Team 7 Aklestad, Olstad capture back-to-back Iron Dog titles
The Top 3 Iron Dog team finishers are, from left, second-place Team 14 Bryan Leslie and Casey Boylan; first-place Team 7 Nick Olstad and Tyler Aklestad; and third-place Team 39 Cody Barber and Brett Lapham. Iron Dog photo
Nick Olstad gives his kids Jackson and Kaia a ride into the paddock for post-race inspection on Saturday. This is Olstad’s sixth Iron Dog victory. Iron Dog photo
Your 2023 Iron Dog champions are Tyler Aklestad and Nick Olstad from Team 7.
After a week where poor weather and low visibility plagued racers across the competitive field, Saturday’s puffy clouds lifted just in time to deliver bluebird skies for the Big Lake finish. Team 7 crossed the finish at just after noon to capture what is Aklestad’s fourth victory and Olstad’s sixth. As they came into the finish chute, Olstad’s children Jackson and Kaia, and Aklestad’s sons Liam and Finn, waved the checkered flag to signal their arrival.
“This is the nicest day of the ride so far,” quipped Olstad when greeted at the finish.
“It was a great race,” said Aklestad. “We stuck to our plan and honestly we never had to push it. … Overall, it was an amazing race.
Team 7’s Tyler Aklestad signs the 2023 Iron Dog Official Guide for young race fans. This is Aklestad’s fourth Iron Dog Victory, and third one with partner Nick Olstad. Iron Dog photo
Aklestad and Olstad have partnered together since 2020, winning three of their last four races together. In 2021, they scratched after a mechanical knocked them out of the race at Unalakleet.
Second-place finishers Team 14 Casey Boylan and Brian Leslie had a near flawless race to capture a spot on the podium – and a $40,000 cash prize. They crossed the line at 12:41 p.m., just 36 minutes behind Team 7. It was a much better ending than their 2022 race, when Leslie took a hard get-off after hitting a rough patch on the trail and ending up in the hospital. While he suffered no broken bones, it was the end of their race, and they scratched in Nome.
Team 14 Bryan Leslie and Casey Boylan celebrate at the Iron Dog finish. Their second-place finish earns them a $40,000 cash prize. Iron Dog photo
“It was a good race,” Boylan said Saturday as he collected his thoughts at the finish. “We had some good strong points and some places we learned a little too. We have two running sleds, and it was a maintenance-free ride, which is what you really need to be competitive.”
Rounding out the podium, Team 39 Cody Barber and Brett Lapham came in third, at 1:04 p.m. and 23 minutes back from Team 14. These Top 3 were not unexpected. The frontrunners kept similar gaps between each other ever since their restart in Nome on Feb. 22.
Team 16 Hillarie Gossett (left) and Ashley Wood (third from left) celebrate their rookie finish of Iron Dog 2023 with legendary dog musher DeeDee Jonrowe (far right) and Dianna Blakley (second from left), who was in the Expedition Class in 2022. Gossett and Wood became only the second all-female team to complete the Iron Dog Pro Class, and the first all-women team to complete the longer route that includes the Red Dog Loop. Megan Rolinger photo
As of 3:30 p.m. Saturday, 11 of the 15 remaining teams were across the finish line. The top-placing all-rookie team, Travis Temple and Chad Moore of Team 19, arrived just before 3 p.m., followed less than 10 minutes later by fellow all-rookie Team 16 Ashley Wood and Hillarie Gossett. They are the only two all-rookie teams to complete the 2023 race. Hillarie Gossett and Ashley Wood becoming the second team of all women to finish the Iron Dog Race and the only with the inclusion of the Red Dog Loop.
Tonight’s Iron Dog Awards Ceremony, Hall of Fame Banquet and Raffle Drawing takes place at 7:30 p.m. at the Curtis D Menard Memorial Sports Center, 1001 S. Clapp St., in Wasilla.