Ed Iten made a hard push at the end of the race, and finished 26 minutes later in second place, beating his previous best of 5th in 2004. Last year's champion Mitch Seavey's bid to take the lead came up a little short, but he successfully fended off Sørlie's teammate and nephew, Bjørnar Andersen, to place third. Andersen's 4th-place finish with Team Norway's second string of dogs makes him the highest placed rookie since 1976, and wins him the Rookie of the Year Award. Two-time runner up Ramy Brooks took 5th place more than an hour and a half later than Andersen, and he was followed by John Baker just 11 minutes later. Lance Mackey arrived hours later, in 7th place, which is the best anyone has ever done in the Iditarod after winning the Yukon Quest in the same year, followed by Jesse Royer, Paul Gebhardt, and DeeDee Jonrowe. The remaining racers jockeyed for position, because slipping just one place in the final standings can cost several thousand US$ in prize money.