BETHEL, Alaska – Theo Failor stayed up late Saturday night to welcome daddy home. The 19-month-old was waiting at the Kuskokwim 300 finish line with his mom, Liz, when Mansfield native Matthew Failor crossed the finish line on Sunday morning, just after 4 a.m. AKST. The 42-year-old St. Peter’s High School graduate finished in eighth […]
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Iditarod is good to go: ‘Return of winter’ good news for Mansfield native musher
WILLOW, Alaska — Mansfield native Matthew Failor got the good news Friday. The mush is on for his Alaskan Husky Adventure’s 17th-Dog team. The Iditarod Trail Committee announced it intends to maintain the southern route for the 2025 edition of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, meaning the race will start around Willow and end […]
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Lack of snow continues to make Iditarod preparations tough for Mansfield native
WILLOW, Alaska — How bad a winter has it been for training sled dogs in Alaska? New Orleans has gotten more snow in 2025 than Anchorage. With the nearly 1,000-mile 2025 Iditarod Sled Dog Race coming up in little more than a month, the unusually warm and mild Alaskan winter continues to throw curveballs at […]
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Mansfield native preps for Iditarod with Copper Basin 300 ‘training run’ in Alaska
GLENALLEN, Alaska — Mansfield native Matthew Failor took his sled dog team on a 300-mile training run and camping trip over the weekend. It just happened to be during the 2025 Copper Basin 300 Sled Dog Race, finishing 22nd out of 30 teams during unseasonably warm temperatures. During an interview with Richland Source last week, […]
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Iditarod prep: Mansfield’s Matthew Failor to mush Saturday in Copper Basin 300
WILLOW, Alaska — Matthew Failor seriously considered not racing in the 2025 Idiatrod Sled Dog Race across Alaska. In fact, the 42-year-old Mansfield St. Peter’s graduate didn’t make it official until the last minute, officially entering the “The Last Great Race” on Dec. 2, the final day for admissions. That means Failor will launch his […]
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‘An evening with Matthew Failor:’ Meet Mansfield’s Iditarod racer on April 11
Editor’s note: This event officially SOLD OUT as of March 28. All tickets were sold within 10 hours of going on sale. MANSFIELD — Thousands of north central Ohio residents followed Mansfield native Matthew Failor during the 2024 Iditarod sled dog race via daily Richland Source coverage. We are now going to give you the […]
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Matthew Failor honored as best sportsman from 2024 Iditarod race across Alaska
NOME, Alaska — Matthew Failor was in perfect position for another Top 10 finish in the famed Iditarod sled dog race across Alaska. But the 42-year-old Mansfield native was also in perfect position to help a disconsolate young musher, who saw one of his dogs die about 650 miles into the nearly 1,000-mile race from […]
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‘I am happy to be here:’ Matthew Failor finishes 2024 Iditarod race across Alaska
NOME, Alaska — The 2024 Iditarod wasn’t officially over Wednesday until Cadillac kissed Theo Failor in Nome. Actually, the loving licks from the veteran husky to the 8-month old were just a part of the celebration as Mansfield native Matthew Failor — Da-Da to Theo — arrived at the finish line at 5:35 p.m. AKDT […]
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‘Da-Da!:’ Theo Failor recognizes his father racing in the 2024 Iditarod in Alaska
Editor’s note: Richland Source is posting daily updates on Mansfield native Matthew Failor’s efforts at the 2024 Iditarod Sled Dog Race, which began March 3. Updates post daily at 8 a.m. and may be updated during the day. (UPDATE: Matthew Failor arrived at the Shaktoolik checkpoint Monday at 12:58 p.m. ADT with the 12 remaining […]
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Racing on the Yukon: Matthew Failor in position to chase Top 5 Iditarod finish
Editor’s note: Richland Source is posting daily updates on Mansfield native Matthew Failor’s efforts at the 2024 Iditarod Sled Dog Race, which began March 3. Updates post daily at 8 a.m. and may be updated during the day. ON THE IDITAROD TRAIL, Alaska — Matt Failor has put himself into position to perhaps chase that […]