Emily Robinson wins Jr. Iditarod three years in a row

WASILLA — Sixteen-year-old Nenana musher Emily Robinson was the first young musher to cross the finish line during the 2024 Jr. Iditarod sled dog race Sunday, Feb. 25.

This was Robinson’s third Jr. Iditarod victory in a row. According to race officials, Robinson is the second person in the history of the Junior Iditarod to achieve this milestone.

“It's great," Jr. Iditarod board member Barb Redington said.

Robinson’s historic Jr. Iditarod victory followed another impressive success in January when she won the 2024 Knik 200 race, out-mushing adult, veteran Iditarod competitors such as 2023 Iditarod champion Ryan Redington.

“That's pretty special. She's a pretty gifted musher," Barb said.

Robinson's Jr. Iditarod success did not come without its challenges. Robinson said there were "a lot of curve balls thrown into it," including having to recover her dogs that ran off for about four miles during the race.

"I'm pretty tired," Robinson said with a laugh.

Robinson said that she was hoping to pull off another Jr. Iditarod victory but she wasn’t expecting it. She said that she feels honored to be the second person to manage to win it three years in a row.

“That's pretty cool,” Robinson said.

Jr. Iditarod mushers embarked on a race course that spanned about 150 miles from Knik Lake to Yetna and back to Big Lake. It’s an arduous adventure through the Alaskan wilderness that is not for the faint of heart. A lot of training goes into getting ready for a race of this nature, for both the dogs and the musher.

“You mentally try to prepare yourself," Robinson said.

Robinson raised her dog team from birth. She said that she really enjoys the process of taking care of them, training them and identifying positions such as the lead dogs based on their unique personalities and abilities.

“It's a really cool transformation watching them go from puppies,” Robinson said.

Robinson said that she plans on running the adult Iditarod at least once to say she did it. She noted that she wants to do certain things like travel before deciding if she wants to settle into a full on mushing career. She said there’s a lot of ups and downs in the competitive mushing lifestyle, but “most of the time, it’s a very great adventure.”

Robinson’s mother Alissa Robinson said that she was very proud of her daughter’s successes in the Jr. Iditarod and the Knik 200.

“She did an amazing job handling her team," Alissa said. “She has a confidence in her that you get after you've faced some really hard challenges and faced your fears. She pushed through the nerves and just proved herself. I don't think.you can ever take that away. Her success will always be with her.”

2021 Junior Iditarod champion Morgan Martens took second place in this year’s race.

“It was amazing," Martens said. “We made it. We've got happy dogs… They were super. I couldn't have asked for a better team.”

Martens said that he had a good run overall in spite of the various challenges along the way.

“It was not an easy run but I had a lot of fun the entire race. You can only learn from it,” Martens said.

Martens has been training under Ryan Redington and using his dogs for several years. He said that he’s honored to have Ryan as a mentor.

“He has taught me many things about mushing and I’m very grateful for his support. I wouldn't have the success I have without him,” Martens said.

Ryan said that he was very proud of Martens.

“He’s a really good musher. It's very cool to watch him grow,” Ryan said. “I've been helping Juniors for many years and it's something I’ll always do. It helps the sport.”

Martens’ team was made up of numerous champions that ran with Ryan during the 2023 Iditarod.

“I trust him with my best dogs,” Ryan said. “They love racing. It's just fun to see the dogs do their thing.”

For more information about the Jr. Iditarod, visit jriditarod.org.

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