Josh Cadzow, named the Yukon Quest's rookie of the year, finally got to the finish line at 1:18 p.m. Tuesday, after having scratched in 2009.

Asked by reporters how he felt, Cadzow had little to say.

"Speechless,” he answered with a smile.

The rookie said he battled himself to get to the finish line, rather than the elements.

"It was more mental, just trying to get things going,” he said.

Cadzow is a first nations resident of Fort Yukon, Alaska, and is being hailed as the resurgence of native mushing, a title he is happy to hold.

"The village, Fort Yukon, I did it for them,” he said.

Living in Fort Yukon enabled his dogs to prepare for the type of weather they experienced on the Quest, Cadzow said. He trained mostly at night to evade daytime warmth, and kept that schedule in the race.

"It didn't really bother them,” Cadzow said of the balmy temperatures. "The dogs are used to running warm.”

Cadzow commented on his scratch last year, saying he was happy to finally arrive at the Quest's finish line.

"It feels great. I knew I was going to get to the finish line,” he said.

The 22-year-old said completing the 1,600-kilometre race is his most memorable experience.

Cadzow's final time was 10 days and nine minutes. Throughout the race, he and fellow Alaska rookie Abbie West jostled for position.

Cadzow didn't get the edge until the final legs of the race, where he surged past West, who arrived at 9:45 p.m. Tuesday.

Also arriving overnight were Normand Casavant of Whitehorse and Sam Deltour and Dries Jacobs of Belgium.

Cindy Barrand of Kasilof, Alaska, was assessed a half-hour time penalty at the Braeburn checkpoint after repairs were made to her equipment to deal with a safety concern.

Braand was on her way to Whitehorse at 7:05 this morning after serving her penalty and her eight-hour mandatory layover.