Race Galleries

Though I missed the Ceremonial Start, I made it down to the Iditarod restart. Forty-nine teams left the start line of the 50th running of the Iditarod. The restart was a bluebird day, but the only real thing that is constant about the trail is change and a lot can happen in 1000 miles.

Kids from as young as 4 up to 17 years old run in this 3 day sprint race. Day 1 mushers leave in bib draw order, day two, they leave based on day one finish results, and day two they leave in reverse order with the slowest teams starting first often resulting in many passes on the trail. Trails were hard and fast this year with temperatures above 30 degrees at times. Be sure to look back further in the archives, this is the 4th year I have covered this race! Be sure to check back after Saturday to see all of the race photos.

Fifteen mushers set off on the Denali Highway for two 64 mile loops that made up Jr. Iditarod XLV. Mushers ages range from 14-17 and from all over Alaska including two teams that had to fly from Kotzebue as well as a musher from North Dakota! The temps were warm and with awesome snow conditions the trails were hard and fast! The race was set up as a two day race and combined run times from both days determined the winner. Teams finished all within 2 1/2 hours of each other on both days and SIX SECONDS separated the champion from second place. Huge thanks is owed to the trail breaking crew (visiting and local) for maintaining an awesome trail and working hard to keep the moose at bay so all these teams could have a safe race.

This was my fourth time covering this race and though it still had the 40 below start and reached cooler temperatures in the first nights the temperatures warmed up and even provided a touch of snow. This is one of the coldest races and provides some of the toughest 300 miles for mushers to travel.

67 miles down the Denali Highway to the Alpine Creek Lodge only accessible to dog teams and snow machines in the winter.

This was my first time covering this race and it was a challenge in many aspects for mushers, trail breakers, officials and volunteers. The weather didn’t want to cooperate, 30 minutes before the official start time it was 8 below with a windchill of 34 below with less than a mile (if that) of visibility. This race is often a beautiful spring event, but in 2021 it proved why it has been titled “The toughest race above the Arctic Circle.”

Thanks to Rock on Racing, I was able to get to a spot just a few miles out the trail for the day of the start. Mushers were still just starting their race, but it was a beautiful day and we were able to see all the mushers pass us by.

Teaming up with Nathanael Hardy, together we were able to each cover a day of the race of the North Pole Championships.

Taking photos of the future of sprint and distance mushers is so fun! Check out all these kids, serious and not so serious having a great time out on the runners.

Teaming up with Cross Fox Photography for a second season, we offered race coverage to mushers! We love following the race as much mushers love running it (we have a love/hate relationship too—if you’re a musher or fan, you know you know what I’m talking about!). *Full Gallery to be complete within a week of the race finish.

Teaming up with Cross Fox Photography for a second season, we offered race coverage to mushers! We love following the race as much mushers love running it (we have a love/hate relationship too—if you’re a musher or fan, you know you know what I’m talking about!). *Full Gallery to be complete within a week of the race finish.

Teaming up with Cross Fox Photography for a second season, we offered race coverage to mushers! We love following the race as much mushers love running it (we have a love/hate relationship too—if you’re a musher or fan, you know you know what I’m talking about!). *Full Gallery to be complete within a week of the race finish.

Teaming up with Cross Fox Photography for a second season, we offered race coverage to mushers! We love following the race as much mushers love running it (we have a love/hate relationship too—if you’re a musher or fan, you know you know what I’m talking about!). *Full Gallery to be complete within a week of the race finish.

This was my second time following and helping with this race. The weather was beautiful, the dogs and mushers were excited to kick off their season and the trails were not holding them back because boy were their runs fast!

This is the race. The race that mushers strive to run, that they dream to run once they know about it. The nascar of sled dog racing. I can almost say the same about photographing it. This year I followed one musher but took photos of other teams as well. I didn’t get to go to all the checkpoints but it was a blast to go to the ones that I did.

One of the final races of some of these kids seasons. I have been able to watch some of these kids grow into their own as they return year after year to run this race. Its so awesome getting to witness the future of mushing hit the trails-even though some of them are holding on as tight as they can!

For the seventh year I was fortunate enough to follow the Yukon Quest as one of the official photographers. The field was much smaller this year but the temperatures weren’t as cold as previous years, both of which added their own challenges to covering the race. This link has photos from other official photographers as well, check them out!

Though the Two Rivers 100/ 200 did not follow the Yukon Quest trail exactly, it was so nice to get to see parts of the trail, and the Two Rivers checkpoint in the DAYLIGHT.

The race has its own challenges when it comes to logistics and weather, but the organizers, volunteers, mushers, and dogs are what makes this race great. No matter where you sit in the line up, each person embarks on their own Quest.