Iditarod mushers, map, distance and more: Everything to know about the 2026 dog sled race

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Iditarod mushers, map, distance and more: Everything to know about the 2026 dog sled race originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The annual Iditarod dog-sled race is almost here.

On the first Saturday of March, racers travel to Anchorage in hopes of successfully traversing the snowy Alaska wilderness and finishing in Nome.

Before the dogs have even embarked on "The Last Great Race on Earth," history has already been made. This year's race includes a new racing class that one of the racers, Kjell Rokke, has classified as an expedition musher.

Here is everything you need to know about this year's Iditarod.

MORE: Final Results of 2025 Iditarod

What is the Iditarod?​

The Iditarod is the most popular dog sled race in the world. Teams of one musher and 12–14 dogs race nearly 1,000 miles, traveling northwest across Alaska from Anchorage to Nome. The 2026 race will be the event's 54th annual competition.

Depending on weather conditions, races tend to take 8–15 days to complete. The fastest time ever recorded was seven days, 14 hours, 8 minutes and 57 seconds (Dallas Seavey, 2021), and the longest winning time was 20 days, 15 hours, 1 minute and 7 seconds (Carl Huntington, 1974).

MORE: Is the movie Cool Running based on a true story?

When does the Iditarod start and end?​

• Saturday, March 7 (ceremonial start)

The Iditarod begins on the first Saturday in March every year. The starting line is in downtown Anchorage, Alaska, a city located in the south-central portion of the state.

The Saturday start in Anchorage is only a ceremonial start and does not count in a competitor's overall time. Mushers line up for a restart in Willow, Alaska, the next day, leaving the starting line in two-minute intervals. The difference in starting times is ‘made up’ on a musher’s 24-hour mandatory layover.

Heavy snow, whiteouts and blizzards are hazards that can slow down a sled team.

Iditarod mushers 2026​

There are 36 mushers participating in the 2026 Iditarod. A majority of the competitors are from Alaska, with 27 hailing from in-state. There are three mushers from other states and six international participants. This year, 12 rookies will compete in this year's competition.

For the first time ever, a new style of participation will debut at this year's Iditarod. Norwegian billionaire Kjell Rokke will participate as an "expedition musher" and will be allowed to compete with outside assistance. Rokke added $100,000 to next year’s race purse and pledged $10,000 each to 17 villages along the race’s route, along with halving musher registration costs. Rokke will still be required to complete the entire race on the sled to officially finish and become the first human in the world to earn the Expedition Class Finishers Buckle.

Here's a full list of competitors:

2026 Iditarod mushers​

Musher Name	Sex	Hometown	State	Country	Status
Sydnie Bahl	F	Wasilla	AK	USA	Rookie
Travis Beals	M	Seward	AK	USA	Veteran
Richie Beattie	M	Fairbanks	AK	USA	Rookie
Grayson Bruton	M	Tok	AK	USA	Veteran
Rohn Buser	M	Big Lake	AK	USA	Veteran
Jeff Deeter	M	Fairbanks	AK	USA	Veteran
Paige Drobny	W	Cantwell	AK	USA	Veteran
Gabe Dunham	W	Willow	AK	USA	Veteran
Riley Dyche	M	Big Lake	AK	USA	Veteran
Lauro Eklund	M	Two Rivers	AK	USA	Veteran
Jaye Foucher	W	Wentworth	NH	USA	Rookie
Matt Hall	M	Two Rivers	AK	USA	Veteran
Kevin Hansen	M	Kotzebue	AK	USA	Rookie
Jessie Holmes	M	Brushkana	AK	USA	Veteran
Peter Kaiser	M	Bethel	AK	USA	Veteran
Adam Lindenmuth	M	Willow	AK	USA	Rookie
Sadie Lindquist	W	Moose Pass	AK	USA	Rookie
Keaton Loebrich	M	Fairbanks	AK	USA	Veteran
Hanna Lyrek	W	Alta	-	Norway	Veteran
Brenda Mackey	W	Fairbanks	AK	USA	Rookie
Jason Mackey	M	Fairbanks	AK	USA	Veteran
Wade Marrs	M	Willow	AK	USA	Veteran
Sam Martin	M	Chelmsford	MA	USA	Rookie
Sam Paperman	M	Seward	AK	USA	Rookie
Michelle Phillips	W	Ten Mile	YT	Canada	Veteran
Mille Porsild	W	-	-	Denmark	Veteran
Jody Potts-Joseph	W	Eagle Village	AK	USA	Rookie
Ryan Redington	M	Knik	AK	USA	Veteran
Kjell Rokke	M	-	-	Switzerland	Expedition
Jessie Royer	W	Seeley Lake	MT	USA	Veteran
Joseph Sabin	M	Two Rivers	AK	USA	Rookie
Josi (Thyr) Shelley	W	Fairbanks	AK	USA	Veteran
Chad Stoddard	M	Anchorage	AK	USA	Veteran
Jesse Terry	M	Sioux Lookout	ON	Canada	Rookie
Bailey Vitello	M	Nenana	AK	USA	Veteran
Thomas Waerner	M	Torpa	-	Norway	Veteran

