"Dallas Seavey"

Sass’s first Iditarod victory comes on his seventh try.

The race, in some ways, is back to normal: Mushers are again dashing 1,000 miles to Nome.

This is Seavey’s fifth Iditarod win, tying him with Rick Swenson for the most Iditarod victories ever.

The Iditarod’s five top mushers were running within two hours of each other Saturday as they started their last push to the finish line, with Aaron Burmeister of Nome seizing the lead in search of his first victory.

More than two dozen Iditarod teams are retracing their route back to Willow Friday after reaching this year’s turnaround spot.

Gunnar Johnson of Minnesota tested positive for COVID-19 at the checkpoint in McGrath, near race mile 310, more than a third of the way into the Iditarod.

There’s required testing and face masks, plus a shorter trail and a smaller group of mushers signed up to compete.

The 33-year-old musher said he’s returning to the Iditarod with a new perspective, and ready to race.

The race will use abandoned mining towns and other unpopulated areas as checkpoints this year.

The revised race route is among a list of changes to the event triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, race officials say.