At the Iditarod banquet in Nome Sunday night, mushers, fans and race officials celebrated the 44th running of the Last Great Race. Before they announced awards, though, organizers presented Aliy Zirkle and Jeff King with a special donation from the community of Nulato.
A snowmachiner from the checkpoint village ran into both mushers on the trail, killing one of King's dogs and injuring several others. Race officials said Nulato held a craft sale after the incident to raise money for the mushers and help them heal.
"Thank you, Nulato," Zirkle said. "You're one of the most special villages on the trail."
King also thanked the community, which won the Golden Clipboard Award as the most outstanding checkpoint.
"I've got a hunch that Aliy and I will come up with a good place to share the money that Nulato raised," King said. "If anything comes from our very scary and tragic accident, I hope it's a continued and undying focus on the risks associated with driving motor vehicles while intoxicated."
As awards got underway, Champion Dallas Seavey earned top honors, taking home $75,000 and a new truck for his first-place finish. Seavey's dog Reef also received his second Golden Harness Award as the race's most outstanding lead dog.
Kotzebue's John Baker won the sportsmanship award. His fellow mushers selected him for stopping when a competitor called for help on the trail.
"He's saying, 'Stop! Stop! Stop!' Heck, the only reason I stopped was because he was blocking the trail. Otherwise, I'd have kept going," Baker said, laughing with the audience.
Meanwhile, Nome's Noah Burmeister was named the most improved musher. Finishing 11th this year, he jumped 44 spots since his last race a decade ago. Race veterinarians voted Aliy Zirkle as the musher with the most outstanding dog care, and Geir Idar Hjelvik earned the Rookie of the Year Award. The Norwegian musher finished 26th overall.
This article originally appeared on KNOM Radio Mission, a Nome-based radio station sharing stories from around Western Alaska. It is republished here with permission.?