Iditarod 2024

The Fawns 1st grade class at Great Expectations School will be covering the Iditarod and providing daily updates on WTIP. The students shared their daily & final update for March 15 about Anna Hennessy. Anna Hennessy crossed the Iditarod finish line in Nome yesterday!

After 11 days, Iditarod rookie Anna Hennessy has crossed the finish line in Nome!

Anna Hennessy covered the 975 mile trail in 11 days two hours and 39 minutes to earn 24th place.

She was all smiles at the Iditarod finish line. She told Iditarod Insider officials her professional background as a Emergency Department nurse helped her finish the race because she knows to “expect the worse and expect the unexpected.”

Photo by Iditarod Insider at finish line in Nome

The Fawns 1st grade class at Great Expectations School will be covering the Iditarod and providing daily updates on WTIP. The students shared their daily update for March 14 about Anna Hennessy.

Anna Hennessy remains steadfast in her Iditarod race. After traversing the Yukon River, from Ruby to Kaltag, she has made it to the official last leg of the historic race.

As of the morning of March 13, Anna Hennessy departed Koyuk (mile 804) and is headed to White Mountain, one of the last checkpoints before reaching the finish line in Nome.

She is still running with 13 dogs and is currently holding on to 24th place in the Iditarod race.

Once she reaches White Mountain, Anna Hennessy will take a mandatory 8-hour break before heading for the final Nome checkpoint.

In other Iditarod news, one of the biggest names in the sport, Dallas Seavey, came from behind after a moose attack to win the grueling, dayslong contest on March 12 for an unprecedented sixth time.

Seavey, 37, finished the 52nd Iditarod in 9 days, 2 hours, 16 minutes and 8 seconds and won just over $55,000 for first place.

Seavey’s name is found throughout the Iditarod record book. In 2005, he became the youngest musher to run in the race, and in 2012, its youngest champion.

Seavey also won Iditarod championships in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2021. He had previously been tied with now-retired musher Rick Swenson with five titles apiece.

Seavey’s family history is deeply entwined with the Iditarod. His grandfather, Dan Seavey, helped organize and ran the first Iditarod in 1973, and his father, Mitch Seavey, is a three-time champion.

Top five Iditarod winners:

#1 – Dallas Seavey – 9d 2h 16m 8s

#2 – Matt Hall – 9d 6h 57min 56s

#3 – Jessie Holmes – 9d 8h 18m 4s

#4 – Jeff Deeter – 9d 11h 52m 35s

#5 – Paige Drobny – 9d 13h 12m 26s

The Fawns 1st grade class at Great Expectations School will be covering the Iditarod and providing daily updates on WTIP. The students shared their daily update for March 13 on Erin Altemus & Anna Hennessy.

After racing 495 miles, Erin Altemus ended her Iditarod journey at the Ruby checkpoint. The Fawns 1st grade class at Great Expectations School, who has been covering the Iditarod daily and providing updates for WTIP, shared some words of encouragement for Erin Altemus on March 12.

The Fawns 1st grade class at Great Expectations School will be covering the Iditarod and providing daily updates on WTIP. The students shared their daily update for March 12 on Erin Altemus & Anna Hennessy.

It was announced this morning that after racing 495 miles, Rookie Iditarod musher Erin Altemus scratched from the 2024 Iditarod at the Ruby Checkpoint.

The Iditarod Insider officials said Erin Altemus officially made the call at 4:38 a.m. AKST today in Ruby in the best interest of her team. Altemus had 10 dogs in harness when she arrived in Ruby, all in good health.

A Facebook post from her husband, Matthew Schmidt is below:

Erin Altemus and Anna Hennessy are nearing the next leg of the Iditarod race: The Yukon.

Erin Altemus made it to Cripple (mile 425) yesterday at 9:15 a.m. She took a nearly 7-hour rest and then took off towards the next checkpoint, Ruby (mile 495). In the last couple checkpoints, Erin Altemus has dropped a couple of dogs – she is currently running with 12 dogs and is in 31st place.

Anna Hennessy is ahead of Erin Altemus in 27th place. She is running with 15 dogs.

The northern lights made an appearance last night and many of the mushers commented how beautiful it was. Travis Beals is currently in 1st place and Dallas Seavey is right behind in 2nd.

The Fawns 1st grade class at Great Expectations School will be covering the Iditarod and providing daily updates on WTIP. The students shared their daily update for March 8 on Erin Altemus & Anna Hennessy.

