World’s toughest snowmobile race: Iron Dog set for 40th year of squeezing the throttle to Nome

By MUST READ ALASKA

The world’s longest, toughest snowmobile race starts Saturday, Feb. 17. It’s the 40th running of the Iron Dog Race, with as many as 60 teams of two riding their snow machines from Big Lake to Nome and back.

This year the race is 2,503 miles long, following the northern route of the traditional Iditarod trail through Kotzebue to Nome and back to Big Lake.

“The Pro Class racers travel over the Alaska Range to the Yukon River, then cut overland toward the Bering Sea coast. Once on the coast, they travel to Koyuk then to Kotzebue via the ‘Red Dog Loop.’ From Kotzebue, racers head south, reaching the halfway point in Nome. After leaving Nome, Pro Class Racers will reverse course to finish back in Big Lake,” according to the race website. The Pro Class has 24 teams, including six past champions: Nick Olstad (six- time champion), Chirs Olds, Todd Palin, Marc McKenna, Tyler Aklestad (four-time champions) and Mike Morgan (two-time champion).  See the full roster at this link.

The Pro Class, which starts at 10 am, is followed by the noncompetitive Expedition Class. The Expedition Class travels 1,049 miles on the northern route of the Iditarod Trail to Nome. There are 38 riders in the 2024 Expedition Class field.  See the full roster at this link.

On Thursday, the Iron Dog Ambassador Team will leave Big Lake and travel the trail to Nome. Riders in the 2024 Team include:

Scott Davis, seven-time Iron Dog Race champion.  Scott raced the inaugural event in 1984, finishing second before capturing his first Iron Dog Race title in the second race in 1985 From 1984 through 2015, Scott missed just two races, both due to injury. With various partners, he started 29 races and finished 25 of them. In addition to those seven wins, he collected even more Top-10 finishes: eight second place, five third place, two fourth place and a handful of fifth places. Scott retired from Iron Dog Race in 2015, finishing in second place and was inducted into the Iron Dog Race Hall of Fame in 2017.

Cory Davis, 2017 Iron Dog Race champion. Cory is the son of Scott Davis; the two have raced in the Iron Dog only once together, in 2011, and finished in third place. Cory was instrumental in the Flying Iron “Freestyle Show,” which took place before the start of the Iron Dog Race in 2016 and 2017 in Anchorage, and in 2018 during the start on Big Lake. Davis, who is known for his wicked “whip,” is a six-time X-Games medalist.

DeeDee Jonrowe, who is a two-time runner-up in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Jonrowe has competed in the Iditarod 36 times, finishing on 32 occasions. In addition to two second-place finishes, she collected 16 Top-10 and nine Top-5 finishes. She was presented with the Leonhard Seppala Humanitarian Award twice and earned the Sportsmanship Award once during her professional career. She was voted twice by her peers as the Most Inspirational Musher, including in 2003 after crossing the finish line just three weeks after completing chemotherapy for breast cancer. DeeDee is a member of the Alaska Mushing Hall of Fame, the Anchorage Daily News Iditarod Hall of Fame, and the Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame.

Mike Jonrowe, a longtime supporter of trail maintenance and grooming for dog sled teams and snowmachiners, has traveled to Nome casually four times. A certified drone pilot, he will be capturing images of the group to share with fans. 

Robby Schachle, 2021 Iron Dog Race champion. Robby has raced in the Iron Dog Race seven times, finishing first, second, third, fourth and three DNFs. Robby comes from a family steeped in racing tradition. In his spare time Robby, along with family, put on the “Big Rob Schachle Memorial Fun Run,” in honor of his late father, to support the Big Lake Aurora Lions Club. 

Pat Reilly, who participated in the early days of Iron Dog Race, starting in the second-ever race in 1985.  With two Iron Dog Race runner-up trophies to his name, Reilly has been instrumental with the foundation of the Iron Dog Race. Reilly organized racers’ pilots who flew air support for teams for many years after racing, flying many races himself — most often with his wife, April. April was inducted into the Iron Dog Race Hall of Fame in 2009. The two of them owned and operated Rain Proof Roofing for more than 40 years.  

Ashley Wood, who in 2023 with partner Hillarie Gosset became the second all-woman team to ever finish the Iron Dog Pro-Class race, and the first to do so with the inclusion of the Red Dog Loop. Not since 2001 has another all-woman team completed the Iron Dog Race. Ashley participated in the 2015 and 2018 Pro Class fields, scratching due to mechanical issues, and in 2017 flew in support of teams. Ashley has a long history of racing wins, including multiple first-place finishes in the Valdez Mayor’s Cup, Big Lake 150 and Skwentna 200. 

Kristina Woolston, external affairs manager with Donlin Gold, a longtime sponsor of the Iron Dog and other iconic Alaskan traditions and events. Kristina also served for more than 10 years as vice president of government relations for Chenega Corp., and five years as vice president of external affairs for Quintillion. An Alaska Native, Kristina was raised in Naknek and earned a degree from Dartmouth College, putting herself though university by commercial fishing in Bristol Bay.

To support Team 99 during the 2024 race, or to sponsor this iconic Alaskan event and ensure the tradition continues, contact Iron Dog Executive Director Mike Vasser at [email protected], or call 907-563-4414.

All participants in the 2024 Iron Dog are expected to arrive into Nome, Alaska, on Tuesday, Feb. 20.

In January, the Iron Dog organization presented three Alaskans with membership in the Iron Dog Hall of Fame: Wilson Bourdon, Pat Reilly, and Bill “Fish” Fischer, who volunteer their services and time to the race.

More information about the race is at this link.