Blue sky peeked through horizontal strips of cloud cover as Team 7 raced to victory in the 2022 Iron Dog race, stopping the clock at 11:21 a.m. Saturday. Tyler Aklestad and Nick Olstad, who won the race together in 2020 but scratched in 2021, had a comfortable lead this time around, allowing them to ride cautiously and avoid the pitfalls that befell several of this year’s teams. 

The 2022 win marks Aklestad’s third victory and Olstad’s fifth. Their official course time was 53 hours, 27 minutes and 21 seconds.

“It feels good to be here,” Aklestad said at the ceremonial finish in Wasilla.  “I’ll say without a doubt that was the roughest Iron Dog I’ve ever done.”

Oldstad agreed: “Every single place where it should have been smooth, it was not,” he joked. 

From Day 1, warmer-than-normal temperatures, heavy snow, high winds and flat light plagued racers and race organizers alike. The uncooperative weather forced Iron Dog organizers to rethink the start and finish of the race, moving spectators off Big Lake as a safety precaution. Instead of the traditional spectator-lined finish on Big Lake, racers instead went off the clock at the lake and trailered their sleds to the ceremonial finish at the Curtis Menard Center in Wasilla. 

Saturday’s official finish was anticlimactic as Team 7 crossed the lake and drove immediately into their idling trailer, which whisked them to the ceremonial finish. No inflatable arches, flags or cheering fans were on the lake, but some 20 miles away, the crowds and fanfare awaited. 

Once there, Team 7 was truly able to celebrate. 

“We didn’t have one single thing – no wrecks, we didn’t have to do anything to our sleds,” Aklestad said. “We had some luck on our side, and it paid off.”

Some teams were not so lucky. Team 14 veterans Casey Boylan and Bryan Leslie scratched out of the race after Leslie took a hard spill at a section of trail called Walla Walla, outside of Elim.  That didn’t stop them from coming out to the finish to help the remaining teams celebrate. 

“Yeah, I bruised up my kidneys and had to spend a night in the hospital in Nome,” Leslie said. “Unfortunately, we had to make the call to scratch.”

Second place Team 10 arrived at 1:16 p.m., with a course time of 56:22:21; followed by Team 9, Troy Conlon and Shane Barber at 1:50 p.m. and a course time of 59:40:26. 

As far as conditions went, Olds said, “It’s probably the roughest of all the Iron Dogs. … It wasn’t super brutal, but there was never a break.”

Sections that usually can be wide-open and smooth – like McGrath to Ophir – were rutted the entire way, allowing no rest.   

“With all this heavy, wet snow and warm weather, the bomb holes were twice as deep,” Morgan said. “It was brutal, but I’m glad we made it and we are off the trail. “

The Iron Dog celebration continues 7-9 p.m. Saturday with the Awards Ceremony & Reception, which is open only to racers and their families, volunteers, and sponsors. Winners will take home $45,000; $35,000 goes to second place; and $25,000 to third place. A slew of contingency prizes will also be awarded. That event takes place at the Menard Center as well.