Norwegian Joar Leifseth Ulsom made his third top ten finish in as many years when he made the burled arch in Nome on Wednesday afternoon. With the weather related reroute, Joar covered the trail in 9 days 5 hours and 21 minutes. In 2013 as a rookie, Joar finished in 7th place with the fastest time ever run by an Iditarod rookie. In 2014 he crossed the finish line in fourth place. Joan stands with an elite group of mushers with his first three Iditarod finishes being in the top ten.
Joar runs for Racing Beringa, an online education program for K-12 students around the world. Through the adventure of sled dogs, students learn natural and social science as they study the area from Alaska to Chukotka Russia, also known as Beringa.
Looking at Joar’s very impressive mushing portfolio, it’s not surprising that he’s finished in the Iditarod top ten three years running. He’s also finished the Yukon Quest in 6th place and has won the toughest long distance sled dog race of Eurasia, the Nadezhda Hope Race, not once but twice and is the first non-native of the area to win in twenty years. With those credentials, there’s no doubt that Joar has his sights on winning the Iditarod.
After Joar removed booties from his his dog’s feet, his handlers tossed a few to spectators. Libby Riddles, first woman to win Iditarod happened to be in the chute to greet and congratulate Joar. Many of the school children gathered around the fence were asking for booties. Riddles picked some up and handed them out to the kids. When she ran out she said, Don’t worry, there will be plenty more booties when all the mushers come in.”
