Alaska Public Media's Zachariah Hughes talks with veteran long-distance dog musher and past Iditarod competitor Katherine Keith about her book, "Epic Solitude." It chronicles her journey from a teenager in Minnesota, falling in love with rugged wilderness adventures, while simultaneously struggling with mental health issues and more loss than anyone should have to deal with in a lifetime.

Iditapod

Anchorage interview with Katherine Keith

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race has another new Norwegian champion: 46-year-old Thomas Waerner. His team arrived in Nome at 12:37 a.m. Wednesday to an enthusiastic, if smaller, crowd. And Waerner still has to figure out how to get home, what with travel restrictions from the coronavirus pandemic. Iditapod host Casey Grove talks with Alaska Public Media's Tegan Hanlon and Zachariah Hughes about what might have been the weirdest Iditarod ever, in terms of what was unfolding outside the race while it was happening. We also have a question about what the dogs dream about, and a dog profile about a pup conceived on the Iditarod Trail.

S4E15: The newest Norwegian champ

This is a quick report from our morning radio coverage of the Iditarod. It's called a radio module, and it details Norwegian musher Thomas Waerner winning the 2020 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race at 12:37 a.m. Wednesday, March 18. Waerner's team logged a time of 9 days, 10 hours, 37 minutes and 47 seconds.

Update on Thomas Waerner win in 2020 Iditarod

It’s Tuesday, and we have a two-fer on dog profiles here on the Iditapod. And as we anticipate Norwegian musher Thomas Waerner winning the 2020 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Nome early Wednesday -- barring any unforeseen changes -- we have a story about the modified Shaktoolik checkpoint, a remembrance of an all-star volunteer checkpoint leader in Unalakleet and a little about how a major, longtime sponsor of the Iditarod has announced it’s pulling out. (Maybe not all in that order).

S4E14: Hitting close to Nome

As front-of-the-pack Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race mushers head up the Bering Sea coast from Unalakleet to Shaktoolik and Koyuk, Norwegian musher Thomas Waerner has put his sled dog team solidly out front. There's still a group of competitive mushers behind him, though, and as we like to say often, anything can still happen. We'll hear a little from Waerner about what will likely be a difficult time getting his dog team home to Norway amid coronavirus-related travel restrictions, as well as from 2019 Iditarod champ Pete Kaiser about how a stomach-flu-like sickness hit him on the trail.

S4E13: A Norwegian coasts up the coast

Four-time Iditarod champion Lance Mackey talks with Alaska Public Media's Zachariah Hughes at the Cripple Creek checkpoint about having a more successful race in 2020 than some recent years.

Cripple Creek interview with Lance Mackey

Norway's Thomas Waerner was the first to Unalakleet and the coast of Alaska in the 2020 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. But there's a storm coming and several good teams behind him. Meantime, back up the trail in Galena, Alaska Public Media’s Zachariah Hughes observed the collegial bonds among two mushers running in the middle of the pack who are at very different stages in their race and in their lives. That and much more, including another dog profile, on this latest episode of the Iditapod.

S4E12: Whistlin' to Shaktoolik, and some mid-pack collegiality

While Iditarod sled dog teams continue to mush toward the coast, the Iditapod is at home hiding under a table, in a makeshift recording studio. But we still have a report from the trail about how the mushers are learning about changes at checkpoints due to concern from coronavirus. Also in this episode: How Jessie Royer's sled caught fire, an interview with Iditarod CEO Rob Urbach, Snack Attack with Ben and Zach is back and much more.

S4E11: Iditarod CEO says 'things can change minute by minute'

Welcome to the Iditapod, a podcast about - what else? - the Iditarod, which is, perhaps the only major sporting event still happening -- anywhere. Yep, hanging out by yourself with a pack of dogs is starting to seem better and better every day. It’s Friday the 13th, and there’s plenty of scary news out there to worry even the least superstitious among us. We talked coronavirus with new Iditarod CEO Rob Urbach and have a story from the trail about mushers’ first reactions to hearing about the virus's impacts elsewhere. We also have a story about John Schandelmeier and how the heck he got into this race, as well as a listener question, an answer to that question, and a dog profile.

