Iron Dog 2025: Leaders head west as Rookies get first taste of race
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Strategy starts to come into play on Day 2 of the Iron Dog coming out of the pivotal checkpoint of McGrath.
Team 5 elected to take a shorter, 11-hour layover to be the first team to leave Sunday morning at 9:21 a.m.
“Oh yeah we just went shorter, try to get on the trail earlier, because that trail is as smooth as it will ever be right now,” said Team 5 member Kruz Kleewein.
Each year presents its different challenges as riders make adjustments on the fly.
“I’ve done this race 23 times and that was definitely the worst I have seen it,” 2016 Iron Dog Champion Tyson Johnson 50 miles of zero snow at all and probably 70 miles of very little snow. The tussocks are two foot tall in places and really shouldn’t be taking a snowmobile through that at all.”
As the leaders head west in hopes the worst is behind them.
“I am expecting it to be cold when we get to the Yukon, we are going to be really hot at the start of the day, then it’s going to cool down quite a bit,” said Evan Barber of Team 9, competing in his fourth Iron Dog at the age of 20. “I am excited for the rest up here, that’s kind of what I like, but going to be chilly later on tonight.”
Meanwhile, for the 25 rookies who started the race on Saturday, the 2025 Iron Dog is their first rodeo.
“Going through the burn, I have never seen how it was yesterday,” said Team 25 rookie Trevor Helwig. “So it was like, man we could be at home right now, on the couch, but that’s no fun, so we’re out here instead.”
Completing ‘The World’s Longest Toughest Snowmobile Race’ is never an easy feat, but this year has been especially difficult.
“It was an adventure. [Today should be] Better than the burn, relatively easy...anything will be easier than the burn, so we’re good, nothing else matters.” said Team 23 rookie tandem Adam Stafford (Wisconsin) and Wyatt Halek-Hooper (Minnesota).
For the 21 rookies who made it to McGrath, they are 339 miles down of 2,503 to earning their badge of veteran status.
“In Alaska you’re kind of a nobody unless you run the Iron Dog, “Hayden Reid of Team 29 said. “Sometimes even if you do run the Iron Dog, it stays that way..we’ll see what happens,” his teammate Reggie Davis chimed in. Continue to monitor the website for updates along the trail.
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