Iditarod 2013 Results: Daily Updates, Reaction, Analysis and More

The Iditarod dog sled race got underway on Saturday, and Dallas Seavey has officially begun his quest to defend his 2012 title.

UPDATE: Wednesday, March 13 at 12:10 p.m. ET by Ryan Rudnansky

Mitch Seavey captured the 2013 Iditarod on Tuesday at 10:39 p.m. Alaskan time. The 2004 champion finished the Iditarod Trail in 9 days, 7 hours, 39 minutes, 56 seconds, according to Iditarod.com. 

The 53-year-old became the oldest champion in Iditarod history. This was one year after his son, Dallas, became the youngest champion in Iditarod history. Dallas finished fourth this year. Mitch is a second-generation musher, following in the footsteps of his father, Dan, who ran the Iditarod four times.

Aliy Zirkle, who finished second last year, placed second again this year. Four-time Iditarod champion Jeff King finished third.

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UPDATE: Wednesday, March 13 at 12:10 a.m. ET by Ryan Rudnansky

Mitch Seavey, the 2004 champion, has regained the lead. He was the first out of Safety on Tuesday, resting for just two minutes, according to Iditarod.com.

Aliy Zirkle, who finished a career-best second in 2012, was in second place as of this writing. Jeff King, Dallas Seavey and Ray Redington Jr. were in third, fourth and fifth place respectively.

King is a four-time Iditarod champion, last winning the historic race in 2006.

Dallas became the youngest Iditarod champion in history in 2012.

Check out the full standings on the Iditarod's official website.

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UPDATE: Monday, March 11 at 8:03 p.m. ET by Josh Schoch

2004 champion Mitch Seavey has  fallen off the pace a bit. After leading for a short time, he is now in second, as Jeff King has passed him.

King has made an incredible effort to get to the top, including resting for just six minutes at the Koyuk checkpoint, whereas Seavey spent three hours and 38 minutes.

King has finally made it to the top of the standings, but Mitch Seavy, Aliy Zirkle, Ray Readington Jr. and Aaron Burmeister are all hot on his tail.

Check out the full standings on the Iditarod's official website.

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UPDATE: Monday, March 11 at 12:13 a.m. ET by Joseph Zucker

After looking very strong for much of the Iditarod, Martin Buser has suffered a precipitous drop. Buser was leading after the Kaltag checkpoint but has fallen to 10th at the Unalakleet checkpoint. He has a mountain to climb—no pun intended—to get back to the top.

In his place sits Mitch Seavey. The competition between he and Aaron Burmeister is really heating up. Seavey left Unalakleet at 15:10:00, and Burmeister was right behind at 15:25:00.

Jeff King and Aliy Zirkle sit in third and fourth, respectively.

Check out the full standings on the Iditarod's official website.

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UPDATE: Saturday, March 9 at 9:39 p.m. ET by Brian Mazique

Martin Buser looks in good shape to win his fifth Iditarod, though is still a way to go in the race. 

He holds a lead over Mitch Seavey, another past winner, as both have reached the Kaltag checkpoint. Aaron Burmeister and Aliy Zirkle were on Buser's heels, but they have fallen back a bit.

Burmeister is currently third and Zirkle is seventh.

Check out the full standings on the Iditarod's official website.

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UPDATE: Friday, March 8 at 8:25 p.m. ET by Ben Chodos

Martin Buser is back in the lead after catching up with Aliy Zirkle at Grayling and taking off before any of the other racers. He set off on the 62-mile journey to the Eagle Island checkpoint at 12:52:00.

Zirkle is in second, but with Aaron Burmeister in third and Jake Berkowitz in fourth. A few other contestants have joined them at the Grayling checkpoint, but Buser is the only one to have left already. 

Check out the full standings on the Iditarod's official website.  

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UPDATE: Friday, March 8 at 3:10 p.m. ET by Ben Chodos

Aliy Zirkle pulled into the lead on Friday after getting a jump on the competition out of the Anvik checkpoint. She and her 13 dogs left at 7:21:00, over an hour before any of the other contestants got back on the trail. 

Unsurprisingly, she is the only one who has made it to the Grayling checkpoint thus far, which is 530 miles from the start of the race in Anchorage. 

Aaron Burmeister is currently in second, with Jake Berkowitz in third. Burmeister took off from Anvik at 8:40:00 while Berkowitz set out at 9:22:00.

Martin Buser is the only other contestant to leave Anvik, and he did so after resting for eight hours. Check out the full standings on the Iditarod's official website.  

