The 54th edition of the Iditarod is the most popular dog sled race in the world and ranks among the most grueling events in all of sports.
Depending on weather and trail conditions, races typically take between 8 and 15 days to complete. The fastest time ever recorded was seven days, 14 hours, 8 minutes, and 57 seconds by Dallas Seavey in 2021, while the longest winning time was 20 days, 15 hours, 1 minute, and 7 seconds, set by Carl Huntington in 1974.
This year, 36 mushers will cover nearly 1,000 miles — about 976 miles — across Alaska, traveling from Anchorage to Nome. Among them, 27 mushers are from Alaska, three represent other U.S. states, and six are international competitors. Twelve rookies will take on the challenge in this year’s grueling race.
The 2026 Iditarod is set to begin on Saturday, March 7, continuing the long-standing tradition of starting the race on the first Saturday in March.
Iditarod standings 2026
Updated as of 12:27 a.m. ET on March 16.
| Position | Musher | Latest Checkpoint |
| 1 | Jessie Holmes | Unalakleet |
| 2 | Travis Beals | Unalakleet |
| 3 | Paige Drobny | Unalakleet |
| 4 | Mille Porsild | Unalakleet |
| 5 | Riley Dyche | Unalakleet |
| 6 | Wade Marrs | Unalakleet |
| 7 | Jeff Deeter | Unalakleet |
| 8 | Ryan Redington | Unalakleet |
| 9 | Michelle Phillips | Kaltag |
| 10 | Matt Hall | Kaltag |
| 11 | Lauro Eklund | Kaltag |
| 12 | Peter Kaiser | Kaltag |
| 13 | Hanna Lyrek | Kaltag |
| 14 | Josi (Thyr) Shelley | Kaltag |
| 15 | Sam Martin | Kaltag |
| 16 | Bailey Vitello | Kaltag |
| 17 | Jessie Terry | Kaltag |
| 18 | Jessie Royer | Kaltag |
| 19 | Rohan Buser | Kaltag |
| 20 | Kevin Hansen | Kaltag |
Iditarod map and route
There are two trails for the Iditarod dog race. The northern trail is used in even years, and the southern trail is used in odd years. The 2026 Iditarod will take place on the northern route, a map of which can be seen below.
Northern Route
| Checkpoints | Distance between Checkpoints* | Distance from Anchorage | Distance to Nome |
| Anchorage to Campbell Airstrip | 11 | 11 | 964 |
| Willow to Yentna Station | 42 | 53 | 922 |
| Yentna Station to Skwentna | 30 | 83 | 892 |
| Skwentna to Finger Lake | 40 | 123 | 852 |
| Finger Lake to Rainy Pass | 30 | 153 | 822 |
| Rainy Pass to Rohn | 35 | 188 | 787 |
| Rohn to Nikolai | 75 | 263 | 712 |
| Nikolai to McGrath | 48 | 311 | 664 |
| McGrath to Takotna | 18 | 329 | 646 |
| Takotna to Ophir | 23 | 352 | 623 |
| Ophir to Cripple | 73 | 425 | 550 |
| Cripple to Ruby | 70 | 495 | 480 |
| Ruby to Galena | 50 | 545 | 430 |
| Galena to Nulato | 37 | 582 | 393 |
| Nulato to Kaltag | 47 | 629 | 346 |
| Kaltag to Unalakleet | 85 | 714 | 261 |
| Unalakleet to Shaktoolik | 40 | 754 | 221 |
| Shaktoolik to Koyuk | 50 | 804 | 171 |
| Koyuk to Elim | 48 | 852 | 123 |
| Elim to Golovin | 28 | 880 | 95 |
| Golovin to White Mountain | 18 | 898 | 77 |
| White Mountain to Safety | 55 | 953 | 22 |
| Safety to Nome | 22 | 975 | 0 |
| Total Distance | 975 |
Southern Route
| Checkpoints | Distance between Checkpoints* | Distance from Anchorage | Distance to Nome |
| Anchorage to Campbell Airstrip | 11 | 11 | 987 |
| Willow to Yentna Station | 42 | 53 | 945 |
| Yentna Station to Skwentna | 30 | 83 | 915 |
| Skwentna to Finger Lake | 40 | 123 | 875 |
| Finger Lake to Rainy Pass | 30 | 153 | 845 |
| Rainy Pass to Rohn | 35 | 188 | 810 |
| Rohn to Nikolai | 75 | 263 | 735 |
| Nikolai to McGrath | 48 | 311 | 687 |
| McGrath to Takotna | 18 | 329 | 669 |
| Takotna to Ophir | 23 | 352 | 646 |
| Ophir to Iditarod | 80 | 432 | 566 |
| Iditarod to Shageluk | 55 | 487 | 511 |
| Shageluk to Anvik | 25 | 512 | 486 |
| Anvik to Grayling | 18 | 530 | 468 |
| Grayling to Eagle Island | 62 | 592 | 406 |
| Eagle Island to Kaltag | 60 | 652 | 346 |
| Kaltag to Unalakleet | 85 | 737 | 261 |
| Unalakleet to Shaktoolik | 40 | 777 | 221 |
| Shaktoolik to Koyuk | 50 | 827 | 171 |
| Koyuk to Elim | 48 | 875 | 123 |
| Elim to Golovin | 28 | 903 | 95 |
| Golovin to White Mountain | 18 | 921 | 77 |
| White Mountain to Safety | 55 | 976 | 22 |
| Safety to Nome | 22 | 998 | 0 |
| Total Distance | 998 |
Source: sportingnews.com
