Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race 2013

Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race 2013

The 41st Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race came to an end yesterday in Nome, Alaska. Mitch Seavey, 53, with his team of ten dogs, became the oldest musher ever to win the 1,000-mile race across the Alaskan wilderness in just over 9 days, 7 hours. Last year his son, Dallas, became he youngest winner at 25. His winnings included $50,000 and a new truck. The race is a remaking of the freight route to Nome which pays tribute to the role sled dogs played in the settlement of Alaska. -- Lloyd Young ( 31 photos total)

Gerald Sousa's team charges down the trail at the re-start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Willow, Alaska on March 3. From Willow, the race runs for almost 1000 miles as it crosses the state to Nome. (Nathaniel Wilder/Reuters)

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Michael Williams, Jr., greets fans along Cordova Street during the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on March 2 in Anchorage, Alaska. The competitive portion of the 1,000-mile race is scheduled to begin Sunday in Willow, Alaska. (Bill Roth/Anchorage Daily News via Associated Press) #

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Four-time Iditarod champion Jeff King drives his dog team down 4th Avenue during the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on March 2 in Anchorage. (Bill Roth/Anchorage Daily News via Associated Press) #

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Dogs wait to run in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on March 3 in Willow, Alaska. 65 teams will be making their way through punishing wilderness toward the finish line in Nome on Alaska's western coast 1,000 miles away. (Rachel D'Oro/Associated Press) #

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Richie Diehl is offered a beverage as his team heads into the wilderness after the re-start of the race in Willow, Alaska, on March 3. From Willow, the race runs for almost 1000 miles as it crosses the state. (Nathaniel Wilder/Reuters) #

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Leaders in Jessica Hendricks's dog team negotiate a steep drop off in the trail after leaving the Finger Lake checkpoint in Alaska during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on March 4. (Bill Roth/The Anchorage Daily News via Associated Press) #

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Mushers work their way across the Farewell Burn in Alaska during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on March 5. (Bill Roth/The Anchorage Daily News via Associated Press) #

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Christine Roalofs prepares to rest with her dogs at the Finger Lake checkpoint in Alaska during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on March 4. (Bill Roth/The Anchorage Daily News via Associated Press) #

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Aliy Zirkle applies ointment to a paw while at the checkpoint in Unalakleet on March 10. (Bill Roth/Anchorage Daily News via Associated Press) #

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Four-time Iditarod champion Martin Buser reaches out to long-time friend and Nulato checker Larry Esmailka who drove down the Yukon River to help out with the race on March 9. Buser was about 5 miles away from the Kaltag checkpoint and leading the sled dog race. (Bill Roth/Anchorage Daily News via Associated Press) #

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A musher and dog team cross the ice between the Rohn and Nikolai checkpoints on March 5. (Bill Roth/The Anchorage Daily News via Associated Press) #

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A musher handler for Ed Stielstra's team hugs one of the dogs before lining up for the ceremonial start to the race in downtown Anchorage, Alaska, on March 2. (Nathaniel Wilder/Reuters) #

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Four-time Iditarod champion Martin Buser wipes his face after arriving first at the Yukon River in Anvik, Alaska during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, early March 8. (Bill Roth/Anchorage Daily News via Associated Press) #

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Students at Blackwell School in Anvik, Alaska, watch an interview with Lance Mackey as the Yukon River community anticipates the arrival of the first Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race mushers on March 7. (Bill Roth/Anchorage Daily News via Associated Press) #

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Veterinarian Lee Morgan examines a sled dog at the Finger Lake checkpoint in Alaska during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on March 4. (Bill Roth/The Anchorage Daily News via Associated Press) #

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Dog teams rest at the village of Nikolai along the Kuskokwim River in Alaska during the race on March 5. (Bill Roth/The Anchorage Daily News via Associated Press) #

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Kidron Flynn sits with dropped dogs getting ready to be loaded in an Iditarod Air Force plane during the race on March 6. (Bill Roth/The Anchorage Daily News via Associated Press) #

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Dropped dogs are loaded into an Iditarod Air Force plane to be flown to McGrath during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on March 6. (Bill Roth/The Anchorage Daily News via Associated Press) #

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A musher and dog team rest between the Rohn and Nikolai checkpoints in Alaska on March 5. (Bill Roth/The Anchorage Daily News via Associated Press) #

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Musher Christine Roalofs drives her team through the Happy River Gorge en route to the Rohn checkpoint on March 5. (Bill Roth/The Anchorage Daily News via Associated Press) #

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Four-time Iditarod champion Martin Buser arrives first at the Yukon River in Anvik, Alaska on, March 8. (Bill Roth/Anchorage Daily News via Associated Press) #

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Four-year-old Kayden Alexie pokes a fire with a stick as people gather in the village of Nikolai, Alaska, to watch and help with dog teams pulling into the checkpoint on March 5. (Bill Roth/Anchorage Daily News via Associated Press) #

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Headlamps provide light for mushers and veterinarians working with sled dogs in the village of Nikolai, Alaska on March 5. (Bill Roth/Anchorage Daily News via Associated Press) #

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A musher kicks while traveling to Koyuk during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on March 11. (Bill Roth/The Anchorage Daily News via Associated Press) #

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A sled dog in the team of Norwegian musher Joar Leifseth Ulsom removes snow and ice on a bootie after arriving in Unalakleet on March 10. (Bill Roth/Anchorage Daily News via Associated Press) #

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Veteran Iditarod musher Rudy Demoski prepares food for his dog team at the McGrath checkpoint on March 6 at Nikolai Airport in Nikolai, Alaska. (Bill Roth/The Anchorage Daily News via Associated Press) #

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Musher Sonny Lindner, center, gives snacks to his dogs at the Finger Lake checkpoint on March 4. (Bill Roth/The Anchorage Daily News via Associated Press)#

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A musher travels across Norton Sound on their way to Koyuk during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on March 11. Alaska's famous 1,000-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race has come down to a furiously contested sprint among veterans, with one seasoned musher grabbing the lead from another Monday and several others within striking distance. (Bill Roth/The Anchorage Daily News via Associated Press) #

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Aaron Burmeister packs his sled prior to leaving Unalakleet on March 10. (Bill Roth/Anchorage Daily News via Associated Press) #

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A musher travels across Norton Sound on their way to Koyuk on March 11. (Bill Roth/The Anchorage Daily News via Associated Press) #

31

Mitch Seavey became the oldest winner, and a two-time Iditarod champion when he drove his dog team under the burled arch in Nome on Tuesday evening, March 12. He sits with his two lead dogs, Tanner, left, and Taurus. (Bill Roth/The Anchorage Daily News via Associated Press) #