that sickness mentioned earlier?  It sounds like these two are playing smart and giving the field an opportunity to move on.  For the 1,000 mile athletes, they are playing a game of strategy, and longevity on the trail is the goal.  

Rounding out the bike division is 350 cyclist Frances Deblare who is still pushing on, she had an illness earlier as well and is all Grit and Go, stopping to rest at a trail angles cabin on the Yentna River as well as Hooligans Retreat.  Hopefully she is remembering her own words of wisdom: Dream big and put in the work to get there. You got this Frances! 

Moving onto the train of foot division folks, many of the 350 women's foot division has moved off of the Yentna and Skwentna Rivers and are making their way on land.  

This can be a welcome treat from the miles of flat river trail, and they will be consistently climbing until they crest Rainy Pass.  Sunny Stroeer has made incredible progress after a nice break at Hooligans, happy that the temperature is starting to drop.  Our lead for the women's 350 is Natalie Taylor, who is still going strong even though she also got sucked into the shell lake detour and had to back track.  She is tough and strong, and says thanks to her “training buddies for getting me out in the wet uk weather this winter”  What Natalie is looking forward to the most is the views, and they are certainly coming.  Tonight she will climb down the infamous Happy River Steps and then it is on to Puntill Lake, the views are coming, as well as the cold.  She is also accompanied by the lead foot division, and world famous in Minnesota, Scott Hoberg who quite recently finished another Arrowhead 135!  Meg Inokuma is behind them after a solid day as well, and Laura Trentani follows after, hopefully she got to see the sunrise after her rest at Skwentna and is eating plenty of ciocholats.

The 150 division started out together early this morning and still are not too far apart, with the exception of the speedy Annie Connelly. Jen Novobilski, Elsa Rabou, and Sarah Kingstrom, Sarah being the last of the foot women to leave the resting place off the Yentna River around 7am this morning, should all be off the Yentna River tonight. 

The rest of the field is a large train of cyclists, making their move to Puntilla Lake and over Rainy Pass, 12 currently including multiple 1,000 mile finish cyclist Ryan Wanless, those in their rookie year would do well to stick with him.  He has stories.  The climb up over the pass can be a dream and there is not too much steep trail, that is if the weather is good.  Today many dealt with a strong headwind, brutal cold, and a punchy trail.  It was not too much better on the other side, the Dalzell Gorge saw 1.5 inches of snow over a blown out trail, many of our riders resorted to pushing their bikes back down the pass.  Our two lead cyclists pushed their bikes out of Rohn, the official checkpoint and a humble tent that sleeps six, and from there have worked towards the biggest push yet, 70 miles to Nikolai.  Justinas Leveika continued his steady push, bypassing Bear Creek Cabin, and much of it was most likely bike pushing, trailing behind now Curtis Henry seems to have taken two bivy stops, one close to the Post River and now again.  The beginning of the Burn is quite hilly and very exposed.  Those traveling up Rainy Pass today have some cold to look forward to, the rest of the field will see a significant drop in the coming days.  The cold brings a firmer trail, the punchy snow on the river will be a memory.  It is a good thing these temperatures are coming a few days into the race, the athletes have had an opportunity to adjust to trail life, and be more responsive to needed adjustments, they will certainly need it going forward. 

Written by Kari Gibbons

Thanks to Wild Winter Women -Allison Carolan,Amanda Harvey,Faye Norby,Jan Redmond Walker,Jessica Roschlan,Leah Gruhn,Laura Wiesmann Hrubes,Lynn K Hall,Madeline Harms,Rashelle Hintz,Rebecca McVay-Brodersen, andSarah Bergstrom,

Photo credit Mark Smith

It’s day 2 of the Iditarod Trail Invitational, and it has been a blast to watch. Our athletes are going through the motions, and everyone seems to know where they are going for the most part! The start of the race to the Susitna River came with little to no navigational errors, and if you are familiar with the race, you know the first few miles have a spiderweb of snowmobile trails to tempt a wayward athlete. By late afternoon the long line of dots had moved out of the low areas and onto the river, and now there are well over 135 miles between our last foot athlete and first cyclist. 

