Iron Dog 2025: Day four wraps up with most of the pool reaching Nome

NOME, Alaska (KTUU) - Day four of the 41st Iron Dog Snow Machine race is nearing its end, with most of the pool’s racers now at the halfway point.

Bradley George and Robby Schachle were the first team to arrive earlier on Tuesday — passing under the inflatable arch just before 2:30 p.m.

“It always feels good to be the first ones to pull into Nome,” George said. “You’re blood’s pumping, you’re excited.”

“It’s a beautiful sight when you come over the hill and see town,” Schachle said.

Team 14 (Casey Boylan, Bryan Leslie) and 9 (Evan Barber, Troy Conlon) followed behind shortly after, rounding out the top three teams on the leaderboard.

Other pairs come in later, team 8, the duo of Tom Davis and Tyson Johnson, towed into the Public Works Shop after mechanical issues made the push to Nome difficult.

“Between Koyuk and White Mountain, one of the sleds just started running really bad,” Johnson said. “We towed it all the way here ... 70 miles.”

This comes after the team went off course the day prior, forcing them to backtrack.

“About 5 miles out of Buckland, the trail we’re supposed to take kinda veers off to the right. Well, it’s hard to see, especially if you’re not paying attention,” Johnson said. “We missed the turn to the right and by the time we realized what trail we were on, we were committed to going to Kotzebue for fuel.”

For team 6, Tuesday’s trek was a homecoming – Mike Morgan, originally from Nome, completed his 15th trek on the trail from Big Lake.

“It’s awesome coming into the hometown stretch here, seeing everybody out there greeting us and my family,” Morgan said.

Team 4, made up of Wilson Hoogendorn and Bubba McDaniel, followed behind not long after. The pair closed out the remaining Nomites who had yet to make it home. Louis Green, a rookie with team 32, was also from the city but scratched earlier in the race before reaching the checkpoint.

As of 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, Team 5 (Kruz Kleewein, Zack Weisz) remains the only duo left out on the course. All teams will take part in Wednesday’s wrench day, where teams will take the time to fix their machines ahead of the last 1,021 miles back to Big Lake. When teams will depart Nome is still being decided by Iron Dog.

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