Younger Seavey beats father to Iditarod finish

Veteran musher Dallas Seavey claimed his second straight Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race title early Wednesday, crossing the finish line in Nome about four hours ahead of his father, two-time winner Mitch Seavey.
The 27-year-old Seavey claimed his third title in four years battling high winds and temperatures that reached 50 below zero while guiding a team of dogs nearly 1,000 miles across the state’s wilderness.
“It’s been doing what I love: mushing dogs, making it fun and keeping it fun,” said Seavey, who finished the race in eight days, 18 hours, 13 minutes and six seconds - five hours slower than his record-setting performance last year. “The wins are a result of doing what we love.”
Meanwhile, Chisholm musher Nathan Schroeder was running in 22nd place on Wednesday, on the final stretch of the race to Nome.
A throng of race fans lined Front Street in downtown Nome to welcome Dallas Seavey upon his arrival to the community on the Bering Sea coast at about 4:15 a.m. Alaska time Wednesday.
The Iditarod commemorates a 1925 mission to bring diphtheria serum by dog-sled relays to Nome. This year’s race is the 43rd annual event and each of the past four has been won by either Dallas Seavey or his father.
Mitch first won in 2004 and again in 2013, becoming the oldest champion at age 53. Dallas won in 2012, becoming the youngest musher to win at age 25, and won again last year.
In mid-February, race officials deemed sections of the trail unsafe and switched to an alternate route, starting in Fairbanks instead of in Willow, Alaska.
“This is a very difficult trail,” said Seavey, who led the last 170 miles. “I think a lot of folks expected it to be easy because it was flat. It was a challenging race. We loved every minute of it.”
Dallas Seavey becomes the seventh competitor to win the race at least three times. Rick Swenson holds the top spot with five victories.
Seavey takes home a $70,000 winner’s check and a pickup truck.
“I guess it’s time to starting picking out a color,” he said.
Iditarod veteran Aaron Burmeister of Nome finished third, about 9:45 a.m. Wednesday, and Jessie Royer of Darby, Mont. - who competed in the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon several times in the 1990s - finished fourth, just before noon.
SCHROEDER NEARING FINISH
Schroeder, a three-time champion of the John Beargrease, arrived at White Mountain - 902 miles into the 979-mile race - at 1:42 p.m. Alaska time Wednesday. He had a team of eight dogs, half the number with which he started the race. Mushers must have at least six dogs pulling their sled at the finish.
Mushers are required to take an eight-hour rest at White Mountain before hitting the trail to Nome.
“It’s not a real concern except he’s been down to a low number (of dogs) for the last 350 miles,” said Schroeder’s father, Vern, who is in Nome to see his son finish the race. “I’m sure he’s running pretty conservative - he can’t afford to drop any more now - to make sure he gets to the finish.”
Vern Schroeder told the News Tribune on Wednesday that he expected his son to finish about 6 to 8 a.m. Alaska time today - 9 to 11 a.m. Duluth time.
“I’m tracking on GPS and picking up bits and pieces from people who have been to checkpoints,” Vern Schroeder said.
Sixty-nine of the 78 mushers who started the race remained on the trail Wednesday.
Check duluthnewstribune.com for updates.