Iditarod officials gearing up for 50th anniversary race

WASILLA — The 50th Anniversary Iditarod race is a month away.

According to Iditarod Trail Committee Chief Operations Officer, Chas St. George, their overall efforts preparing for the 2022 race are faring well.

“Systems are go. We’ve got this moving forward at this point,” St. George said.

The ceremonial start in Anchorage is scheduled for Saturday, March 5. The official restart begins the following day in Willow, returning to its traditional roots from an altered route from last year’s race that started and ended out of Deshka Landing.

The 2021 race route was referred to as the Gold Trail Loop. It spanned about 860 miles, following a portion of the historic race route. Teams made their way through the Alaska Range, the Happy River Steps, and the notorious Dalzell Gorge, twice, a unique milestone that was never seen before at the Iditarod.

St. George said they’re excited to return to the familiar route this year.

“We are hopeful that we can all come together again as communities across the state and really look at this as an opportunity to reflect on not only what we’ve been through as Alaskans over the last couple of years, but perseverance. That’s what this race is about. We made it through. We persevered. We got really creative with our past history,” St. George said.

The Iditarod has an extensive COVID-19 mitigation plan in place. St. George said they’re working closely with numerous entities such as the Department of Health and Social Services to ensure the most efficient set of protocols.

“The big unknown is, ‘are we going to see this trajectory of cases go down?’ St. George said. “We’re working on a lot of fronts. We’ve got epidemiologists engaged and involved with everything we’re doing. I think we have a really good game plan.”

St. George said the pandemic has prompted them to think outside the box to come up with safe and effective methods to maintain the integrity of the Last Great Race, and he’s proud of what they were able to accomplish.

“I think that the most important thing for us all to remember as Alaskans is that this is a way to honor the traditional values of our forefathers and the first peoples of this state and the bond between a canine and human. That’s a big deal,” St. George said. “The culmination is happening now. You can see it unfold at the Iditarod.”

The Iditarod is kicking off its Golden Anniversary with one of the strongest fields in race history, featuring an array of accomplished mushers such as Martin Buser, Dallas Seavey, Peter Kaiser, and Ryan Redington.

“Mushers are ready. We’re excited. The teams look fantastic,” St. George said.

For more information about the 2022 Iditarod, including race updates and their current COVID-19 policy, visit iditarod.com.

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