After a short 12 hours into the race our lead biker and Norwegian Justinas Leveika was over 100 miles in and Fairbanks' own Curtis Henry was right behind. Currently they are making their way up the infamous Rainy Pass, but with some wind and weather coming, hopefully they will miss it and maybe take a break in Rohn. They are both skilled athletes but rookies to the ITI, so will this affect them? Time will tell! 

There is a respectable line of cyclists still making their way to Puntilla Lake, including our lead female cyclist (also from Fairbanks) Petra Davis who had a very solid day. After a short break at Hooligan's retreat earlier, she told us that she “spent the last 5 years working my way towards this event.” It shows!  Right behind her has been rookie Ginny Robbins, snacking on Chex mix, cheese, and ginger cookies hopefully. Ginny has done very well with resting at the checkpoints and then hitting the trail, getting a lot of purposeful miles in. Today the river has been slow but manageable at almost 30-degree day. Getting to Puntilla Lake is hilly, scenic, and filled with “woopdy-doo’s” – relentless little moguls that make getting into a grove difficult.  

Further back down the trail, 350 skier and Tucker Costain and last years 350 men’s ski winner, is absolutely cruising out of Shell Lake after a very solid day with just a two hour nap on the Yentna River. But getting to Shell Lake and a potential stop at the roadhouse was easier-said-than-done for some.  Leaving Skwentna, athletes have a long, low swamp to go through and then it’s on to the Shell Hills. There are a lot of small climbs in this section which will wake up the legs after so many miles on the flat rivers. A lot of energy can go into those climbs and not enough energy towards looking for the trail. We watched several athletes take a different route and then turn around, creating a seemingly busy track for others to mistakenly follow. Never fear fellow dot watchers and family members: this is all part of the adventure! Our veteran skier Tracie Curry did not get bonus miles to Shell Lake and has had a solid day as well.  This is her second ITI and this trail belongs to her. Our other skier, the always smiling Laura Rushfeldt is a few miles back and took a nice sleep last night before getting on the river.  This is her second attempt and she is really looking forward to seeing the trail after Rohn where she dropped last time, and she’ll have her boyfriend to keep her warm… relax, that’s the name of her big puffy coat! 

It has been a treat watching some fast and fiery women on foot lay out some miles today. After leap frogging for much of the day, Natalie Taylor is currently in the lead and Alaska’s own Meg Inokuma is a few miles back at a purposeful 4 MPH.

The men's foot division is being led by Jason Mancini competing in his rookie year. Jason has experience doing the Arrowhead 135 unsupported (twice) and that must help with his trail efficiency but the speed must come from his (exquisite) taste in food, the favorite of course is the Little Debbie Unicorn Cakes. Hot on his heels is 1,000 mile foot athlete and honorary Wild Winter Woman, Gavin Hennigan. Gavin is also raising funds to support communities affected by the big storm this summer, information here: https://www.givengain.com/campaign/iditarod-trail-invitational

Annie Connoly has been leading the 150 race for the women, and Sarah Kingstrom and Jen Novobilski have had great days as well. Elsa Rabou is right behind them. We are watching Carol Seppilu from Nome tackle her first 350. She was solid all day and is in familiar territory after completing the 150 last year. Every year, Carol is out welcoming athletes to Nome as they finish their 1,000-mile race, and now it is our turn to cheer for Carol so she can live her dream of walking home. 

Another household name is Sunny Stroer, on foot this time after completing the 350 on bike and skis, and the 1,000 mile on skis as well. Sunny’s super power is getting rest with big sleeps when she needs it, and she is showing her strength in the multi sport for sure.  

They say if you want to go fast, go alone, and if you want to go far, go together. That certainly is the current theme for our intrepid 1000-mile women's bike division, Mayella Krause and Kendall Park. They have teamed up and cruised through this day like pro’s, including navigating some squirrely river trail to enjoying breakfast at the Yentna Roadhouse. I think this team will be fun to follow! 

We are at the beginning of our second night on the trail, and cold will be coming.  We started our day with over 12 people sleeping on the last hill before the Susitna River, 10 bikers at Hooligans Retreat, and Justinas leaving Finger Lake before the sunrise.  Before the race started, we sent a survey out and so many athletes talked about seeing the northern lights, experiencing what the trail has to offer, sunrises and sunsets. There is an easiness that comes from multiple days on the trail, the hardiness and instinct kicks in.  They have already had northern lights last night, but the adventure is just beginning.  

