the Seaveys

 

Welcome to the Seavey Family's home page.  Here at Seavey's Iditarod Racing Team our focus is on our family, both human and canine.  We are home to three generations of top-20 Iditarod racers and fourteen generations of champion sled dogs. 

 

Dan Seavey Sr. founded our racing program in 1965 and competed in the first two Iditarods in 1973 and '74. Dan's eldest son, Mitch Seavey, took over the racing in 1982 and has since completed twelve Iditarods. 

 

We now have five Iditarod veterans in the family and Mitch won the race in 2004. During the summer months, we open our homestead to the public, offering world renowned kennel tours and dog sled rides. Please visit one of the above links for more info about our racing team or tours.

History

 

Three generations of the Seavey family have completed the 1,150-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Dan and Shirley Seavey moved to Seward, Alaska, from central Minnesota in 1963. After surviving the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, Dan began to raise and train sled dogs.

 

 In 1973, Dan Seavey, along with a number of fellow dog mushers, helped Joe Redington, Sr. found the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, a 1,150-mile sled dog race from Anchorage to Nome. Dan competed in the first and second Iditarod races placing third and fifth respectively. The three weeks spent on the trail to complete those first Iditarod races were huge tests of endurance and fortitude for both the mushers and the dogs.

 

Dan's oldest son, Mitch, was a teenager when his father raced in those early races. Mitch helped Dan train the teams in the months prior to the Iditarod start, and his own interest in racing the Iditarod was born.

 

Mitch Seavey ran his first Iditarod in 1982, placing 22nd. After this race, Mitch and his wife, Janine, began raising a family of their own. As soon as their children were old enough to assist Mitch in his quest to win this elite sled dog race, the family's attention once again turned toward the Iditarod race.

 

In 1995, Mitch ran his second Iditarod, and placed 20th. Mitch has competed in every Iditarod race since. He has finished in the Top Twenty in eight of those races. He placed fourth in 1998, ninth in 1999, 11th in 2000 and 2002, and 12th in 2003. Mitch became the first Seavey to win the 1,150 mile marathon in 2004 when he bested the competition and crossed the finish line in a time of 9 days 12 hours 20 minutes and 22 seconds.

 

In 2005, Dallas became the 5th Seavey to finish the full 1,150 mile race and the third brother of the third generation of Seavey's to claim the title of Iditarod veteran. All three brothers completed the race as soon as they turned 18 and became eligible to run. Tyrell ran his second Iditarod in 2005 with a second string of competitive dogs and followed Mitch and the 'A' team's 3rd place finish with an impressive 16th.

 

Growing up, Mitch and Janine's three oldest sons, Danny, Tyrell, and Dallas all raced in the 150-mile Junior Iditarod. They amassed 8 top 3 finishes, and Tyrell won the race in 2001.

 

Mushing and the Iditarod are family affairs for Mitch and Janine and their four sons. They work together to care for and train the racing teams on a year-round basis. Mitch, Danny, Tyrell, and Dallas race the teams in the winter, and Conway, age 8, is already the proud owner of his very own dog sled and has big plans as a future Iditarod Champion. Janine is the "life manager," coordinating everything from race logistical details and sponsors, to the boys' home school curricula. In the summer, the family works together at Ididaride Sled Dog Tours education the public about the Iditarod Race and training future Iditarod sled dogs.