Congratulations to Mitch Seavey on making it first to Nome and winning the 2017 Iditarod! He started at Anchorage with 16 dogs and finished 8 days, 3 hours, 40 minutes, and 13 seconds later in Nome with 11 dogs remaining. He dropped off three dogs with volunteers in Huslia, one in Unalakleet, and 1 at White Mountain. From his bio on Iditarod.com:
Mitch Seavey, 56, was born in Minnesota and moved with his family to Alaska in 1963. He graduated from high school in Seward and wrestled for Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon. He began mushing in 1963. Mitch’s dad, Dan, ran the Iditarod in 1973, so he decided he wanted to run the Iditarod someday. After running eleven Iditarods, Mitch won the race in 2004. In 2008, Mitch was the winner of the All Alaska Sweepstakes, held that year as a commemoration of the original All Alaska Sweepstakes, and then he won the Iditarod again in 2013. He says, “Running the Iditarod is a family tradition.” Mitch and Janine are the parents of four boys, three of whom have run the Jr. Iditarod and the Iditarod, Danny, Tyrell and Dallas. The youngest, Conway, is 18 and won the Jr. Iditarod in 2012 & 2014. He says his hobbies are writing, family and hunting.
Kudos to Mitch, who is both the oldest and the fastest winner ever!
Dallas finished second, coming in about 3 hours behind his dad. Rounding out the top five were Nicolas Petit, Joar Leifseth Ulsom, and Jessie Royer. In a somewhat unusual circumstance, Royer finished the race with all 16 of her dogs still working.
Nine teams have finished, five have scratched, and 57 remain on the trail, the last several having left Kaltag yesterday evening.
Wishing safe travels to all.
Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!