Written by Kari Gibbons

Thanks to Wild Winter Women -Allison Carolan,Amanda Harvey,Faye Norby,Jan Redmond Walker,Jessica Roschlan,Leah Gruhn,Laura Wiesmann Hrubes,Lynn K Hall,Madeline Harms,Rashelle Hintz,Rebecca McVay-Brodersen, andSarah Bergstrom,

Coach Janice Tower with Frances and Petra!

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.

Kari Gibbons and Petr Ineman finished Saturday evening with a time of 27 days, 6 hours and 42 minutes, photo credit Rhende Mae Hagemeister

Thank you for tuning in to the final 2025 Wild Winter Women ITI daily recap. Last night around 8:40 pm, the final racers crossed under the burled arch in Nome - a bittersweet moment for dot watchers as the lively activity on Trackleaders fades away. We can’t really call Petr Ineman and Kari Gibbons red lantern finishers, with both finishing in a very respectable time of 27 days, 6 hours, and 42 minutes. Kari clinched the title as the 2025 women's foot champion, and Petr secured second place among the men, both finishing well under the official 30-day cutoff.

There were a number of notable finishes in the 1,000 this year. Kari Gibbons joins an elite group as the 4th woman on foot to finish in under 30 days, joining Shawn McTaggart, Laureen Hewitt, and Faye Norby. Joshua Brown and Petr Ineman achieved the extraordinary by becoming the first two members of the Nome “Triple Threat” club, truly an incredible feat to complete this 1,000 mile journey on bike, ski and foot. Erick Basset became the fifth person to complete it on skis, and further distinguished himself as one of few to complete the race across multiple disciplines (foot and ski).

In the 350, we saw the women’s ski record fall by more than a day, when Tracie Curie finished in just 5 days, 22 hours and 8 minutes. Jessie Gladish added her name to the Triple Threat club, having already conquered the 350-mile challenge on bike and foot before this year's ski triumph.

As we witness these last finishers stand beneath the burled arch in Nome, it feels very much like the end of the 2025 Iditarod Trail Invitational. Still, it is far from over for some, athletes will begin their long journey home, volunteers and staff begin the arduous process of buttoning the race up, and we, the Dot Watchers, try to get back to normal life albeit with a little more inspiration under our belts. Beyond the finish line lies a sense of community and camaraderie that defines this race - a bond nurtured by shared stories, perseverance and passion.

Fast Facts for the Stat Enthusiasts:

• Starters: 104 athletes from across the globe including Italy, France, Spain, Austria, United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway, New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, and the United States.

• Finishers: 92 crossed the finish line, an unconfirmed record-breaking number of finishers.

• Scratch Rate: Just 12 athletes had to withdraw, a significant reduction from the typical year. For example in 2024, 40 of 103 scratched.

We send you off with a heartfelt thank you for coming on this journey with us, and gratitude to those who have spent the last 28 days writing our daily recaps. On the back end we research, discuss, and exchange information literally all day long, and the reports can take hours to write. It’s too much for one person to do, and this year eight women whose priceless experiences and insights joined up to tell the story of this adventure as it played out. Though they need no introduction, we tell you a little about them here.

Allison Carolan is the ‘new kid’ on the WWW writing team this year, (and transparently not an ITI veteran). Though she’s only done one true winter ultra, she’s been running regular ultramarathons since 2009, and especially enjoys any human-powered backcountry expedition or adventure (the more remote, the better).

Amber Crawford couldn’t do the 350 for the first time on bike in 2020 and decided to do it on foot instead. During that race she hatched the idea to ski in 2021, and finally she biked it in 2022. Experiencing the trail in so many different ways gives her a unique perspective. 

Carole Holley started winter racing with the Little Su on a mountain bike in 2008. After pushing her bike for nearly 10 hours, she decided that if she was going to continue enjoying winter ultramarathons, she’d prefer to not do it hauling around an occasionally-rolling luggage rack. She’s since finished two ITI 350s.

