In this final Rookie Review, you’ll meet the final four mushers of the sixteen rookies entered in the 2025 Iditarod. One is a second generation musher, one studied astrophysics, one is training/running an all-white dog team and the fourth musher learned the sport in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan after being gifted a Siberian Husky. This being Thursday of race week, the musher meet and greet as well as the banquet and bib draw are the highlights of the day.
Jenny Roddewig of Fairbanks has been mushing for twenty years. This second generation musher rode in her father’s sled on his training runs when she was just a baby. As she grew older, she raced a few of her dad’s dogs in short kid’s races. As a teenager she acquired her own dogs and started running longer distance junior races. She’s a veteran of the Jr. Iditarod, earning rookie of the year honors in 2011 with 5th place, winning the 2012 and 2013 Humanitarian award with 5th and 3rd place respectively.
Jenny took a break from competitive mushing while in college. She met her future husband, Mickael Roddewig. The couple left Montana for Fairbanks in 2022 and established Sage Mountain Racing Kennel. They have a young racing team and enjoy camping and traveling with their canine family.
Jenny’s career racing accomplishments include winning the Race to the Sky 350 and 100, Eagle Cap Extreme along with numerous 100 mile races. She also earned 5th in the John Beargrease Marathon and has been honored with numerous humanitarian awards.
Keaton Loebrich hails from Michigan but now calls Fairbanks home. After serving in the Marines, Loebrich went to school in Colorado for Astrophysics then studied finance in Michigan. His life went to the dogs after a trip to Alaska. He fell in love with the state, met his wife and was introduced to mushing. Mushing has become his passion. Loebrich and his wife operate Star Gazers Racing.
Their intent was to do a few small races but after their kennel grew, Keaton could focus on doing qualifiers for Iditarod. He’s completed the Willow 300, Percy DeWolfe Memorial Mail run and the Yukon Quest Alaska 300. After finishing with the Red Lantern in the Quest Alaska 300 in 2023, Loebrich improved to 4th place in 2024. Prior to Iditarod 2025, Loebrich placed 6th in the Yukon Quest Alaska 550.
Mike Parker and his family currently call Eagle River home where he is training a team of Jim Lanier’s Northern Whites for his rookie Iditarod. Born in Alaska, Mike moved away as a youngster. Following college he returned with the idea of reconnecting to his Alaskan roots by doing the most Alaskan thing he could think of – mushing dogs and running Iditarod. Parker got his start out in Bethel. Local mushing legend Myron Angstman took Mike under his wing and taught him the basics of mushing. Soon Mike was competing in local races.
After a few years in Bethel, the parkers moved to Fairbanks where they maintained a recreational team. Iditarod dreams were put on hold while he built a career and raised his family. When the time was right, Mike’s wife encouraged him to get serious, get back on the runners and follow his Iditarod dream. That’s when he connected up with Jim Lanier.
Parker was back on the runners after not racing for 15 years. Parker completed his Iditarod qualifiers during the winter of 2023 and 2024. His final qualifier was the Copper Basin 300 known as the toughest 300 miles in Alaska. With a conservative strategy, Mike finished in the top 20 and was Iditarod qualified. He looks forward to taking the incredible Northern Whites to Nome.
Dane Baker grew up in Michigan and became interested in the canine athlete and the sport of mushing after his mother gifted him a Siberian husky named Koa. Baker started mushing in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan after high school, taking a gap year before attending college. He now finds himself in Alaska working at Alaskan Husky Adventures. Dane is apprenticing with Iditarod veteran Matthew Failor who only a few years back apprenticed with Martin Buser.
Baker will be taking the Failor yearling team to Nome. For his Iditarod qualifiers, he’s completed the Copper Basin 300, Willow 300 and Knik 200. His plan of taking a single gap year between high school and college has turned into a mushing career. Dane is very grateful to the Failors for their trust and the opportunity to experience the Iditarod trail with the yearlings.
The Ceremonial Start on Saturday is shortened from the normal 11 mile run from 4th and D Street out to Campbell Airstrip to a 1.6 mile route from the same start to Sullivan arena. None-the-less, Iditariders will enjoy an awesome experience as they glide along the route sitting in the basket of a favored musher witnessing the incredible canine athletes doing what they love to do – run & pull. Comeback to see photos from the Ceremonial start provided by the trail photographers. Just a reminder, update your Insider subscription so you’ll be able to catch the action from the Banquet, Start and Restart through Insider live stream.
