The teams are all back in Deshka Landing! The last two finished just after midnight today and were trying to tie for the Red Lantern.

Thank you all for your hard work on covering Iditarod 49. It’s our pleasure to work with you! 

Red Lantern

By the snout of a lead dog nose, Victoria Hardwick claims the Red Lantern Award. She finishes just two seconds behind rookie Dakota Schlosser to claim her second Red Lantern Award, last winning in 2019. As the final finisher, Hardwick extinguished the symbolic lantern at the finish line in Deshka Landing early this morning. 

Here are some interesting facts about Iditarod 49: 

• 351 sled dogs finished; including two-time Iditarod champion Gamble on Dallas Seavey’s team.
• 36 teams finished 
• 10 scratched
• 8 of the 11 rookies finished the race
• 10 women finished 
• 26 men finished
• Martin Buser completed his 38^th race; he has 36 consecutive finishes and 19 finishes in the top 10
• $20,549 in cash was given out for the sponsor trail awards 
  • This does not include the cost of The Lakefront Anchorage gourmet meal, Northern Air Cargo four-wheeler drawing, or paid entry fees for special award winners still to be named.
• There are just 352 days left until the 50^th running of the Iditarod! 

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