S4E10: The last sport standing

This is a brief report from our morning radio coverage at Alaska Public Media. We call it a radio module, it’s only five minutes, and it'll sound a little different. But as we’re working on a full episode of the Iditapod for Friday, which will include talking to Iditarod CEO Rob Urbach about coronavirus concerns, we figured this is the fastest way to bring you some important news since we last left off.

Update on Iditarod coronavirus concerns and Royer first to Yukon

When it comes to concern about the coronavirus, the Iditarod is no exception. In Nome, the city council is considering calling off Iditarod festivities, and we’re also hearing about a big announcement coming from the Iditarod itself, though we’ve been told by someone close to the race that they are not going to be canceling the rest of Iditarod altogether. Meantime, we have a more positive update about Jeff King's health status, a race update, a story about a volunteer passing time tinkering on an old chainsaw, a listener question about who's the best dog whisperer and another dog profile, this one about Juke, in Karin Hendrickson's team.

S4E9: Coronavirus concerns and the Last Great Race

The Iditarod can be a cathartic experience, with all those good dogs, bad dogs, #uglydogs... In this episode we catch up on the race and discuss how it's nearly impossible to analyze who's really in the lead as mushers start to take their mandatory 24-hour layovers at different checkpoints. Alaska Public Media's Tegan Hanlon has a story about Jeff King's substitute Sean Underwood, AKPM's Zach Hughes and Ben Matheson take in the Blood Moon in Takotna, we have a somewhat surprising answer to a listener question, and Brent Sass talks about his lead dog, Jeep.

S4E8: All the Iditarod feels

Alaska Public Media's Tegan Hanlon interviews Sean Underwood. The 28-year-old musher found out four days before the start of the 2020 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race that he'd be competing in the event. Long-time musher and four-time Iditarod champion Jeff King had to drop out of the race at the very last minute, and tapped Sean, one of his dog handlers, to fill in. And, to be clear, it wasn’t just filling in for a 1,000-mile sled dog race, but also for some of the events leading up to it. We sat down with Sean in a restaurant at an Anchorage hotel last Friday, right before a meet and greet that he was suddenly headlining with three-time Iditarod champion Mitch Seavey. We talked about how Sean got into sled dog racing and the exact moment when he found out that he’d be launched into this year’s Iditarod.

Anchorage interview with Sean Underwood

With plenty of snow on the Iditarod Trail this year, some of the more technical runs have not been as difficult as years past. But the Happy River steps and the Dalzell Gorge are always a challenge, and Alaska Public Media's Tegan Hanlon joins Iditapod host Casey Grove to discuss why we call both of those sections "technical." Also in today's episode, reports from KNOM's Davis Hovey and Alaska Public Media's Zachariah Hughes in Rainy Pass, as well as KNOM's Ben Matheson on the newly rejuvenated roadhouse in McGrath.

S4E7: Home, home in the Alaska Range

It’s Monday, and Iditarod sled dog teams are heading into their second full day of racing after the official start yesterday in Willow. From there they mushed west to the Yentna checkpoint about 50 miles into the race, on to Skwentna at about 80 miles, and the front-of-the-pack teams are already heading up and up and up into the Alaska Range, toward the mountainous checkpoint of Rainy Pass. We hear about the rookies in the race, a clip from Quince Mountain on what it's like to be the first openly trans Iditarod competitor, and Aliy Zirkle tells us about one of her leaders, Sparky.

S4E6: Sparky Doo Dah and the Rookies

The Iditapod is a podcast following the Last Great Race, from Alaska Public Media and KNOM Radio. This daily podcast about the Iditarod Sled Dog Race takes you out on the trail -- into checkpoints, down along the sea ice, and across the finish line in Nome. Hear interviews with mushers, behind the scenes news, and in-depth race analysis you won't find anywhere else. For episodes from season one of the Iditapod visit www.alaskapublic.org/iditapod

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