Iditarod ceremonial start: Musher Erin Altemus and Anna Hennessy prepare to pull the hook

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.  

Kalli Hawkins March 2, 2024