It is Day 4 of the Iditarod, and the excitement of the race continues!

After taking their 24-hour rest in Takotna, Anna Hennessy & Erin Altemus are back on the trail and racing toward Cripple, the halfway point of the Iditarod race at 425 miles.

Anna Hennessy departed Takotna ahead of Erin Altemus at 2:23 p.m. AKST yesterday, March 7.

Erin Altemus followed and checked out of Takotna at 3:02 p.m. AKST.

On the way to Cripple, Erin Altemus passed Anna Hennessy and is currently retaining the lead. Erin Altemus is in 28th place, and Anna Hennessy is on her heels in 29th place.

In other Iditarod news, veteran musher Nicolas Petit was the first to arrive at the Ruby checkpoint (mile 495), winning the First Musher to the Yukon Award at 10:08 p.m. AKST on March 7 with 15 dogs. He received a gourmet dinner prepared by Top Chefs from Locally Grown Restaurants. Nicolas will take his 24-hour rest in Ruby. He remains in 1st place at this time.

With that said, Travis Beals, currently in 2nd place, arrived in Ruby last night and is taking a short rest. He has already taken his 24-hour rest and is expected to depart Ruby shortly and will soon claim 1st place.

The Fawns 1st grade class at Great Expectations School will be covering the Iditarod and providing daily updates on WTIP. The students shared their daily update for March 7 on Erin Altemus & Anna Hennessy.

After racing for 329 miles, Erin Altemus and Anna Hennessy took a 24-hour rest at the Takotna checkpoint.

Each musher must take a required 8-hour and 24-hour rest during the nearly 1,000-mile Iditarod race. Some mushers take their 24-hour in McGrath, Takotna, while more veteran mushers continue farther to Ophir (mile 352) or Cripple (mile 425).

For the first time in the race, Anna Hennessy passed Erin Altemus between McGrath and Takotna.

Anna Hennessy arrived in Takotna about 30 minutes before Erin Altemus at 1:43 p.m. AKST. She is currently in 25th place.

Erin Altemus then arrived in Takotna at 2:13 p.m. AKST yesterday. She is currently in 26th place.

Upon arriving in Takotna, Anna Hennessy was greeted and officially checked in by her dad, Mark Hennessy. In an interview with Iditarod Inside officials, he said seeing her arrive tugged at his heartstrings. He said seeing her enjoying the Iditarod race was a proud dad moment.

Erin Altemus and Anna Hennessy are among the leading rookies in the Iditarod race as of March 7. The top five rookie standings at this time are:
#1 – Sean Williams – currently in Ophir (mile 352) running with 14 dogs
#2 – Gabe Dunham – currently in Takotna (mile 329) running with 16 dogs
#3 – Anna Hennessy – currently in Takotna running with 15 dogs
#4 – Erin Altemus – currently in Takotna running with 15 dogs
#5 – Will Rhodes – currently in Takotna running with 15 dogs

In other Iditarod news, five-time Iditarod winner Dallas Seavey was the first musher to arrive in Cripple, the halfway point of the Iditarod race. He won the GCI Dorothy G. Page Halfway Award, which included $3000 in gold nuggets.

Following the encounter and dispatch of a moose near Skwenta, Dallas Seavey was penalized for a Rule 34 infraction regarding the dispatch of the moose. Rule 34 states that if a big game animal is killed in self-defense, the musher must gut the animal and report the incident to a race official at the next checkpoint.

Iditarod Race Marshal Warren Palfrey convened a three-person panel comprised of race officials to examine the moose and discuss the incident. After further investigation, it was determined that, as per Rule 34, Dallas Seavey did not sufficiently gut the moose. Gutting or field dressing is when a musher removes the intestines and other internal organs.

Ultimately, the panel decided to penalize Dallas Seavey with a 2-hour time penalty, which will be added to his 24-hour rest.

The Fawns 1st grade class at Great Expectations School will be covering the Iditarod and providing daily updates on WTIP. The students shared their daily update for March 6 on Erin Altemus & Anna Hennessy.

The Iditarod excitement continues!

Erin Altemus arrived in Nikolai (mile 263) at 6:39 p.m. AKST last night, March 5. After resting for for a nearly six hours, she departed Nikolai at 2:55 a.m. and took off for McGrath, the next checkpoint 48 miles ahead.

After McGrath, the next checkpoint is Takotna (mile 329). Takotna is situated on the banks of the Takotna River and is one of the smallest towns with one of the biggest welcomes. As of the morning of March 6 – Erin Altemus remains in 27th place.