Faye Norby has been winter racing on foot since 2013, having finishes at the Tuscobia Winter Ultra, Arrowhead 135, Actif Epica, and the 350 and 1000 mile ITI. She will happily talk about ITI 24-7; you are forewarned. 

Jill Martindale finished the ITI in 2020 with Petr Ineman and Casey Fagerquist, in the midst of widespread shutdowns and the Norton Sound sea ice breaking up, which prevented any other racers from finishing in Nome that year. Prior to that she finished the 350 one time. Jill enjoyed the generous locals along the way and hopes to return one day.

Leah Gruhn started racing in winter ultramarathons in 2011 on skis. She quickly bought a fat bike and has been having way more fun on bike than skis. She’s completed both the 350 and 1000.

Kathi Merchant and Erica Betts helped mostly behind the scenes, providing invaluable insight on this event, photo updates, sleuthing information, lending their perspectives and occasionally writing. Laura Rushfeldt, Sunny Stroeer, Carol Seppilu, Joanne Wassillie, and too many others to mention provided photos, check point intel, and so much more. Thank you to everyone that makes these updates possible.

Why do we do it? Writing race recaps gives us the chance to fully immerse ourselves in the world of the ITI, where we can dive deep into the intricacies of the race, winter endurance events, survival strategies, and all sorts of fascinating and unexpected topics along the way. Beyond the intellectual thrill, these recaps are a powerful way to celebrate the community and camaraderie forged on the trail. They strengthen the bonds between athletes, those braving the elements now, those who have done so in the past, and those dreaming of stepping out there in the future. It’s about honoring the journey, sharing inspiration, and keeping the spirit of the ITI alive. Until next year, we bid you adieu, and wish you the best in all your adventures.

Authors: Amber Crawford, Leah Gruhn, Faye Norby, Allison Carolan, Carole Holley, Jill Martindale

Petr Ineman, Kari Gibbons, and their ruffs on the trail, credit Kari Gibbons.

One of the things that struck me this year is how few people finished their journey solo. We had the Magnificent Seven, Julie Perilla Garcia and Karl Booth, Team Tanaka (Matt Tanaka and Janice Tower), Erick Basset and Jon Richner, and sometime in the next several hours, Team KarPet (Kari Gibbons & Petr Ineman). It raises the question, what is it about the trail, or winter ultra-endurance events in general, that fosters such strong bonds between racers? 

I remember a conversation years ago at the White Mountains 100 race finish line. Despite the exhaustion and the late hour, we lingered—chatting with fellow racers, watching finishers arriving, and savoring the moment. Family and friends who had come to see us finish were impatient to leave, or had already left, yet we couldn’t tear ourselves away. For us, it was about trail friendships—bonds forged through shared suffering and the rare, eccentric camaraderie of racing across Alaska's winter wilderness.

Why do racers choose to team up? For many, the joy of the experience lies in sharing it with others. In a group, there’s greater safety, collective decision-making, encouragement, and of course, camaraderie. The connection formed while enduring hardship is deep—indescribable, even. With these trail friends, we share countless stories and memories, from the snow machine moguls of 2022, to the shared struggles of skiing the ITI and its toll on our feet (mine still haven’t recovered after four years!).

In the weeks leading up to the ITI, I find myself looking forward to reconnecting with these friends—catching up on race preparations and spotting familiar faces as they trickle into town. These relationships, rooted in grit and endurance, remain a highlight of the entire experience.

It's impossible to discuss camaraderie without acknowledging the solitude that defines much of the trail experience. While some racers thrive on the relationships they form along the way, others find deep satisfaction in the solo hours spent on the trail. One recent finisher likened the trail to a self-help group, sharing that moments of solitude are when they gain the most valuable insights. For many of us, those solitary hours are an opportunity to connect with the majesty and untamed beauty of the outdoors—a reminder that we are part of something wild, capable of self-reliance, and ready to take on anything

After teaming up at Little Mountain cabin before crossing the sea ice, trail companions Jon Richner (foot) and Erick Bassett (ski) crossed the finish line last night at 7:15 p.m., becoming the men’s foot and ski champions with an unofficial time of 26 days, 4 hours, and 15 minutes. Erick’s finish marks a significant milestone—he is now the fifth man and sixth person overall to complete the ITI to Nome on skis. Remember that earlier mention of feet? They’re just one of the many reasons why long-distance skiing is such a formidable challenge. Congratulations to both Jon and Erick! As a side note, Erick has now conquered the ITI both on skis and on foot. Could a bike be next on his list?

