Iditapod

Heading into a final, mandatory, eight-hour rest in White Mountain about 40 minutes in the lead, Bethel's Peter Kaiser could be set up to win his first Iditarod in his team's 10th race. But anything can happen in that final 77 miles, and the defending champ, Joar Leifseth Ulsom, is not far behind. We also talk to some former champs about how they're in the middle of the pack and running a totally different kind of race. Plus: There's no sea ice! But there is Snack Attack with Ben and Zach!

This is an interview with longtime Iditarod racer and four time champ Martin Buser from Big Lake and comes to us by way of Alaska Public Media's Zachariah Hughes in Unalakleet on Monday. Buser's originally from Switzerland and his voice and exuberance for mushing are ever-present in Iditarod. But he’s getting older.

The team of Girdwood musher Nicolas Petit stalled on the edge of Norton Bay, allowing Bethel's Pete Kaiser to race past, as well as several others. Petit had been leading for most of the race, and Monday afternoon, it was still uncertain if he'd even finish. We hear from Petit, and we hear from Kaiser who now might be set up to win his first Iditarod. That, plus explanations of Mushergrams, Teacher on the Trail and... whatever happened to Pilot Rob?

Welcome to some breaking news on the Iditapod. Monday morning saw a huge lead change in the 2019 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, as the team of Girdwood musher Nicolas Petit has stalled on the coast, allowing Bethel’s Pete Kaiser, the race’s current leader, and at least three others to pass him. We hear from Petit out on the sea ice, via Iditarod Insider.

Girdwood's Nicolas Petit stayed in the lead of the 2019 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Sunday after making a long 90ish-mile run from Kaltag to Unalakleet overnight. We hear from a couple Yukon-Kuskokwim-area rookies in this year's race, and a couple YK-area parents with kids in the Iditarod. Plus, a question about climate change and a conversation with Iditarod musher Kristin Knight Pace, who has a book out called "This Much Country."

Iditarod and Yukon Quest musher Kristin Knight Pace joins Alaska Public Media's Casey Grove in the studio for an interview about her book, This Much Country, and what's in it, including how she survived a divorce to find her true self in Alaska, eventually mushing dogs in the toughest long-distance races in the world, and starting a family.

Alaska Public Media's Zachariah Hughes talks with Kaktovik musher Martin Apayauq Reitan - a rookie in the 2019 Iditarod - in Takotna about his sled, damaged much earlier in the race at the Happy River Steps.

Because the theme of this year's Iditapod is "Fun and Friendship," and because Alaska Public Media's Zachariah Hughes and KNOM's Ben Matheson were reunited in Unalakleet ahead of the 2019 Iditarod frontrunners reaching that checkpoint and the coast of Alaska, here's a conversation between Ben and Zach and some of their tales from the trail.

Mushers headed north on the Yukon River on Saturday, with the front of the pack on their way to Kaltag, where they turn west and head toward the coast of Alaska. Bethel's Pete Kaiser had advanced his team to the front, and we hear more about how he's managed that from earlier planning, as well as about sled modifications and repairs happening on the trail. Also, Alaska Public Media's Zachariah Hughes somehow works in an interview about Harry Potter books on tape with Martin Apayauq Reitan and Meredith Mapes.

Ester musher Paige Drobny and her Squid Acres dogs (squids, she would say) have moved into the top 10 of the 2019 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. At least, that's where they were Friday and Saturday, the highest position the team has had in and out of these later-race checkpoints, or maybe ever! Recorded with KNOM's Ben Matheson Friday in Shageluk.