Anna Hennessy arrived in Nikolai shortly after Erin Altemus at 11:15 p.m. AKST. After taking some time to rest, Anna Hennessy departed Nikolai at 5:01 a.m. AKST. Anna Hennessy remains in 29th place.

Iditarod Inside officials said that most mushers will begin preparing to take their mandatory 24 hour rest in the next 3-4 checkpoints. Some mushers might take their 24 hour rest in McGrath, while others will continue on and stop in Takotna, Ophir, or Cripple.

In an interview at Nikolai with Iditarod officials, five-time Iditarod winner Dallas Seavey said that the first third of the race – up until Nikolai is about putting the team together and progressing safely.

Then, the next third of the race is about focusing on positioning. During this phase, he said he can get a better idea of who the competition is.

He said his goals are to: #1 –  maximize his teams strengths & simultaneously avoid their weaknesses. And #2 – make people play the game that draws them away from what they should be doing.

He said, “I’ve got enough tools in the tool box. Now I just have to wait and see who I’m racing.”

Dallas Seavey is in second place, following close behind leader Jessie Holmes.

The Fawns 1st grade class at Great Expectations School will be covering the Iditarod and providing daily updates on WTIP. The students shared their daily update on Erin Altemus & Anna Hennessy on March 5.

Erin Altemus entered Rohn at 3:07 a.m. AKST (6:07 a.m. Central Time) on March 5. She began the race with 16 dogs, but has dropped one dog along the way. She is currently running with 15 dogs. As of 5:35 a.m. AKST she is resting in Rohn. She currently sits in 27th place.

Anna Hennessy made it to Rohn about a half an hour behind Altemus. Hennessy arrived in Rohn at 3:38 a.m. AKST. She also dropped one dog and is running with 15 dogs. Hennessy is currently in 28th place.

Hennessy looked upbeat in an interview with Iditarod Inside officials at the Rainy Pass checkpoint late in the evening on March 4. She said at Rainy Pass that so far the trail has been “great and challenging in some sections.” The most challenging section, she said, was leaving Skwentna.

The Rohn checkpoint is mile 188. There are 787 miles yet to go!

It has been an exciting day on the Iditarod trail for many of the mushers.

The Iditarod mushers have been making their way from Willow, to Yenta, to Skwenta, to Finger Lake, and now Rainy Pass.

Earlier this morning, one of the mushers, Dallas Seavey encountered a moose 14 miles outside of Skwenta checkpoint while on his way to the Finger Lake checkpoint.

As for Erin Altemus, she spent sometime at Skwenta, then progressed to Finger Lake checkpoint where she has remained for the majority of the afternoon. In an interview with Iditarod officials at Finger Lake she described the trail into Finger Lake as the “punchiest trail I’ve ever seen.” She said her sled tipped over twice and the dogs were moving a little slower with the punchy snow conditions. She checked in at Finger Lake at 9:29 a.m. AKST and departed Finger Lake at 2:20 p.m. AKST.

Anna Hennessy entered Finger Lakes after Altemus and in an interview with Iditarod officials said the trail was punchy and slow, but overall, “pretty great.” She said the dogs are healthy and “spirits are high.”

The first-grade class at Great Expectations School are eagerly following along the historic long-distance Iditarod race in Alaska. The students track local musher Erin Altemus and close-friend Anna Hennessy on the GPS Iditarod map throughout the day, keeping a close eye on their progress.

The 1st grade students are classmates of Sylvia Altemus-Schmidt, the daughter of Erin Altemus and Matt Schmidt.

Below are photos from recent Iditarod projects where students learn about the dogs, the mushers, and the sled at GES:

The Fawns 1st grade class at Great Expectations School will be covering the Iditarod and providing daily updates on WTIP. The students shared their first daily update on Erin Altemus & Anna Hennessy on March 4.

Video below from Rena Rogers at the Iditarod restart in Willow, AK!

Mushers Erin Altemus & Anna Hennessy were all smiles at the starting line as they took off across the Iditarod start line.

Iditarod officials said the weather is beautiful in Willow for the start of the 2024 race. Temperatures hovered around 17 degrees.

Next checkpoint is the Yentna Station Roadhouse, at mile 53. Yenta is a wilderness lodge and home of the Dan and Jean Gabryszak family.

The 2024 Iditarod official restart is less than two hours away!

The restart will begin at 2 p.m. AKST or 5 p.m. Central Time.