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UPDATE: Tuesday, March 5 at 8:58 p.m. ET by Richard Langford

Martin Buser has regained the lead as he was the first one to arrive to and leave the Iditarod checkpoint, which marks the halfway mark of this epic journey. 

Buser pulled into the checkpoint at 9:02:00. He rested at the checkpoint for over four hours and still left before anyone else. In fact, he left way before anyone else. 

Buser pulled out at 14:00:00. Aliy Zirkle was second. She left at 17:20:00. 

Check out the full standings on the Iditarod's official website.  

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UPDATE: Tuesday, March 5 at 8:58 p.m. ET by Richard Langford

Lance Mackey took the lead at the Iditarod. He was one of just three mushers who have left the Ophir checkpoint. He did so at 5:45:00. Mackey spent just 15 minutes at the checkpoint, which allowed him to open up a decent-size lead. 

Sonny Lindner and Jeff King were the other two. Linder left at 8:06:00 and King left at 8:40:00

Check out the full standings on the Iditarod's official website.  

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UPDATE: Tuesday, March 5 at 8:58 p.m. ET by Richard Langford

Aaron Burmeister mushed into the lead on Tuesday. He was the first to leave Nikolai and did so at 12:25:00. 

Aliy Zirkle, who was in second leaving the Rohn checkpoint, was the second to leave Nikolai. She left at 13:13:00. 

Paul Gebhardt who was the first to leave the Rohn checkpoint was fifth leaving Nikolai. 

In all 15 mushers have departed Nikolai. 

Check out the full standings on the Iditarod's official website.  

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UPDATE: Monday, March 4 at 11:47 p.m. ET by Richard Langford

Two mushers stand in the lead as the only two who have left the Rohn checkpoint, which 188 miles from the start.

Paul Gebhardt is in first as he left Rohn at 19:15:00. Aliy Zirkle is in second as she left Rohn at 19:18:00. 

Only six other mushers have reached the Rohn checkpoint. 

Check out the full standings on the Iditarod's official website.  

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UPDATE: Sunday, March 3 at 11:55 p.m. ET by Richard Langford

With mushers having already hit the Yentna checkpoint, which is 53 miles from the start, we are well underway at the Iditarod.

Martin Buser sits in front as he was the first one out of that checkpoint with a time of  18 hours, 1 minute. That is 11 minutes better than Scott Janssen.

Obviously, a lot is going to change in this race, as it is still in its infancy. Defending champ  Dallas Seavey certainly hopes it will. It took him 18 hours, 37 minutes just to reach Yentna.

Check out the full standings on the Iditarod's official website.  

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The race began in Anchorage, and the first checkpoint is the Campbell Airstrip, which is 11 miles from the beginning of the race (per iditarod.com).

Seavey is going against a star-studded field of mushers, so a repeat won't be easy. 

Lance Mackey, Martin Buser and Jeff King (all three are four-time winners), the 2011 champion and record holder for fastest finish, John Baker, and 2004 champion, Mitch Seavey, who is Dallas' father, are all vying for the win.

Preparing for the Race

Here is a video from Team Itasca chronicling their preparations and experiences from 2012, and the approach to this year's race. It's all done in pictures and awesomely shot video, but no words are really needed to appreciate this—if you love dog sledding.

The Field

Here is a full list of the mushers competing:

