Charlie Angnatuk is top dog in Ivakkak race for 2025
After dominant performance throughout the race, Tasiujaq’s Angnatuk and Zachariah Saunders take home the victory
First-place finishers Charlie Angnatuk and Zachariah Saunders of Tasiujaq, wearing No. 9 vests, accept their Ivakkak race awards after winning Thursday. With them are Willie Cain Jr. and Tamisa Saunders, also from Tasiujaq, who finished second and wore No. 7, plus third-place finishers Jean-Marie Beaulne and Jackusi Amamatuak. (Photo courtesy of Lucasie Kiatainaq | Ivakkak)
Charlie Angnatuk and Zachariah Saunders are the 2025 Ivakkak champions after a six-day dogsled race that took them from Kangiqsualujjuaq to the finish line in their hometown of Tasiujaq.
They arrived Thursday after covering 328 kilometres with a race time of 26 hours and 23 minutes. Just 14 minutes behind them were Willie Cain Jr. and Tamisa Saunders, another team from Tasiujaq.
The two teams matched each other’s pace throughout the race. On the final day, Cain Jr. actually arrived in Tasiujaq before Angnatuk, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the fact that Angnatuk’s overall race time was faster.
In third place was Puvirnituq’s Jean-Marie Beaulne and Jackusi Amamatuak, who completed the gauntlet in 27 hours and 45 minutes.
The race kicked off Feb. 26 but on several days was paused, either due to poor conditions or for rest. Mushers faced multiple challenges throughout; 11 teams started the race but one dropped out midway.
Former musher George Kauki called the path between Kangiqsualujjuaq, where the race started, and Kuujjuaq the most difficult trail in Nunavik with continuous hills and soft snow.
Between those two communities, mushers endured temperatures around -30 C and had to stop for one day due to blowing snow and whiteout conditions.
In Kuujjuaq, teams stopped for two days to let the dogs rest and for a community feast. Tasiujaq also welcomed the finishers with a feast and an awards ceremony, honouring Angnatuk and Saunders for their victory.
In an interview during the stopover in Kuujjuaq, Makivvik president Pita Aatami said 16 teams signed up for the race this year but due to the logistics of transporting the dogs on charter flights, only 11 teams could participate.
Just a few years ago, he said, there was only one racer who participated, “so we are evolving.”
“We are looking at how we can make it better for everybody, because it takes a lot of money to hold this race,” Aatami said.
“It is still evolving even after 23 years of racing,” he said. “We still want to make it better.”
For next year’s race, he said Makivvik will engage with mushers earlier to get their feedback on how it can be improved.
“We want to keep this, because it brings back a lot of memories for older people but it also brings pride to the younger generation,” Aatami said.
Upigusuppunga iluunasinni! I am proud of all the mushers, and I want to keep watching this event each year. Kajusiritsi
I am glad you the mushers get to share this event with us through NN. It makes the hard news go away at least for a moment. UPINAQPUSI.
Well done, a year long in the ready dogs need feeding. We are having swings from -20 +2 -16 in the forecast and there was the snow storm that rolled in on the Friday right after the Thursday finish. Role models keep it clean and drug free.