Bib numbers: Erin Altemus is #23 and Anna Hennessy is #25

Pre-race events & activities will begin in Alaska 90 minutes prior to the restart.

The Iditarod sled dog race begins officially in Willow, AK on March 3 this year, but on March 2 the mushers and their teams will take part in a ceremonial start in Anchorage. Each year IditaRiders can bid for spots to participate in the ceremonial 11-mile trail by riding with a musher. This year’s roster of mushers includes two people with Cook County connections, Erin Altemus of Sawtooth Racing, and Anna Hennessy, former Cook County resident who will race this year for Alaska-based Shameless Huskies Kennel. On the roster of IditaRiders is Rena Rogers, who will accompany Altemus on her sled during the ceremonial start.

Video below from Rena Rogers before the ceremonial start.

Two mushers with Cook County ties are set to embark on the 52nd running of the Iditarod this morning in Anchorage, AK. 

Cook County resident Erin Altemus with Sawtooth Racing and former Cook County resident Anna Hennessy will race in this year’s Iditarod. Hennessy worked and trained with Altemus and Sawtooth Racing in Cook County from 2018 to 2021. She then moved to Alaska in 2022 to race and train for the Iditarod with Kathy Frederick’s kennel, Shameless Huskies. Hennessy will run a 14-dog team in the upcoming Iditarod, and Altemus will run a 16-dog team. 

In the days leading up to the race, Hennessy told Iditarod officials in an interview that she is “definitely nervous, but it comes in waves. I feel more excited in this moment, more excited than nervous.”

The events and ceremonial start to the Iditarod will kick off later this morning in downtown Anchorage at 10 a.m. AKST (1 p.m. Central Time). 

In addition to Altemus and Hennessy, there will be a strong show of support at the race from fellow Cook County residents and connected Cook County individuals at the historic race.

This year, Cook County resident Rena Rogers won the IditaRider bid to accompany Erin Altemus on her sled for the 11-mile ride ceremonial start on Mar. 2. 

Another individual with Cook County ties is Mark Nordman, the Iditarod race director. WTIP recently spoke with Nordman leading up to the race as final preparations are underway. 

The official restart of the nearly 1,000-mile Iditarod race from Anchorage to Nome will begin the following day, Sunday, Mar. 3, at 2 p.m. Teams will leave from the start line at each start in two-minute intervals. 

On Thursday, Feb. 29, the Iditarod organizers held the annual Iditarod Mushers Drawing Banquet at the Dena’ina Civic Convention Center in Anchorage. Iditarod mushers drew for their respective starting order during the event, which over 1,000 race fans, sponsors, and supporters attended.

Altemus drew for the 22nd start, and Hennessy followed close behind by drawing the 24th-place start. 

Ryan Redington, a veteran musher and two-time champion of the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon that ends in Cook County, drew the 20th start. 

Redington won the 2023 Iditarod race. This year will be his 16th time competing in the historic race. Redington is the grandson of Joe Redington Sr., who helped co-found the arduous race across Alaska that was first held in 1973 and is known as the “Father of the Iditarod.”

In a recent interview with racing officials, Redington said he’ll be chasing the championship again this year, “I want to bring home another trophy.”

Redington said he prepared for the 2024 Iditarod by increasing miles while training. “We did 1100 miles of racing this year on the team,” he said. 

As an Iditarod rookie, Hennessy said in a Feb. 29 interview with racing officials, “My expectations are that I’m going to go out there and enjoy as much as I can and take incredible care of my dogs and I guess just that we are going to pull through this as a team together.”

“I expect to be pretty blown away at some parts, on some parts of the trail,” Hennessy said. “I also expect the unexpected.”

This year, the 2024 Iditarod includes 27 Alaskans, four international mushers, 16 rookies, 22 veterans, and three former champions. The field of 38 mushers consists of 11 women and 27 men.

WTIP will follow the race closely and provide updates on air at 90.7, on social media, and at wtip.org. 

The 1st-grade classmates of Altemus’s daughter at Great Expectation School will also provide daily WTIP updates on Altemus’s progress.  

The Fawns 1st grade class at Great Expectations School will be covering the Iditarod and providing daily updates on WTIP. The students shared their first Iditarod report on March 1.

Mark Nordman has been the Iditarod Race Director for a number of years.
He has deep ties to Cook County and dog mushing community here.

WTIP’s CJ Heithoff spoke with Mark just days before the Ceremonial Start of the iconic race in Anchorage, AK which kicks off on March 2nd at 1 pm CST.

