2023 Iditarod

The 2023 Iditarod was the 51st edition of the Iditarod, an annual sled dog race in the U.S. state of Alaska. It began on March 4, 2023, with a ceremonial 11-mile (18 km) start in Anchorage, Alaska.^[1] The official 1,000-mile (1,600 km) race began the following day in Willow, Alaska, and ended 9 to 10 days later in Nome, Alaska.^[2][3] It used the southern route of the Iditarod Trail for the first time since the 2019 edition.^[4]

51st Annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race
Venue	Iditarod Trail
Location	Alaska
Dates	March 4, 2023–March 17, 2023
Competitors	33
Champion
Ryan Redington
← 2022 Iditarod 2024 Iditarod →

The 2023 race had 33 mushers, the smallest field of competitors in its history; the decline in participants was attributed to financial issues following the COVID-19 pandemic and an ongoing inflation surge.^[2] The field included reigning champion Brent Sass and 2019 champion Peter Kaiser.^[1] Ryan Redington, the grandson of Iditarod Race co-founder Joe Redington, won for the first time with a time of 8 days, 21 hours, 12 minutes, and 58 seconds.^[5] A total of 29 teams finished the race—the last arrived on March 17 to earn the Red Lantern award.^[6][7]