ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Jessie Holmes, a former reality television star, won the longest-ever Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Friday, celebrating with fist pumps to a cheering crowd and posing for photos with his two floral wreath-adorned head teammates, Hercules and Polar.

The Iditarod went Hollywood in its 53rd year, and it made for a competition all the more memorable. The Great American Dog Sled Race proved rather time-consuming, with a lack of snow forcing organizers to change the event's usual route.

Holmes pumped his fist as he ran alongside his sled with a headlamp beaming from his forehead, as he and his 10-dog team finished the 1,128-mile (1,815-kilometer) race across the Alaska wilderness in the Gold Rush town of Nome. The distance for this year's running was the longest in the Iditarod's 53-year history.

The Interior Alaska musher won his first Iditarod on his eighth try, arriving in Nome with his dog team early Friday.

Former reality TV star Jessie Holmes won the 53rd Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Friday, March 14, ending a run that was as commanding as the race was long.

NOME — Jessie Holmes, a 43-year-old Alabamian who came to Alaska more than 20 years ago, has earned his first win in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Holmes crossed under the burled arch in Nome just before 3 a.m. Friday with 10 dogs on the line, completing his journey in a preliminary time of 10 days, 14 hours, 55 minutes and 41 seconds.

Former reality TV star Jessie Holmes wins Iditarod after crossing the finish line in 10 days, 14 hours, 55 minutes and 41 seconds.

Jessie Holmes, a former reality television star on “Life Below Zero,” won the longest-ever Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race early Friday morning, crossing under the burled arch in Nome, Alaska, around 2:55 a.m.

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Former reality star Jessie Holmes, who appeared on 'Life Below Zero' until 2023, won his first ever Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Friday, March 14.