Two foot racers remain on the trail: Kari Gibbons and Petr Ineman. This morning, Kari texted her mother with a cheerful "Happy Nome Day!"— hinting that they may not stop before Nome. Kari shared that yesterday was a wonderful day filled with bluebird skies and picturesque trails. They rested briefly at Topcock last night before resuming their journey at 4:00 a.m. We estimate they will finish sometime after 8 p.m. this evening, and we will all be obsessively refreshing trackleaders until then.

Hailing from Minneapolis, Minnesota, Kari Gibbons started competing in ultras around 2010. She started this year with two finishes in the 350. This included 2021 when, due to Covid, the race route extended to Rohn before looping back to Big Lake for a true 350-mile experience. The ITI has a special place in Kari’s heart for the remote beauty of Alaska. As she described last year, “I go out there to be alone in nature, and be pushed by nature, who may want to kill me but it’s nothing personal.”

Petr Ineman began his ITI journey on a bike, starting with the 350 in 2015, and returning in 2017 for his first ride to Nome. His accomplishments are impressive: in 2019, he and John Logar won the race; in 2020, he led the pack into Nome alongside Jill Martindale and Casey Fagerquist; and in 2022, he secured victory with a time of 16 days, 4 hours, and 42 minutes. It may have been after that 2022 finish that Petr caught the "Triple Threat" bug. Perhaps after four trips to Nome, he wanted a fresh challenge? In 2023, he attempted the journey on skis but scratched at Puntilla. By 2024, he completed the race on skis, becoming the fourth ski finisher ever. Continuing to make ITI history, Petr is now on the cusp of achieving an incredible feat: becoming only the second person ever to complete the ITI to Nome in all three disciplines.

The Solomon River weather station this morning reported -3F, with winds from the north gusting to 23mph. The forecast in Nome is for a high of 8°F, with north winds at 5mph and scattered snow showers tonight. These are fine conditions under which to wrap up their 950 mile, 27 day journeys. We’ll be back tomorrow for one, final update.

Author: Amber Crawford

One of the best aspects of ultra endurance sports is that it provides racers with a way to time travel– both literally and figuratively. We are now literally 27 days into the Iditarod Trail Invitational, and for 1,000 mile foot leader Jon Richner and 1,000 mile skier Erick Basset, 27 days will encompass a finish in Nome this evening! For team KarPet (trail friends, Kari Gibbons and Petr Ineman), 27 days has meant a journey of more like 900 miles and still counting. As these final four racers continue to close the gap to Nome, that may seem so close to the finish for us viewing their dots on a sprawling map of Alaska, but they aren't out of the proverbial woods just yet.

Erick & Jon spent last night at the Okitkon Cabin near the mouth of the Solomon River. This cabin has not always been a preferred stopover for racers due to the proximity of the much nicer Topcock cabin; Okitkon is more of a safety cabin in the true sense of the word - located near the Solomon blowhole and there in case of emergency. It is a well-built structure, but sustained damage in a storm a few years ago, and last year was in a poorly state, with a door that wouldn't latch closed and a stove that was rusted open. Locals have said the Okitkon Shelter cabin has been fixed up last year, and the emergency phone line to Nome restored; we won't know for sure whether these gentlemen had a toasty or chilly night's rest until they reach Nome. Erick and Jon rested at Okitkon from about 9 PM until 7 AM and then set off this morning for the final 50K push to Nome. They should find their way into Nome and under the burled arch sometime around 7-8PM tonight!

Erick is an ITI veteran several times over, having finished the 150 in 2017, the 350 on his second attempt in 2019, and the 1,000 on foot in 2022. In 2024 he scratched on his first 1,000 mile ski attempt but this year he appears to have threaded the needle. Hailing from France, it may surprise dot watchers to learn there is no snow in the region where Erick is from. He describes his experiences in the ITI as showing up to "be an actor in my life," and he certainly has acted these past 27 days! He shared that he will be looking forward to seeing his son, Gaspar when the race has ended. Surely Gaspar will be most proud of his dad for finishing his second ITI 1,000, this time on skis and during "the year of the tussocks."

