Ramada Anchorage Downtown

03/08/2026

Another day in Alaska:

Snow machines, an amazing dog team and bush plane. Shoutout Sheldon Air Service! 😁

Thank you Cami Grudzinski () for the amazing picture!

03/08/2026

Welcome to our annual Iditarod coverage.

The Nome Nugget newspaper has been covering dog mushing and dog races since the inaugural 408-mile All Alaska Sweepstakes sled dog race in 1908 to the first running of the Iditarod in 1973. We've seen a lot of dog racing and have not only reporting experience but also happen to be mushers ourselves, and our reporting is informed by lived experience.

My name is Nils Hahn. I’ve been mushing for 30 years and have run the Iditarod four times. Together with my wife Diana Haecker (who is also the editor of this newspaper) we run a kennel of 30 racing sled dogs outside of Nome.

The Iditarod is the pinnacle of long distance sled dog racing.

The Iditarod sees the best dog teams from around the world coming together each March to travel 1,000 miles through the wilds of Alaska.

From the bustling start in Willow, across the Alaska Range, through the cold and lonely interior region of Alaska, followed by 150 miles on the mighty Yukon, finishing along the Bering Sea coast with 250 miles of rugged and treeless coastal mushing from Unalakleet to the finish line in Nome.

In order to qualify for and finish this race each participant has dedicated years to the dogs and to this mighty goal. The entire focus of these dogs is towards running and traveling down the trail.

The best Iditarod teams put between 3,000 to 4,500 miles of training under their paws between the start of fall training in September to the start of the race in March. At an average of 8-9 mph those are long days and many hours spent caring for, being with and traveling with these team mates.

The bond between musher and dogs is tight. Every day of the year evolves around dogs and mushing. Besides traveling for miles while building up strength, speed and endurance mushers also have to teach their teams the discipline it takes to travel 1,000 miles through some of the harshest conditions Alaska has to offer.

One might encounter wildlife such as moose, bison and musk ox. Weather and trail conditions are often less than ideal and we come upon overflow, open water, whiteout conditions and blizzards along the coast and anything else one can think of.

The ceremonial start in Anchorage today was a time to celebrate this race with the race fans and people of Anchorage.

These dogs will be fed a good meal tonight, followed by a last long rest amongst a familiar set-up.

Tomorrow the real adventure starts in Willow. The forecast calls for 22°F and a chance of snow. Mushers will be keeping the speed of these dogs down to below 10 mph and get them settled into the race and race mode. Mushers will be looking forward to leaving the stress and excitement of the start behind to finally hit the trail and just focus on the dogs and the trail ahead.

Make sure to tune in every day right here for our daily updates and a behind-the-scenes look at what goes on in the minds of these mushers and their dog teams.

Happy Trails!

03/08/2026

Proud of my nephew Isaac who finished second place in the Jr Iditarod earlier today. He finished with all 10 dogs that he started the race with and they looked fantastic. Next up for Isaac sounds like the Kobuk 440.

03/08/2026

Yesterdays moonrise!

02/17/2026

The Iditarod is just around the corner. Are you staying with us?

02/17/2026

30 minutes until the start of the Willow Jr 100 sled dog race! Our Jr. musher, Noah, is bib number 10. Follow the Jr mushers progress with track leaders on this link:

https://trackleaders.com/jrwillow26f.php

01/06/2026

✨ What a privilege this life is ❤️

12/23/2025

We are the BEST hotel in Anchorage.
Prove me wrong!

11/18/2025

11/18/2025