Five mushers have withdrawn from the 2026 Iditarod:

Musher Name	Sex	City	State	Country	Status
Deke Naaktgeboren	M	Fairbanks	AK	USA	Veteran
Josh McNeal	M	Fairbanks	AK	USA	Veteran
Connor McMahon	M	Carcross	YT	Canada	Veteran
Nicolas Petit	M	Big Lake	AK	USA	Veteran
Joshua Robbins	M	Willow	AK	USA	Rookie

Iditarod trail map​

There are two trails for the Iditarod dog race. The northern trail is used in even years, and the southern trail is used in odd years. The 2026 Iditarod will take place on the northern route, which can be seen below.

Northern Route​

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Checkpoints	Distance between Checkpoints*	Distance from Anchorage	Distance to Nome
Anchorage to Campbell Airstrip	11	11	964
Willow to Yentna Station	42	53	922
Yentna Station to Skwentna	30	83	892
Skwentna to Finger Lake	40	123	852
Finger Lake to Rainy Pass	30	153	822
Rainy Pass to Rohn	35	188	787
Rohn to Nikolai	75	263	712
Nikolai to McGrath	48	311	664
McGrath to Takotna	18	329	646
Takotna to Ophir	23	352	623
Ophir to Cripple	73	425	550
Cripple to Ruby	70	495	480
Ruby to Galena	50	545	430
Galena to Nulato	37	582	393
Nulato to Kaltag	47	629	346
Kaltag to Unalakleet	85	714	261
Unalakleet to Shaktoolik	40	754	221
Shaktoolik to Koyuk	50	804	171
Koyuk to Elim	48	852	123
Elim to Golovin	28	880	95
Golovin to White Mountain	18	898	77
White Mountain to Safety	55	953	22
Safety to Nome	22	975	0
Total Distance	975

Southern Route​

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Checkpoints	Distance between Checkpoints*	Distance from Anchorage	Distance to Nome
Anchorage to Campbell Airstrip	11	11	987
Willow to Yentna Station	42	53	945
Yentna Station to Skwentna	30	83	915
Skwentna to Finger Lake	40	123	875
Finger Lake to Rainy Pass	30	153	845
Rainy Pass to Rohn	35	188	810
Rohn to Nikolai	75	263	735
Nikolai to McGrath	48	311	687
McGrath to Takotna	18	329	669
Takotna to Ophir	23	352	646
Ophir to Iditarod	80	432	566
Iditarod to Shageluk	55	487	511
Shageluk to Anvik	25	512	486
Anvik to Grayling	18	530	468
Grayling to Eagle Island	62	592	406
Eagle Island to Kaltag	60	652	346
Kaltag to Unalakleet	85	737	261
Unalakleet to Shaktoolik	40	777	221
Shaktoolik to Koyuk	50	827	171
Koyuk to Elim	48	875	123
Elim to Golovin	28	903	95
Golovin to White Mountain	18	921	77
White Mountain to Safety	55	976	22
Safety to Nome	22	998	0
Total Distance	998

How many miles is the Iditarod?​

The exact distance of the Iditarod varies based on which route the teams take.

