Willow residents react to move of the 2025 Iditarod Restart to Fairbanks

The Willow community will feel the effects of the move of the Iditarod Restart to Fairbanks, according to residents. While there will be financial aspects of missing out on the business the event brings, the spirit of Willow-area residents will be effected most of all, residents say.

This is the fourth time in the history of the Iditarod that the race will start in Fairbanks. The first was in 2003, followed in 2015 and then 2017.

The Iditarod Trail Committee announced earlier this week that it is moving the 2025 Iditarod restart to Fairbanks following weeks of speculation of where teams will actually take off this year for the Last Great Race, thanks the less than ideal conditions in Southcentral Alaska.

“I think the biggest impact is the community spirit,” Willow Area Community Organization (WACO) Chairman Trygve Erickson said.

Each year, Erickson hosts an Iditarod watch party in front of his house along the Iditarod route. He said he can have anywhere from 75-200 guests that sit within feet of the dogs and mushers as they pass by. Erickson and his wife, Kim, will not be able to host the party this year and enjoy the event with friends and family.

“The first and the biggest single impact is we’re just disappointed,” Erickson said. “We’re sympathetic, we’re understanding, but we’re disappointed.”

The Iditarod, Fourth of July Parade and Picnic and the recent Willow Winter Carnival are the three largest events of the year for the Willow Community Center. Erickson said that the absence of Iditarod this year is a “not insignificant budget hit.” He explained that the Iditarod Trail Committee (ITC) is the single largest renter of the community center over the course of the year, utilizing the space for several days before, during and after the race.

Funds raised from events like these help to pay for utilities, snow plowing and general maintenance of the community center. Erickson also mentioned how he suspects local businesses will be affected by the move. He referenced how they dealt with a similar experience in 2017.

“We will survive,” Erickson said. “We look forward to hosting it again. WACO will smart from the loss of revenue but will redouble our efforts to make it up.”

Ronda Widner is the owner of Roni’s Chinook Deli and Pizza in Willow. She explained that while the Iditarod does help boost the local economy with visitors from all over, it also congests thousands of people into a small area. She expects things to be a bit more quiet this year.

Widener believes that most people planning to attend the start of the race will remain in Willow, since they’ve already booked their vacation rentals. Being one of the few dining options in Willow, she hopes that will lessen some potential financial losses.

Ultimately, Widner believes the decision to move Iditarod isn’t the only problem facing Willow and similar communities this winter. A lack of snow has affected many businesses, from snow machine and dog sled tours, to snow hauling services and more.

“We’re having no winter. Everything is a little bit slower because we don’t have any snow,” Widner said. “But it’s the weather, you can’t do anything about it.”

Matthew Failor is a long-time Iditarod musher and owns and operates Alaskan Husky Adventures in Willow with his wife Liz. Failor will be running one of the two teams that will be racing in the Iditarod from his kennel this year.

This will be Failor’s third Fairbanks start. Despite the announcement from the ITC only days before the race, Failor remains optimistic and is still happy to compete with his dogs, wherever the race takes him.

“We’re a little disappointed that we have to uproot everything and drive to Fairbanks, but it’s out of our control,” Failor said. If they say we have to drive all the way to Utqiagvik (Barrow) and mush up there, we’re going to Utqiagvik.”

To adjust for the change, Failor will be staying with friends in Fairbanks in preparation for the start. He said that not only will he need to get his dog team and equipment to Fairbanks, but also his family, which includes a 19-month-old, to the start with him.

As a member of the dog mushing community, Failor said he appreciates the ongoing local support from his friends and neighbors. He believes Willow will recover, despite the disappointment many have not hosting the start of Iditarod this year.

“Willow-billies are strong and resilient, and the Iditarod will be back next year,” Failor said.