Charley Bejna and his team headed toward Nome

And so it begins! All 52 mushers have successfully left the Willow starting line and are making their way, approximately 1,000 grueling miles, to Nome, AK. Mushers and their teams will traverse some of the most challenging terrain that is beautiful in so many ways. 

Walking through the musher staging area before the restart, it was quite obvious that the overall tone and atmosphere was one of seriousness. Whereas some mushers seemed at ease and could be seen joking with acquaintances or relaxing, many of the mushers were zoned in on a particular task: dogs had to be fed, sled bags at to be packed, gear at to be sorted, and dogs had to be bootied, among many other things. 

You could tell is was almost time for the first musher to leave when hundreds of dogs began to bark and howl. If you haven’t experienced this before, you might be thinking that the sounds of barking dogs would be an annoyance; however, there’s something unique and appealing about this type of chorus that is raised by ambitious k-9 athletes who are striving to run.

Even if the mushers may have been stressed or nervous, once they left the starting line, you could tell they were enjoying every second of the experience. Mushers made their way through thousands of fans, all of whom were shouting their best wishes and congratulations. 

As is the case every year, the upcoming days and weeks will be spent closely monitoring the mushers as they travel along the race route and make their way to the various checkpoints. We wish them the best of luck and a safe journey! 

Check out some photographs from today’s restart:

getting the birds-eye view

Wade Marrs en route to Nome

Paige Drobny

Michael Baker and his dog giving a smile

Michi Konno and his team

Lance Mackey back in his Iditarod element

Ryan Santiago giving some high-fives

Richie Beattie waving to the crowd

captivating blue eyes

is it time to go yet?!?

Jessie Holmes

Shaynee Traska reaching out

Anna Berington enjoying the start

Blaire Braverman loving the fans

Aliy Zirkle sharing a smile

Martin Buser

Ryan Redington

Jeff King bringing his experience into another Iditarod

Jeff Deeter

Mitch Seavey and his beautiful dogs leading the way

***Teachers*** Pose this question to your students: Aside from the mandatory gear and the winter gear, what ONE personal item would you bring on the trail with you? In a well written response, state the particular item that you would bring and explain why you would bring it. Share your responses as a class. This will help the students get to know each other a little more.