Reliving the 2024 1000mi Iditarod Trail Invitational

It dropped to -41F in the early morning hours.

The 1,000mi Iditarod Trail Invitational (ITI) is a race like no other. Following the historic Iditarod trail from its trailhead at Knik Lake to Nome, the world’s longest winter ultra-marathon takes competitors 1,000 miles through the far reaches of the Alaskan wilderness.

“One of the most challenging experiences on the planet, participants brave extreme physical, environmental and mental challenges as they travel along the historic Iditarod Trail on bicycle, foot or skis. Requiring self-sufficiency and the considerable resilience to make it through up to 30 frozen days and nights, the Iditarod Trail Invitational has built its reputation on notoriously inhospitable conditions and minimal outside support.” [ITI]

This was my 2^nd ITI 1000 race. See Reliving the 2022 1000mi Iditarod Trail Invitational for the 2022 edition of my journey to Nome.

I decided to sign up again in 2024 to experience the journey in solitude and to enjoy the landscapes. I ended up being rarely alone. The conditions and the overall experience in 2024 were quite different from 2022. I’m sharing on this page a bunch of photos for your enjoyment. I don’t feel like putting things into words this time. It’s an experience that is very hard to put into words to begin with.

I finished 2^nd in the foot category in 2022 in 24d 45m and 2^nd in 2024 in 25d 3h 16m. See ITI results for more details: https://itialaska.com/results

The world’s longest running winter ultra-marathon takes competitors 1,000 miles on the historic Iditarod trail through the far reaches of the Alaskan wilderness.