Wasilla, AK – The 2009 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race first day sign ups began at 9:30 am Alaska time at the Iditarod Trail Committee.  By the end of the first draw deadline (12:30 pm Alaska Time) fifty one mushers had signed up for Iditarod XXXVII. The second draw concluded at 3:45 pm (Alaska Time) with seventeen additional mushers signing up. The first day sign up ended with sixty eight mushers signing up for “The Last Great Race on Earth.”

Five Iditarod Champions (five time champion Rick Swenson, four time champions Jeff King and Martin Buser, two time and defending champion Lance Mackey and 2004 champion Mitch Seavey were on hand to sign up, along with a number of previous top ten Iditarod Finishers.  Thus far fifteen rookies have signed up for the 2009 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

Nearly 400 volunteers and mushers gathered at the Iditarod Trail Committee Headquarters. They were served a barbeque luncheon by the Millennium Alaska Hotel (The Official Hotel of the Iditarod trail Sled Dog Race).

Gerry Willomitzer (Whitehorse, YT Canada) and Mike Williams (Aniak Alaska) won their $4,000 entry fees back in a final drawing that marked the end of the 2008 Volunteer Appreciation Picnic.

Click here to view the listing of mushers (in order of their draw).

THE IDITAROD TRAIL COMMITTEE is proud to announce that the 2009 Seppala Heritage Grant recipient is Wade Marrs from Wasilla Alaska (Home of the Iditarod).  The 18 year old Alaskan musher has been a part of the Jr Iditarod for two years.  Wade received the coveted Humanitarian Award in the 2008 Jr Iditarod.  He raced in five other Jr Sled Dog races during the 2008 season winning three and placing second in two.   Read More »

By Douglas Robson for The New York Times-Published May 6, 2008 

When humans engage in highly strenuous exercise day after day, they start to metabolize the body’s reserves, depleting glycogen and fat stores. When cells run out of energy, a result is fatigue, and exercise grinds to a halt until those sources are replenished.

Sled dogs somehow change their metabolism in a race.

Dogs are different, in particular the sled dogs that run the annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska. This is a grueling 1,100-mile race, and studies show that the dogs somehow change their metabolism during the race.

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Pos. Name Amount

1 Lance Mackey $69,000

2 Jeff King $65,100

3 Ramey Smyth $61,400

4 Ken Anderson $57,800

5 Martin Buser $54,400

6 Hans Gatt $51,100

7 Mitch Seavey $48,000

8 Paul Gebhardt $45,000

9 Kjetil Backen $42,000

10 Sebastian Schnuelle $39,200

11 Zack Steer $36,600

12 Cim Smyth $34,000

13 Rick Swenson $31,500

14 Jessie Royer $29,100

15 Dee Dee Jonrowe $26,900

16 Gerry Willomitzer $24,700

17 Ed Iten $22,600

18 Ray Redington, Jr. $20,600

19 Aaron Burmeister $18,600

20 Jim Lanier $16,800

21 Aliy Zirkle $15,000

22 Silvia Willis $13,300

23 John Baker $11,600

24 Sigrid Ekran $10,000

25 Hugh Neff $8,500

26 Warren Palfrey $7,100

27 William Kleedehn $5,700

28 Matt Hayashida $4,300

29 Ed Stielstra $3,000

30 Melissa Owens $1,800

31 Gerald Souza $1,049

32 Rick Casillo $1,049

33 Jason Mackey $1,049

34 Scott Smith $1,049

35 Robert Bundtzen $1,049

36 Sven Haltmann $1,049

37 Rohn Buser $1,049

38 Lous Nelson, Sr. $1,049

39 Cindy Gallea $1,049

40 Jon Korta $1,049

41 Clint Warnke $1,049

42 Robert Nelson $1,049

43 Rudi Niggemeier $1,049

44 Rick Larson $1,049

45 Kelley Griffin $1,049

46 Bruce Linton $1,049

47 Lachlan Clarke $1,049

48 Fabrizio Lovati $1,049

49 Benoit Gerard $1,049

50 Jennifer Freking $1,049

51 Blake Freking $1,049

52 William Hanes $1,049

53 Zoya DeNure $1,049

54 Benedikt Beisch $1,049

55 Matt Calore $1,049

56 Karen Ramstead $1,049

57 Joe Gans $1,049

58 Rick Holt $1,049

59 Jeff Deeter $1,049

60 Sam Deltour $1,049

61 Joe Runyan $1,049

62 Dries Jacobs $1,049

63 Rich Corcoran $1,049

64 Laura Dangereau $1,049

65 Jack Berkowitz $1,049

66 Anne Capistrant $1,049

67 Kirk Barnum $1,049

68 Eric Rogers $1,049

69 Richard Savoyski $1,049

70 Sue Allen $1,049

71 Wayne Curtis $1,049

72 Sue Morgan $1,049

73 Trent Herbst $1,049

74 Heather Sirtola $1,049

75 Gene Smith $1,049

76 Martin Koenig $1,049

77 Liz Parrish $1,049

78 Deborah Bicknell $1,049

Total: $925,052.00