Jessie Holmes Wins 2025 Iditarod!

At 2:55 am Alaska time this morning, Alabama-born musher Jessie Holmes was the first to cross the Iditarod finish line with 10 dogs in his team. He completed the 1,128-mile race in 10 days, 14 hours, 55 minutes, and 41 seconds.

Matt Hall finished in second place three hours later. 

Paige Drobny has passed through the Safety checkpoint and is heading for a third-place finish in Nome. No other teams have reached Safety yet, but Michelle Phillips has completed her mandatory 8-hour rest period at White Mountain and is heading toward Safety. Four other teams (Mitch Seavey, Bailey Vitello, Travis Beals, and Ryan Redington) are currently resting at White Mountain.

As of 6:30 am, Mille Porsild is at the Elim checkpoint and is currently in 9th place. Emily Ford (17th overall) has left Shaktoolik and is currently crossing Norton Bay on her way to Koyuk. 

It'll be a tough crossing. Paige Drobny reported that a ground storm came up on the ice with snow blowing like sandpaper and head winds of about 30 mph that made it feel like she was being sandblasted for hours.  

Overall, it's been a most unusual Iditarod. A new and different route with a start in Fairbanks instead of Anchorage, the longest distance for the race in its history, unseasonably warm temperatures, bare ground in some places and slushy snow in others, and even a sandstorm at one spot early in the race.

Anyway, congratulations to Jessie. It's hard to be humble when you're from Alabama.