The 49th Jr. Iditarod, with eleven contestants is scheduled for February 28th and March 1st. If conditions remain favorable, the race will begin on Knik Lake at mile 13.5 of Knik Goose Bay Road then follow a 75-mile route out to Yentna Station Road House. After fulfilling the required ten-hour rest, the teams will retrace the route to the finish on Knik Lake.
While the field is smaller than the last couple of years, the seven veterans have an impressive number of Jr. Iditarod finishes and the four rookies are ready for the challenge of the 150 mile round trip.
The teens, ages 14 to 17, have dedicated a tremendous amount of time and effort over the years to train their dogs and hone their mushing, winter camping and dog care skills.
This is really where Iditarod begins! Since the beginning of the Jr. Iditarod, a large number of mushers have gone on to compete in the Iditarod after competing in the Jr. Iditarod. The latest Jr. Iditarod veteran to join the big race is Sam Paperman. Paperman ran the Jr. Iditarod in 2020.
There are three 2-year veterans competing in the 49th Jr. Iditarod. They have come to mushing through either family ties or being introduced to dogs through connections with other mushers.
Running her third Jr. Iditarod, Mckena Hanson, age 16, carries on a family tradition of mushing – a tradition spanning five generations! She follows the runners of family members who have accumulated 14 Jr. Iditarod finishes between 1989 and 2022 with a championship captured by her father, Brian in 1991. Hanson lives in Anchorage and is a junior at West Anchorage High School. She’s an avid hockey player and also plays tennis. While she hasn’t decided on a career path, she looks forward to attending college and hopes to continue mushing. As a Jr. Iditarod rookie in 2024, Mckena claimed 11th place. In 2025, on her second run to Yentna, she improved to 4th place. Mckena has competed in not only the Jr. Iditarod but also the Knik 100 and the Willow Jr. 100. Most recently she finished 4th in the 2026 Willow Jr. 100.
Second year veteran, AddieAnn Randall, began mushing 8 years ago. She had the chance to run Iditarod veteran Robert Bundtzen’s retired dogs and fell in love with the dogs and mushing. A couple of years later, the family purchased their first sled dogs. They established Rock on Racing Kennel where the dogs are affectionately called the Rock Stars. At one time, the family lived off the road system for 18 months and relied on their dogs as a mode of transportation between home and the road. AddieAnn, age 16, lives in Willow and is home schooled. She enjoys hunting, fishing, hiking, dog agility training, painting and drawing. Her future goals are to become a veterinarian, mush dogs professionally, become a bush pilot and own a solar farm. As a Jr. Iditarod rookie in 2024, AddieAnn claimed 6th place and Rookie of the Year honors. On her second run in 2025, she improved to 5th place. Recently AddieAnn placed 7th in the Knik 200, 6th in the Willow Jr. 100 and third in the SuDog 300.
Addy Pederson, from Homer, Alaska rounds out the 2 year veterans participating in the 2026 Jr. Iditarod. Addy has been around sled dogs since birth as her family maintained a recreational mushing kennel. At the age of twelve, Addy took over as chief of kennel operations. With the goal of racing, she began to acquire some dogs suited for racing. She’s been building and training for a few years now and is excited to participate in junior and mid-distance races. Addy, age 16, is a junior thru Connections Homeschool. She enjoys hiking, biking, hunting and training her black Labrador. She is contemplating a career in engineering and she intends to continue mushing. As a Jr. Iditarod rookie in 2024, Addie claimed 13th place and was honored with the Humanitarian Award. In 2025, she improved to 10th place. Recently she placed 12th in the Knik 200 and 7th in the Willow Jr. 100.
Come back tomorrow to meet the 1 and 3 year veterans participating in the 2026 Jr. Iditarod.
