Dallas Seavey is Picking Up Speed

The GPS Tracker is showing Burmiester is now 6 miles behind Zirkle, and Dallas is a mile behind Burmiester, passing Baker on he trail. King is 15 miles behind Zirkle, and cruising at a speed of 7 mph. Mitch Seavey is stopped at the moment. Its minus 31 degrees out....making it very uncomfortable for the Mushers. The dogs typically do good in 20 to 25 below....30 below isn't that much different for them I would think. The good thing for dogs AND mushers, is the winds are calm..right now. If you didn't know the 30-30-30 rule..its a fact that when its 30 below, and the wind is blowing at 30 mph, exposed skin freezes in 30 seconds. A calm wind is a blessing at this point in the race!

Its also worthy to note Ken Anderson hopped through Kaltag, only saying for a few moments, and is now in the leader pack in 7th place. He is running a different rest run schedule, which may play out for him as the get to the last leg of this race. This is very typical for Anderson....he comes outta no where!

I am eager to hear all the talk once the Teams make it into Unalakleet. I believe Dallas, King and Burmiester have the strongest teams, and even if Baker is slower....he has the tendency to stay consistent...a consistent march to Nome, a tactic that won him last years race.

Zirkle may be in a bit of trouble here. I was hoping she would have slipped out with 4 hours rest from Kaltag, playing mind games with the hounds by leaving before they could see her.. This is an old school move. But Zirkle's team must have needed the rest.....its a 90 mile haul to the coast from Kaltag, and Zirkle stated she needed to put some gas, ie rest, in her team before moving on. This was not a tactical move...but rather a necessary one. It was the first sign of weakness in her team, because at that point in the race, if you could jump out in front of the chasers like that, you would have done it. But instead, she traded her lead in for rest. And at the moment, that exchange may not equate into a win for her. But it was probably the best move for the health of her Team. Teams that win the Iditarod, tend to rise to the occasion....Mushers have described this like being on a magic carpet ride...their teams find another gear late in the race, and the drive to get to Nome is instinctive. If Aily's Team can not find this higher gear, then she may fall back some, and become one of the hounds in the pack, chasing after a new rabbit!

9 miles to Unalakleet....an hour and a half...look for Aily to arrive at the Coast around noon EST. She will be awarded the Gold Coast Award for being the first musher there!