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35 of our favorite photos from the beginning of the 2024 Iditarod

Relive some of our top highlights from the 52nd Iditarod’s ceremonial start in Anchorage and the restart in Willow.

By Marc Lester, Bill Roth, Loren Holmes, Bob Hallinen, Anne Raup
Updated: March 4, 2024 Published: March 4, 2024

As 2024 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race mushers make their way through the first stage of the race, relive some of our top highlights from the race’s opening weekend in Anchorage and Willow.

More Iditarod coverage:

On the first full day of the Iditarod, mushers ascend the Alaska Range in fuzzy conditions

Iditarod officially underway as mushers leave Willow

Prerace jitters, thinking like a dog and more cowbell: Iditarod kickoff begins with mushers touring Anchorage

Wildlife encounter leads Iditarod racer Dallas Seavey to dispatch and gut moose on trail

Iditarod rookie musher Isaac Teaford drives his dog team across Long Lake during the Iditarod restart in Willow on Sunday, March 3, 2024. (Bill Roth / ADN)

Veteran musher Travis Beals of Seward drives his dog team past moose dogs cooking on a barbeque on Long Lake during the Iditarod restart in Willow. (Bill Roth / ADN)

Five-time champion Dallas Seavey drives his dog team across Willow Lake during the Iditarod restart on Sunday. (Bill Roth / ADN)

A dog in Severin Cathry’s team shows excitement to run. (Marc Lester / ADN)

Defending Iditarod champion Ryan Redington accepts a hot dog from a spectator on Long Lake during the restart in Willow. (Bill Roth / ADN)

Veteran musher Paige Drobny drives her dog team near Vera Lake closely followed by Wally Robinson during the Iditarod restart. (Bill Roth / ADN)

Canadian rookie Connor McMahon visits with his lead dogs in the starting chute at the Iditarod restart in Willow. (Bill Roth / ADN)

Veteran musher Jessica Klejka leaves Willow during the Iditarod restart on Sunday. (Bill Roth / ADN)

Iditarod rookie Calvin Daugherty of Sterling catches his sled after he turned his dog team at the end of Vera Lake during the restart. (Bill Roth / ADN)

Dogs in Bailey Vitello’s team leap in excitement to run. Thirty-eight mushers and their teams kicked off the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race with a ceremonial run through Anchorage on March 2, 2024. (Marc Lester / ADN)

Gabe Dunham’s dog Unk sniffs the clipboard as while being checked in by race officials. (Marc Lester / ADN)

Liz Failor, left, walks with her husband, veteran musher Matthew Failor, toward the starting line. (Marc Lester / ADN)

Musher Matt Hall, of Two Rivers, waves to fans as he heads east on Fourth Avenue. (Marc Lester / ADN)

A dog in Fairbanks musher Jeff Deeter’s team rests on the truck. (Marc Lester / ADN)

A musher crosses Tudor Road during the ceremonial start of the Iditarod on Saturday. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

Matt Hall's team crosses the Northern Lights bridge near Goose Lake during the ceremonial start of the Iditarod. (Anne Raup / ADN)

Mille Porsild's team mushes past a sign that reads "NO DOGS (Unless They Are Headed To Nome)" at Trailgate during the ceremonial start of the Iditarod. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

Matt Hall reacts after taking a swig of a cold beverage as he mushes through Trailgate. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

Nicolas Petit greets fans as he rides backwards on his sled during the ceremonial start of the Iditarod. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

Sean Williams mushes alongside Tudor Road during the ceremonial start of the Iditarod. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

Mats Pettersson, from Kiruna, Sweden, turns to check on his second sled at a tight turn near Goose Lake. (Anne Raup / ADN)

Wally Robinson from Nenana, reaches out to slap hands with fans during the ceremonial start. (Anne Raup / ADN)

Severin Cathry, a rookie from Airolo, Switzerland goes under a banner which reads Go Dogs Go on one side and Iditarod on the other, during the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. (Anne Raup / ADN)

Mats Pettersson, of Kiruna, Sweden, waves after leaving the starting line. (Marc Lester / ADN)

Ryan Redington waves to race fans downtown. (Marc Lester / ADN)

Rookie Connor McMahon mushes down 4th Avenue. (Bob Hallinen Photo)

Mats Pettersson, from Kiruna, Sweden, makes the corner onto Cordova Street. (Bob Hallinen Photo)

Matt Hall, from Two Rivers, AK, high fives fans on his way down Cordova Street. (Bob Hallinen Photo)

Bailey Vitello stops briefly as Benjamin Good passes him during the ceremonial start in Anchorage. (Bob Hallinen Photo)

Jessie Royer, left, high-fives fans as she mushes down Cordova Street. (Bob Hallinen Photo)

Isaac Teaford greets fans as he mushes through Trailgate. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

Jessie Holmes waves to fans after leaving the starting line. (Marc Lester / ADN)

Fans offer opinions on Balto and Togo, two legendary sled dogs involved in the historic 1925 serum run to Nome. (Marc Lester / ADN)

A dog watches the Iditarod action from the side of Fourth Avenue. (Marc Lester / ADN)

Connor McMahon, a rookie from Carcross, Yukon Territory, makes a tight turn during the ceremonial start of the Iditarod. (Anne Raup / ADN)

Lara Kittelson, a rookie from Battle Ground, Washington reaches out to slap hands with fans along an East Anchorage stretch of trail. (Anne Raup / ADN)

Marc Lester

Marc Lester is a multimedia journalist for Anchorage Daily News. Contact him at mlester@adn.com.

Bill Roth

Bill Roth is a staff photojournalist at the Anchorage Daily News.

Loren Holmes

Loren Holmes is a staff photojournalist at the Anchorage Daily News. Contact him at loren@adn.com.

Bob Hallinen

Bob Hallinen has been a photojournalist in Alaska since the 1980s and has traveled extensively all over the state. He retired from the ADN in November 2018 after 33 years at the newspaper.

Anne Raup

Multimedia editor Anne Raup has been with ADN for 26 years, both as a staff shooter and an editor.

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