Entrant #	Musher Name	Sex	City	State	Country	Status
1	Christine Roalofs	F	Anchorage	AK	USA	Rookie
2	Newton Marshall	M	St. Anne		JAMAICA	Veteran
3	Ken Anderson	M	Fairbanks	AK	USA	Veteran
4	Michelle Phillips	F	Tagish	YT	CANADA	Veteran
5	DeeDee Jonrowe	F	Willow	AK	USA	Veteran
6	Gerry Willomitzer	M	Whitehorse	YT	CANADA	Veteran
7	Scott Janssen	M	Anchorage	AK	USA	Veteran
8	Peter Kaiser	M	Bethel	AK	USA	Veteran
9	Gerald Sousa	M	Talkeetna	AK	USA	Veteran
10	Jessie Royer	F	Darby	MT	USA	Veteran
11	Michael Suprenant	M	Chugiak	AK	USA	Veteran
12	Kelly Maixner	M	Big Lake	AK	USA	Veteran
13	Robert Bundtzen	M	Anchorage	AK	USA	Veteran
14	Luan Ramos Marques	M	Macae		BRAZIL	Rookie
15	Paul Gebhardt	M	Kasilof	AK	USA	Veteran
16	Mike Williams, Sr.	M	Akiak	AK	USA	Veteran
17	Mitch Seavey	M	Seward	AK	USA	Veteran
18	Bob Chlupach	M	Willow	AK	USA	Veteran
19	Ray Redington Jr	M	Wasilla	AK	USA	Veteran
20	Martin Buser	M	Big Lake	AK	USA	Veteran
21	Rudy Demoski, Sr.	M	Wasilla	AK	USA	Veteran
22	Jason Mackey	M	Wasilla	AK	USA	Veteran
23	Cim Smyth	M	Big Lake	AK	USA	Veteran
24	Paige Drobny	F	Fairbanks	AK	USA	Rookie
25	Joar Leifseth Ulsom	M	Roros		NORWAY	Rookie
26	Curt Perano	M	Queenstown		NEW ZEALAND	Veteran
27	Angie Taggart	F	Ketchikan	AK	USA	Veteran
28	Ed Stielstra	M	McMillan	MI	USA	Veteran
29	Jan Steves	F	Edmonds	WA	USA	Veteran
30	Kristy Berington	F	Kasilof	AK	USA	Veteran
31	Jodi Bailey	F	Chatanika	AK	USA	Veteran
32	Cindy Gallea	F	Wykoff	MN	USA	Veteran
33	Jeff King	M	Denali	AK	USA	Veteran
34	Aliy Zirkle	F	Two Rivers	AK	USA	Veteran
35	Travis Beals	M	Seward	AK	USA	Rookie
36	Allen Moore	M	Two Rivers	AK	USA	Veteran
37	Karin Hendrickson	F	Wasilla	AK	USA	Veteran
38	Mike Ellis	M	Two Rivers	AK	USA	Rookie
39	Nicolas Petit	M	Girdwood	AK	USA	Veteran
40	Linwood Fiedler	M	Willow	AK	USA	Veteran
41	Michael Williams, Jr.	M	Akiak	AK	USA	Veteran
42	Ramey Smyth	M	Willow	AK	USA	Veteran
43	Lance Mackey	M	Fairbanks	AK	USA	Veteran
44	Aaron Burmeister	M	Nome	AK	USA	Veteran
45	Jake Berkowitz	M	Big Lake	AK	USA	Veteran
46	Charley Bejna	M	Addison	IL	USA	Rookie
47	Justin Savidis	M	Willow	AK	USA	Veteran
48	Dallas Seavey	M	Willow	AK	USA	Veteran
49	Anna Berington	F	Kasilof	AK	USA	Veteran
50	Kelley Griffin	F	Wasilla	AK	USA	Veteran
51	John Baker	M	Kotzebue	AK	USA	Veteran
52	Richie Diehl	M	Aniak	AK	USA	Rookie
53	James Volek	M	Big Lake	AK	USA	Rookie
54	Brent Sass	M	Manley Hot Springs	AK	USA	Veteran
55	Matt Failor	M	Big Lake	AK	USA	Veteran
56	Jessica Hendricks	F	Two Rivers	AK	USA	Veteran
57	Aaron Peck	M	Bezanson	AB	CANADA	Veteran
58	Jim Lanier	M	Chugiak	AK	USA	Veteran
59	Josh Cadzow	M	Fort Yukon	AK	USA	Rookie
60	David Sawatzky	M	Healy	AK	USA	Veteran
61	Sonny Lindner	M	Two Rivers	AK	USA	Veteran
62	Mikhail Telpin	M	Yanrakynnot	Chukotka	RUSSIA	Rookie
63	Wade Marrs	M	Wasilla	AK	USA	Veteran
64	Louie Ambrose	M	St. Michael	AK	USA	Rookie
65	Matt Giblin	M	Sterling	AK	USA	Veteran
66	Cindy Abbott	F	Irvine	CA	USA	Rookie

Possible Storylines

The race can last up to two weeks depending on the elements and other factors. We'll have daily updates, reactions and analysis on the mushers that are driving the competition.

Will the youngest Seavey be able to string back-to-back wins together, or will the elder Seavey regain his place atop The Last Great Race.

Record-holder John Baker could be out to prove that his historic 2011 performance was no fluke. In another possible angle, could this be the year we see Mackey, Buser or King join Rick Swenson as the first five-time winners?

This should be an exciting event for fans of dog sledding.

Weather Updates

Obviously, this event is drastically impacted by the weather conditions. Keep abreast of the current conditions here at Weather.com.

At race time, it was a foggy 29 degrees, but as anyone that has followed the race in the past knows, it can get really cold overnight, and later in the race.

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