Travis Beals claimed 6th place in the 1128 mile 2025 Iditarod in the wee hours of Saturday morning. Beals arrived in Nome with nine very fast dogs in harness. At the present, Travis has the best time Safety to Nome – 2 hours and 44 minutes. Waiting for Travis at the burled arch were Sarah and Elias. After hugs, Travis took Elias and they visited all the dogs. Beals time was 11 days, 12 hours and 50 minutes.
During the arch interview, Travis said it was a hard race, it was long and trail conditions were challenging. His favorite portion of the trail wasn’t really a place but a daily occurrence, the sunset. While standing under the new burled arch, Travis said that he knew of the tree from living in Seward and was really impressed with how beautiful the arch is. When asked to summarized his race, Beals said he may have been a little too laid back this year. When the going was tough, Travis said he thought of Elias saying, “Go DaDa!”
Beals has 11 starts and 11 finishes with 5 in the top ten. His highest finish was 5th place on the 2019 southern route. Beals claimed another 6th place finish in 2024 on the northern route. Since his first race in 2013, he’s run the northern route, southern route, Fairbanks route through Huslia, the Gold Trail Loop and now the 1128 mile Ultra Iditarod.
Mitch Seavey has added another top ten finish to his list of Iditarod accomplishments. Seavey finished in 7thplace, covering the route in 11 days, 14 hours and 36 minutes. Before the race Seavey, age 65, told Insider that he would be racing, not just touring. Seavey is a three time race champion – 2004, 2013 and 2017.
Mitch returned to the trail after a two year absence due to injuries saying he felt good and was doing the race because it was hard. Seavey has 29 starts, 28 finishes with 19 in the top ten. His only scratch came in 2011 due to a hand injury sustained on the trail. Seavey’s Iditarod career has spanned five decades beginning with his rookie run in 1982. The Iditarod is a Seavey family tradition that spans three generations beginning with Mitch’s father Dan who ran the first Iditarod. Mitch followed suit and has been joined by his sons Dallas, Danny and Tyrell. Championships also run in the Seavey family. Between Mitch and Dallas they have nine Joe Redington trophies!
Ryan Redington arrived at the burled arch in 8th place Saturday morning at 05:07 with a time of 11 days, 17 hours and 7 minutes. The former champion of 2023 arrived with 6 dogs in harness. Since his first race in 2001, Ryan has 18 starts with 11 finishes including 5 in the top ten.
During his interview at the arch, Redington praised his 3 year old leader, Brady saying, “Brady really stepped up. I’m excited for his future.” The announcer asked Ryan what it was like to be mushing royalty to which Ryan responded, “ I’m really proud to carry on the family tradition along with my brothers and my nephew.” Ryan’s brothers are Ray Jr. and Robert who are both Iditarod veterans. His nephew, Isaac age 16, completed the 2025 Jr. Iditarod in second place. Isaac earned 4th place in the Willow 100 and the Knik 100 along with 7th place in the Knik 200 this racing season. Isaac has another Jr. Iditarod in 2026 and then when he turns 18, will he run his first Iditarod?
Ryan is known for his willingness to share his knowledge of mushing with both youth and adult newcomers to the sport. Over time he’s worked with junior racer Morgan Martins and also Iditarod participant Daniel Kline to name only two of the many people Ryan has mentored. Ryan not only likes mentoring new comers but in helping others build their teams, it’s his opportunity to give back to the sport. Ryan is another musher who has seen nearly every aspect of Iditarod – northern, southern, Gold Trail Loop, Fairbanks and the 2025 Ultra-Iditarod route.
This race was a tribute to Ryan’s ability to manage his dogs and adapt to their needs. He had 9 dogs on the line after his 8 hour Yukon rest in Grayling. Those nine dogs were his mainstay for the next 405 miles to Elim where he returned one dog with a little stomach bug. When it came time to depart White Mountain, Ryan didn’t depart right on the 8 hour mark but took a few extra minutes to gather his gear and praise his dogs before heading to the finish in Nome with 6 dogs in harness. It’s been said before – finishing with 6 dogs works as long as they are the right six dogs. Brady, Taz, Journey, Vrabel, Tyvek and Randall were the right six dogs!
Looking back down the trail, the veterans are all running ahead of the rookies with the dividing line falling between 15th place Nicolas Petit and 16th place Samantha LaLonde. Just out of Elim LeLonde leads Emily Ford by fourteen miles. Keaton Loebrich is the lone musher resting in Elim with Calvin Daugherty and Connor McMahon on the way. Ebbe Pedersen and Dane Baker are in Koyuk. Jenny Roddewig is cruising across Norton Sound at 6.1 mph toward Koyuk.
Koyuk lies 170 miles from the finish line in Nome. Will the Red Lantern musher arrive in Nome before the Sunday finisher’s banquet? Perhaps not. Even so, finishers that arrive post banquet will none-the-less be honored with their own finisher’s banquet.