Listen to the full interview below…

Erin Altemus is one of 42 mushers signed up to do the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race this year. With little to no snow around Grand Marais to train on, Erin’s husband, Matt Schmitt headed to Alaska in January with 20 of their dogs to get the team ready for the big race.

WTIP’s CJ Heithoff talked with Matt and Erin for an update on their preparations for the Iditarod.

The Iditarod sled dog race begins officially in Willow, AK on March 3 this year, but on March 2 the mushers and their teams will take part in a ceremonial start in Anchorage. Each year IditaRiders can bid for spots to participate in the ceremonial 11-mile trail by riding with a musher. This year’s roster of mushers includes two people with Cook County connections, Erin Altemus of Sawtooth Racing, and Anna Hennessy, former Cook County resident who will race this year for Alaska-based Shameless Huskies Kennel. On the roster of IditaRiders is Rena Rogers, who will accompany Altemus on her sled during the ceremonial start.

In an interview with WTIP Rogers explained the process for becoming an IditaRider. The program is a fundraiser for the race, with people interested in riding bidding for the spot on a specific musher’s sled. The auction is open for five weeks, but Rogers said that most of the action took place right at the end of the bidding period. As the auction window closed, Rogers was declared the winning big for Altemus’s sled.

Rogers has her own history mushing and handling dogs, and has volunteered at races. This ride is a unique opportunity, however, and Rogers said, “This just is another way to experience it. And riding 11 miles with Erin – and it’s somebody from here, it’s not just somebody I don’t know – seemed like a really, it just felt complete in a lot of ways.”

WTIP’s Mark Abrahamson spoke with Rena Rogers, who will be participating as an IditaRider in the ceremonial start to the Iditarod next month, about how she won the spot on local musher Erin Altemus’s sled. Audio of the full interview is below.

In two weeks, Erin Altemus, owner of Sawtooth Racing in Grand Marais, will fly to Alaska to train and prepare to race in the upcoming 52nd anniversary of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. 

Training for the infamous Alaskan sled dog race has looked different for many mushers in the lower 48 this year, including Altemus. 

“Weather conditions in the region could be considered a worst-case scenario for the sled dog racing season,” she said. “We didn’t get a sled run in until last week, which was mid-January.”

Minimal snow and poor winter conditions have led to the cancellation of the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon and, more recently, the Gunflint Mail Run. With the lack of snow across the Northland, many mushers have reverted to running dogs with ATVs well into January. 

Altemus said training with the ATV has proven challenging and only allows the team to run a certain number of miles.

“It’s hard to do longer runs because they can only run so fast. It kind of changes their gait, their rhythm,” she said. “We’ve never had to train so long on the ATV before. So I feel like it was a new territory that I’ve never been in before.”

Altemus and her husband, Matt Schmidt, have been racing sled dog teams in northern Minnesota for the past thirteen years. Each has competed in local and regional races like the Gunflint Mail Run, John Beargrease, UP200, and the Can-Am. 

In 2023, Schmidt won the Gunflint Mail Run 12-dog race, and Altemus took first place in the shorter-distance eight-dog race. 

Given the cancellation of the John Beargrease and lack of snow for training, Schmidt departed for Alaska weeks ago with the team of sled dogs. Altemus stayed in Grand Marais to care for their daughter and finish final details and logistical planning. 

“We could kind of see that coming before they even announced the decision, and we started making plans to just take off to Alaska early in hopes of running a race up in Alaska,” Altemus said. Luckily, Schmidt found snow in Alaska, and last week, took the sled dog team out for their first Alaskan training run. 

The teams go on their first Alaska training run – Photo by Sawtooth Racing

Despite the added challenges and poor winter conditions, Altemus remains hopeful about racing in the Iditarod. After years of training and racing experience, she said, “It seemed like a good year to take it on.” 

In addition, Altemus said, “I wanted to do it with my friend Anna.”

Anna Hennessy worked and trained with Altemus and Sawtooth Racing in Grand Marais from 2018 to 2021. She moved to Alaska in 2022 to race and train for the Iditarod with Kathy Frederick’s kennel, Shameless Huskies. Hennessy will be running a 14-dog team in the upcoming Iditarod. 

Altemus will fly to Alaska on Feb. 12 and, two days later, will complete the Iditarod bag drops in Anchorage. Then, she will spend the next two weeks training on snow before pulling the hook on Mar. 2. 

WTIP’s Matthew Baxley visited Erin Altemus at her home. Video & longer-audio interview with Altemus is below.