During the 2026 race, as an even year, teams will travel 975 miles. In odd years, teams will travel 998 miles.

Iditarod winners history​

In 2025, Jessie Holmes won his first-ever Iditarod title with a winning time of 10 days, 14 hours, 55 minutes and 41 seconds.

This year, Holmes will look to become the first back-to-back champion since Dallas Seavey three-peated from 2014-16.

There have been 26 different winners in the history of "The Last Great Race on Earth."

Here are the year-by-year champions of the Iditarod, from its inception in 1973 to 2025.

Year	Winner	Winning Time
2025	Jessie Holmes	10d 14h 55m 41s
2024	Dallas Seavey	9d 2h 16m 8s
2023	Ryan Redington	8d 21h 12m 58s
2022	Brent Sass	8d 14h 38m 43s
2021	Dallas Seavey	7d 14h 8m 57s
2020	Thomas Waerner	9d 10h 37m 47s
2019	Peter Kaiser	9d 12h 39m 6s
2018	Joar Leifseth Ulsom	9d 12h 0m 0s
2017	Mitch Seavey	8d 3h 40m 13s
2016	Dallas Seavey	8d 11h 20m 16s
2015	Dallas Seavey	8d 18h 13m 6s
2014	Dallas Seavey	8d 13h 4m 19s
2013	Mitch Seavey	9d 7h 39m 56s
2012	Dallas Seavey	9d 4h 29m 26s
2011	John Baker	8d 18h 46m 39s
2010	Lance Mackey	8d 23h 59m 9s
2009	Lance Mackey	9d 21h 38m 46s
2008	Lance Mackey	9d 11h 46m 48s
2007	Lance Mackey	9d 5h 8m 41s
2006	Jeff King	9d 11h 11m 36s
2005	Robert Sorlie	9d 18h 39m 31s
2004	Mitch Seavey	9d 12h 20m 22s
2003	Robert Sorlie	9d 15h 47m 36s
2002	Martin Buser	8d 22h 46m 2s
2001	Doug Swingley	9d 19h 55m 50s
2000	Doug Swingley	9d 0h 58m 6s
1999	Doug Swingley	9d 14h 31m 7s
1998	Jeff King	9d 5h 52m 26s
1997	Martin Buser	9d 8h 30m 45s
1996	Jeff King	9d 5h 43m 0s
1995	Doug Swingley	9d 2h 42m 19s
1994	Martin Buser	10d 13h 2m 39s
1993	Jeff King	10d 15h 38m 15s
1992	Martin Buser	10d 19h 17m 15s
1991	Rick Swenson	12d 16h 34m 39s
1990	Susan Butcher	11d 1h 53m 23s
1989	Joe Runyan	11d 5h 24m 34s
1988	Susan Butcher	11d 11h 41m 40s
1987	Susan Butcher	11d 2h 5m 13s
1986	Susan Butcher	11d 15h 6m 0s
1985	Libby Riddles	18d 0h 20m 17s
1984	Dean Osmar	12d 15h 7m 33s
1983	Rick Mackey	12d 14h 10m 44s
1982	Rick Swenson	16d 4h 40m 10s
1981	Rick Swenson	12d 8h 45m 2s
1980	Joe May	14d 7h 11m 51s
1979	Rick Swenson	15d 10h 37m 47s
1978	Dick Mackey	14d 18h 52m 24s
1977	Rick Swenson	16d 16h 27m 13s
1976	Jerry Riley	18d 22h 58m 17s
1975	Emmitt Peters	14d 14h 43m 15s
1974	Carl Huntington	20d 15h 1m 7s
1973	Dick Wilmarth	20d 0h 49m 41s

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