Jon Richner of Marysville, Washington, has finished the ITI 350 and this will be his first journey to Nome. If you've been following Jon along the way, you may have noticed his "racer photo" is actually a meme with a minion pictured and a quote: "I decided to go for a jog today... as I set off, I heard clapping behind me, then I realized it was my butt cheeks cheering me on." While that definitely caused some giggles along the way (especially thinking about Jon hearing “clapping” and turning around seeking a crowd applauding him during the most remote and solo sections north of McGrath), I think we can say with reasonable certainty that if he hears clapping in the next few hours it will not only be "cheeks" this time. Congratulations to you Jon, and thank you for the laughs.

Meanwhile, Kari & Petr spent the evening in White Mountain. They had dinner at Joanne Wassille's place, a midnight feast of Caribbean chicken, moose spaghetti, and cranberry cake. Since they left this morning, they have been moving steadily after such incredible nourishment, making for their next rest destination which looks to be Topcock Cabin.

For those of us watching these dots from our homes near the 45th parallel, we've seen a dramatic spring emergence compared to the day on which ITI began, 27 days ago. The snow has melted away and migratory birds have returned. The moon has nearly completed a full orbit in 27 days. This merely underscores what we already know—27 days is a substantial amount of time to spend journeying under one's own power across a remote winter landscape.

While we dot watchers may experience this passage of 27 days time in increments like novels read, work projects completed, or even the transitions of seasons, the remaining ITI foot and ski racers might experience time passing in widely varying and even "trippy" ways. During moments, hours, or days of 'flow state,' these athletes may experience the bending of time and space. Days may simultaneously feel like they went by in a blink while also containing a week's worth of life lived. In the grip of this "flow state," hours dissolve like snowflakes on warm skin—athletes often report the stunning realization that what felt like minutes sometimes spanned entire afternoons. This temporal distortion, where time compresses and accelerates, allows ITI competitors to mentally process days-long journeys in what feels like compressed chapters, the miles accumulating behind them while their minds remain anchored in a present that seems to stretch and contract with each rhythmic stride or ski glide across Alaska's vast wilderness.

This remarkable mental phenomenon isn't just folklore. As psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi discovered during the 1970s, this state represents a universal human experience that is thought to be “the pinnacle.”

In Csíkszentmihályi's own words: "The best moments in our lives are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times... the best moments usually occur when a person's body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile."

In our hyper-connected world of constant notifications, dings, screens, and fractured attention, the ability to enter flow represents a form of mental liberation. Perhaps this explains one reason why ITI racers seek out these adventures year after year despite (or maybe even due to) our increasingly digital lifestyles. We're no longer just chasing finish lines—we're seeking transformative moments when we're fully present, completely engaged, and paradoxically free within the constraints of physical effort.

We have heard over and over as other 1,000 mile racers have culminated their incredible journeys to Nome this year, that there is a strong mixture of emotions when passing under the burled arch. Pride, joy, overwhelming gratitude, humility, surprise and also grief that the journey must end. For Jon and Erick, we wish you all of the best as you experience these emotions later this evening and in the days and weeks to come, and we hope you celebrate this accomplishment well. This journey took relentless, incredible strength, patience, resilience, and skill. We have thoroughly enjoyed watching your dots, are inspired by you and your fellow racers, and are grateful to have time traveled with you for the past 27 days.

Author: Allison Carolan (with intel additions by Faye Norby)

Erick Basset (ski) and Jon Richner (foot) - After an overnight rest in White Mountain at the home of trail angel Joanne Wassillie, they got a start at 8:15 am as per Joanne, they are planning to get to a cabin tonight and to Nome tomorrow. As a reminder, there are a couple of new cabins that ITI athletes can use: one is 18 miles after White Mountain and the other is between Topkok and Safety, roughly 32 miles to Nome. With the Iditarod’s Red Lantern finishing days ago, the Safety Roadhouse won’t be open for those out on the trail and they’ll have to wait to get to Nome for a celebratory burger and a beer. With just two bumps in elevation left to the end of the trail, they are nearly there!

