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Richie Diehl arrives in Ruby on Friday morning, March 13, 2020 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
When mushers arrive in Ruby, it marks the beginning of the journey on the Yukon River. The first musher to reach that milestone is treated to a five-course meal and other prizes. Jessie Royer won that award and shared her meal with other front-runners.
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Brent Sass, Jessie Royer, Aaron Burmeister, and Thomas Waerner share in a five-course meal in Ruby on Friday, March 13, 2020 during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Royer was the first musher to the Yukon River checkpoint, winning a prize of $3,500 and a five-course meal, and chose to share her meal with the other frontrunners. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
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Veterinarian Bill Sampson checks dogs in Joar Leifseth Ulsom's team. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
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Ryan Redington talks on his phone while tending to his dogs in Ruby. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
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A dog in Richie Diehl's team has a frosty face after arriving in Ruby on Friday. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
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A volunteer helps park mushers Richie Diehl and Joar Leifseth Ulsom in Ruby on Friday morning. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
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Richie Diehl arrives in Ruby on Friday. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
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Dogs in Joar Leifseth Ulsom's team wait for a bed of straw on Friday morning. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
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Joar Leifseth Ulsom tends to his dogs while talking to fellow musher Thomas Waerner in Ruby Friday morning, March 13. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
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A dog in Ryan Redington's team relaxes in Ruby. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
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Thomas Waerner eats a vacuum-sealed cheeseburger that he heated in hot water on a camp stove in the Ruby checkpoint. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
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Thomas Waerner, Brent Sass, and Aaron Burmeister eat and chat in the Ruby checkpoint on Friday morning. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
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A dog in Richie Diehl's team rests in Ruby. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
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Richie Diehl puts dry socks into wet boots in Ruby. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
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A dog in Aaron Burmeister's team relaxes in Ruby on Friday morning. (Loren Holmes / ADN)