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Hi, ADN Iditarod fans,

It's the first full day of the 2026 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, as mushers and their sled dog teams ascend into the Alaska Range after departing Willow in the race restart on Sunday afternoon.

As of Monday afternoon, top competitors had reached the checkpoint of Rainy Pass, led by defending champion Jessie Holmes who arrived there shortly after noon. He was followed over the next few hours by several top teams, including Matt Hall, who finished second last year, Paige Drobny, who finished third in 2025, and Travis Beals of Seward.

The stretch of trail teams are currently navigating is among the most technically challenging of the entire route. There are several ice bridges that cross open creeks, plus a 200-foot downhill section into the notorious Dalzell Gorge.

No teams had scratched from the race as of Monday.

This year's field has no shortage of tough competition. There are four previous winners, including Holmes, and a host of perennial contenders who have regularly finished in the top 10.

[54th Iditarod officially begins, with stiff competition at the top]

“Everybody who’s been in the top 10 before, been in the top five, everybody has a shot at winning. Everyone shows up here very hungry to do well,” 2019 winner Pete Kaiser of Bethel said ahead of the race.

Mille Porsild of Denmark, Wade Marrs of Willow, Drobny and Hall, among others, are angling for strong finishes this year.

Defending Iditarod champion Jessie Holmes drives his dog during the restart of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Willow on Sunday. (Bill Roth / ADN)

This year's smaller field of 37 mushers reflects a trend of declining participation in the race over the last several years. Costs to run the Iditarod — both as a musher and from an organizational standpoint — have ballooned, making the race more challenging than ever.

Iditarod CEO Rob Urbach said costs have doubled in the past three years. The organization continues to pursue new income sources (with this year's inaugural Expedition Class being an example) and is working to stay solvent while making the race viable for a new generation of mushers.

But it's not easy. For mushers, training, transportation, gear, drop bags and more add up quickly, putting the total cost anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000. Some, like veteran musher Gabe Dunham, have ongoing concerns about how long they can sustain a race career. 

Iditarod racer Gabe Dunham offloads drop bags. (Marc Lester / ADN)

On the organization side, the situation is much the same. Line items like fuel, insurance, aviation costs and the hundreds of bales of straw for dogs to rest on at trail checkpoints have gone up in price, according to Urbach.

The Iditarod's new Expedition Class program, which allows mushers to run the race noncompetitively and under a different set of rules, is one of the organization's efforts to seek new streams of revenue. As the first musher in this category, billionaire businessman Kjell Inge Røkke contributed more than $300,000 to this year’s race. That helped lower the entry costs for mushers and also increased the race purse.

Expedition class mushers Kjell Rokke, left, and Thomas Waerner talk before the ceremonial run begins. (Marc Lester / ADN)

You can read more about the financial state of the Iditarod, how mushers are coping with rising costs, and the new Expedition Class here. You can also catch up on previous Iditarod coverage on our website.

Stay tuned for more updates from the trail as we follow this year's race to Nome. As always, thanks for reading!

Happy trails, 

Megan Pacer
mpacer@adn.com

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