Norwegian Musher Achieves Boyhood Dream, Wins Iditarod Race

The 2020 iteration of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race kicks off in Anchorage, Alaska, on March 7, 2020. Courtesy of Katie Harp

As a young boy growing up in Norway, Thomas Waerner spent idle hours thinking long and hard about two different kinds of iconic American modes of transportation: muscle cars and the sled dogs in the Iditarod.

Waerner, 47, made one of those dreams reality on March 18, winning the nearly 1,000-mile (1,609-kilometer) Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race across Alaska. He took a commanding lead in the late stages of the race and held a five-hour advantage over the next closest musher, three-time champion Mitch Seavey.