Rena Rogers wins IditaRider auction and will ride with Erin Altemus in Iditarod ceremonial start

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.

Kirsten Wisniewski February 5, 2024