Iditarod Update

Less than 7 days before the start of the race, the Iditarod Trail Committee has changed the Official Restart point from Willow, Alaska, just outside of Anchorage, to Fairbanks, 350 miles to the north. The total length will now be 1,128 miles instead of 972, adding some 150 miles and making it the longest Iditarod in history. Due to the absence of snowfall since the January 31st and no new snow in the forecast, the scheduled Southern Route from Willow to Ruby was deemed unpassable. 

The original route had 20 checkpoints, but the new route, although significantly longer, has only 18 checkpoints. 

After a March 1 ceremonial start in Anchorage, the Official Restart will occur at 11:00 am on Monday, March 3. The route will run from Fairbanks to Ruby with checkpoints at Nenana, Manley, and Tanana, and then run from Ruby to Kaltag, passing through Galena and Nulato. However, at Kaltag, the trail will then run south to Eagle Island, Grayling, Anvik, and Shageluk, and then loop back up to Kaltag again. After that, the trail will  continue on to Nome using the traditional checkpoints between Unalakleet and Nome.