2021 Iditarod underway

WASILLA — The 2021 Iditarod is officially underway, and the first 36 hours of the race included an atypical start to the Last Great Race and an injury suffered by a fan favorite.

Mushers departed from Deshka Landing during a start that didn’t include the typical large crowd and fanfare due in part to COVID-19 precaution and protocol Sunday, March 7. During the first full day of the Iditarod, veteran Aliy Zirkle sustained an injury that required medical attention.

“At approximately 8 p.m. today, Iditarod veteran musher Aliy Zirkle of Two Rivers, Alaska, was injured while coming in to the Rohn checkpoint. Aliy is in stable condition but based on information provided by a volunteer with medical training, I notified the Alaska State Troopers and the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center for assistance,” Iditarod race marshall Mark Nordman said in a statement issued late Monday night. “The Alaska RCC is airborne and en route to the checkpoint to pick up Aliy and will transport her to Anchorage for further evaluation. Her dog team is in Rohn and being well cared for by volunteers at the checkpoint.”

The historic race has been altered to accommodate for social distancing, looking quite different than any year prior. The race begins and ends at Deshka Landing instead of starting from Willow and finishing in Nome. The restart location has been changed numerous times in the past, but this is the first time the Nome finish line has been changed.

The ceremonial start in Anchorage and the restart in Willow are both widely attended events that draw in massive crowds to cheer on mushers from around the world. Both of those traditional gatherings were cancelled this year to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

The 2021 race route is referred to as the Gold Trail Loop. It spans about 860 miles and it follows a portion of the traditional race route. Teams will make their way through the Alaska Range, the Happy River Steps and the notorious Dalzell Gorge, twice, a unique milestone never seen before at the Iditarod.

According to a race update posted on the Iditarod by Terrie Hanke, mushers will pass Yentna Station Roadhouse, the traditional first checkpoint of the race with five check in lanes flagged off so mushers could check in quickly and continue on. That isn’t the case this year.

The first checkpoint was at Mile 67 in Skwentna due to the course change.

“Very few mushers actually stopped to rest at Yentna so it made good sense to move the first check in stop to about 7 to 8 hours into the race at Skwentna where mushers will likely take their first rest,” Hanke stated in the race update.

The 2021 field has the smallest roster since 1978 with a total of 47 mushers at the starting line, according to the race update.

A press release from the Iditarod revealed the first musher to scratch in this year’s race was Cindy Gallea of Wykoff, Minnesota. The veteran Iditarod musher scratched with 14 dogs in her harness at 5:33 a.m on the second day of the race after becoming ill and deciding to call it for the “best interest of her race team.”

For complete results, see iditarod.com.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com