As these two reach the Topkok cabin (mile 917 on trackleaders) close to 5pm AKT, it's early enough to continue onwards towards the cabin just past Safety, roughly mile 932 on Trackleaders - Okitkon isn’t on the TL map, and it’s not the greatest accommodations… versus Topkok with solar powered lights and charging stations for electronics. Popular opinion is that Topkok is one of the nicest shelter cabins along the whole Iditarod trail! Aside from the ability to charge one’s things, Topkok also warms quickly and boasts nice drying racks for one’s gear. Bunks, warmth, and so close to Nome - we love it! It’s so nice compared to the shelter further on, though we have heard reports that Okitkon has been cleaned up which may make it better accommodations than memory serves.

Kari Gibbons and Petr Ineman (both on foot) took off this morning after a quick 4-hour rest overnight at the Elim school, Team KarPet got an early start at 5:30 am. They went along the coast, past Walla Walla safety cabin, and to Little McKinley, which is the last significant climb of the race. It looks like they may have had fun sledding down the hill, with Petr reaching a maximum speed of 9.3 mph, compared to his average moving speed of 3.0 mph!

Petr is no doubt excited to make it to White Mountain, as Joanne Wassillie is one of his favorite friends to see along the trail. It’s very possible he can already taste her moose chili! He and Kari are planning to push here for the night. KarPet has less than 100 miles to Nome!

More good news: today marks the first day of spring! The spring (vernal) equinox brings 12 hours of daylight everywhere around the world. At high latitudes, the lower angle of the sun in the sky means that sunrises and sunsets pass through the horizon slowly, giving them light for about 50 minutes before sunrise and after sunset which must feel like such a bonus. If they were a construction crew, they would have sufficient visibility to work outside without lights for 14 hours a day. ITI athletes are really feeling the extra light compared to the 10.5 hours (of combined daylight and civil twilight) that they got when they left Knik Bar on February 23. Furthermore, since Nome is on the far western side of the time zone and Daylight saving time has started, it does not get dark until 10:07 pm (1:07 am for those of us in CDT, where Kari and Petr are from). If it looks like our friends are going late into the night, remember that to them it may be evening rather than burning the midnight oil like most of us back at home.

Authors: Jill Martindale and Leah Gruhn

Kari and her trusty sled on the trail earlier in the race. Photo credit: Kari Gibbons

Erick Basset (ski) and Jon Richner (foot) - After an overnight rest at the Walla Walla safety cabin overnight, Erick and Jon headed out around 9 am this morning for the trek up and over Little McKinley. They’ve been generally close together today, but Erick has consistently been a couple of miles ahead of Jon. Little McKinley is the last significant climb of the 1,000-mile race, up to an elevation of 1,000 feet and then back down to sea level. From there they went across the ice of Golovnin Bay to the town of Golovin, where they likely stopped at the school for a meal and to rest. This evening they are back on the trail, headed across the Golovnin Lagoon towards White Mountain, to the home of trail angel Joanne Wassillie. Currently, they are less than 80 miles from Nome.

Kari Gibbons and Petr Ineman (both on foot; Team KarPet, PetAri, Gibmon, Gineman - please vote for your favorite in the comments!) are on the go! After a good rest at the Koyuk school overnight, they started walking at 5:30 this morning, passing the 800-mile mark in the race! Kari reported that it’s been a beautiful day and a little windy. They stopped for lunch at the Kwik River safety cabin and just passed Moses Point, the location of a fishing village, airstrip, and Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Radio-Range (VOR). They will likely stop for the night to rest at the Elim school.

Weather conditions tonight and for the next couple of days call for lows down to 0 deg F, highs around 10 deg F, and a steady north wind about 16 mph tonight and then dropping to 5-10 mph starting tomorrow. They have experienced remarkably stable weather conditions for weeks.

Today we got an update from Larry, provided via ITI racer Gavan Hennigan. Larry opens up his home in Galena (at mile 545 on the course, on the Yukon River) for ITI racers and provides much-needed recuperation at a time when it is really needed. Larry reported that over the course of the race, he housed a total of 20 ITI racers overnight at his home. During that time, he worked 18 hours each day for 9 days straight. Racers would travel 50 miles from the village of Ruby before they arrived at his home; that trip would take some racers over 24 hours, and they would take a few cat naps or stop to bivy along the way. Larry reported that the walkers came in much more tired and hungry than the bikers. During that time, he cooked 60 all-you-can-eat Grand Slam breakfast and 60  all-you-can-eat dinners. He went through 14 dozen eggs. He bought them outside of town, and had to hand carry them through the TSA! As per Larry - “You should have seen the looks on their faces!?!! What a fun-exhausting 9 days. I  met men and women racers from all over the world. Some have come back year after year and are like old friends!!”

Author: Leah Gruhn

Petr (left) and Kari (right) continue doing their Winter Things as Thing1 and Thing2

There’s a Dr. Seuss book called “Winter Things” in which Thing 1 and Thing 2 (looking a lot like Petr and Kari) do...well, winter things. Let's recap what winter things our friends did today.

Jon Richner and Erick Bassett spent last night at Kwik river cabin and left this morning around 8 am. They made decent travel time, arriving in Elim between 3 and 5pm. They had a tailwind today, or at least something other than a headwind. Erick’s favorite things on the trail are music and Kit-Kats; will he still enjoy Kit-Kats when this race is over? We’ll see! In Elim, like in Koyuk, racers stop at the school. The Aniguiin School in Elim has a student population of around 100 (preK to 12th grade) and a staff of around 20. Usually, racers will stay in the Home-Ec room with a sink, some dishes, and a microwave. This may sound silly, but having easy access to things like soap and water to wash your spork and coffee cup can’t be taken for granted. Just now, it appears Jon and Erick are heading out after just a short rest in Elim; they are likely to stop at Walla Walla cabin for the night. They seem to be making the most of the safety cabins, which Erick says are his favorite places to stay. 

Last night, Kari and Peter arrived at Little Mountain safety cabin at 5 pm; Kari reported that the wind didn’t give an inch on the way there, but that the cabin had been stocked with firewood. They said the wind was battering the cabin all night, then at 3am it let up a bit, so they left early this morning at 4am. They arrived tonight in Koyuk around 5pm. Kari says her favorite pieces of gear on the last few sections are her pogies (big mitts that go over hiking poles or bike handles) and her goggles. There has been a motion to call them Team KarPet. Do we have a second? 

This morning's weather, where our racers were, ranged from -4 to -11 degrees F, with wind chills in the -20 to -35 degrees F range. Highs in Koyuk and Elim were in the 5 to 10-degree range. The weather looks more or less the same for the next several days, although the winds will drop in speed and won’t be as much of a factor now that our athletes are on land, or at least have land protecting them from the north wind during the short stretches they are back on the ice. 

You may be wondering, how does the Iditarod Trail Crew mark the trail? And what happens if the actual track of the trail disappears? You may recall that the Iditarod trailbreakers stay ahead of the dog teams and mark the trail with wooden stakes that are orange on top, with a reflective strip and a blue flag. You can usually see the markers in any trail conditions, with the caveat that some may tip over or be broken off. In bad weather, it is often easier to see them at night because of the reflective strip at the top. This is except for certain times when the conditions are just right (like late in the race last year) when there was a wet, heavy snowstorm in which the snow stuck to the stakes, covering up the reflective strip making it tough to find the stakes at all. In some areas, like by Shaktoolik and in the blowholes, there are also permanent, large, wooden tripod markers that are prone to stakes disappearing into the wind. For our racers, it is important to stay on the compacted trail and avoid thin ice or other dangerous conditions. The trail is almost always to the right side of the stakes, which is a handy thing to know when the trail is blown in and you are trying to stay on the most compacted part. Any side trails may or may not be marked by an X by ITC; near villages there tends to be more side trails that go to trapping, fishing, or hunting areas. Lastly, racers have a GPX track. Although the trail may vary a bit from the actual line on the GPS, depending on conditions when the trail was marked, at least racers know the general route and direction. 

The Dr. Seuss book ends like this:

Our winter’s day 
Was lots of fun!
Will tomorrow bring
Another one? 

We are sure it will! Happy trails! 

Author: Faye Norby