Aliy into Nome

Aily comes into Nome in 2nd place....it is quite the accomplishment but I know she probably is disappointed. Last year she came in second to Dallas Seavey......and this year comes in 2nd place to his Father Mitch Seavey. Mitch came out to congratulate her, says she will win this race more than once in the coming years. She has a really big fan following (me included)...she WILL win this race in the coming years, this is just her warm up! Her Team looked fantastic, with Quito in lead...as Aliy always says there's no quit in Quito...and there is no quit in Aliy either...well done SP Kennel!!

Mitch Seavey Wins Iditarod 41

It's official....Mitch Seavey wins Iditarod 41!! He looked tired coming in....even stumbling around from exhaustion. He is being interviewed now and seems to be getting a grip. This is his second win for Mitch. He said some nice things about Aliy....says "she will win it some day.....probably more than once". They are checking his mandatory gear now to make it 100% official. 9 days, 7 hours, 39 minutes 56 seconds.....congrats Mitch!!

Mitch 3 Miles From Nome

Mitch is about 3 miles from Nome......Aliy is about 7 miles. King is through Safety Checkpoint and about 17 miles to Nome. It doesn't look like Dallas is going to catch King.

Mitch doubles his lead

Times into Safety confirm the GPS readings....Mitch has doubled his lead to 24 minutes. Aliy continues to slow down....next checkpoint Nome! King appears to be holding his 3rd position....and Dallas is 2 miles now ahead of Redington.

Mitch Appears to be Pulling Away

22 miles left....Mitch now 4 miles ahead.....22 miles left to go to Nome!

Both Teams Stop for a Break

Both Mitch and Aliy are stopped on the beach. I suspect they are snacking their Teams right outside Safety. Mitch still holds lead by 2 miles.....can he maintain speed?

Approaching Safety

Mitch at 904, Aliy at 903, King at 891, Dallas at 893, Redington at 881, Petit at 875.

Update

Mitch @ 895, Aliy @ 894, King @882 , Dallas @ 875, Redington @ 874.

Dallas on the move

Dallas just came outta the chute at mile 879....watch out King! He is at mile 878, Aliy at 890 and Mitch at 891. Iditarod web site is slow to update stats, good thing GPS is working fine. I hear the Internet connection is touch and go in White Mountain.

The King is on the Trail

Jeff King is out of the chute and running at mile 875. Aliy is at mile 886 and Mitch is a mile ahead of her at 887. Dallas will be the next to leave and has his target on capturing the King.....we shall see about that! Stay tuned!

Next Checkpoint - Safety at Mile Marker 918

The Safety Checkpoint is at Mile Marker 918....a mere 22 miles from The Burled Arch finish line in a Nome. Presently Mitch is at Mile Marker 880, Aliy at 879!

And they are off!

Just like that the race is back ON! They both left with 10 dogs and exactly 8 hours of mandatory rest!

About 20 Minutes to Blast Off!

Get ready.....we are almost ready to resume this race!! I will blog ya through it no problem.....at least one post with mile markers every 30 minutes!

LOTS of RacingYet to Be Done!

Lots of Racing yet to be done....we have Mitch and Aliy racing for first......King should lock in 3rd barring any mishaps. Dallas and Redington will race for 4th, but Id bet on Dallas since he will be running practically all the way. Then the next 3 will depart White Mt within 8 minutes of each other.....Joar, Petit and Berkowitz. It will be interesting to see if Jake will drop any dogs....he still has 15! Mitch and Aliy will leave shortly after 1 pm Alaskan time.....that's 5ish for me here in the Adirondacks. It typically takes between 7 and 11 hours to get to Nome....and I'll be glued to the GPS the whole time. GO Aliy!! Yep, Im a Red Team Sponsor!!

Mitch versus Aliy

In about 7 hours, two well rested Teams will begin the 77 mile race into Nome to claim the 1st place position in this Last Great Race on Earth. Mitch will take off about 13 minutes ahead of Aily.....that's nothing. Mitch has got to be feeling the pressure....and Aliy has been in 2nd before, she is hungry for the win. They often say the 77 mile run into Nome is a victory lap for the winner.....but not this time. It will be the ultimate race. Both Teams will be rested.....they both had come into White Mt with 10 dogs....some dogs may be dropped. I'm sure both Mushers are keenly aware of their Team mates right now. If there is a sore shoulder, or a strained wrist, and it doesn't improve in the next 8 hours that dog will be left behind. Or perhaps even if it did get better, a Musher may not want to take the chance of any flare ups in this last stretch of the race. Everyone has to be in top notch condition....and that includes the 2 legged Team member too. At this stage sleep deprivation is strong....but who could sleep at this juncture? But rest is important.....there is one steep hill to climb and then a lot of beach. Aliy trained for this.....she has to help her Team. Dallas Seavey is definitely up to the challenge, but his father Mitch is the one who must do the work this time. Is Mitch up to the task? We will have to wait and see. Normally the run from White Mt to Nome can take anywhere from 7 to 11 hours, depending upon trail conditions. That's a lot of time to be running and ski polling! So many scenarios to run.....I can't wait till they start!! It's ironic Aliy is faced with back to back Seavey challenges.....it would be nice if she can claim at least one win out of the two races!!

King Soon to Arrive - Redington and Dallas Battle For Position

King is right outside the checkpoint, pretty much locking up at least 3rd place. He is presently lat mile 866. Redington and Dallas are out on the ice right next to each other. That battle quite likely will continue tomorrow on the trail to Nome. They are presently at mile marker 857.

Aliy is IN White Mountain!!

Wow...this is it folks...get some rest, we got 8 hours until these two are unleashed for the race of their life to Nome!! Not sure of the real time differential, but Im thinking it was around 12 minutes! Way to go Aliy......and her Team did that on 1.5 less hours of rest in Elim!!

Mitch is IN White Mt

Mitch just rolled into White Mt.....Aliy is one mile out. It doesn't get much closer than this. As soon as the Iditarod web site updates Ill post some analysis on what we may be seeing in the last leg to Nome.

Aliy is 1 mile from Mitch!

We are heading down to the wire.....2 more miles to go and Aliy is smoking!!

3 miles to White Mountain!

And Mitch is still in the lead by 2 miles. Aliy and him have matched speeds clocked at 7.1 mph each!

Mitch Seavey Off the Ice

Mitch is back on the land heading to White Mt.....Aliy still 2 miles behind. King is on ice 8 miles behind Aliy. Dallas gains a mile onto Redington. Mitch and Aily should be into White Mt within the hour!

Race Across Golovin Bay

Mitch is at mile marker 861, Aliy at 859, King at 851, Redington at 842 and Dallas at an amazing 840! He must have run up all the hills!

Aliy Puts on the Speed!

Aliy is posting faster times than Mitch now, who is at mile 858 going 4.5 mph, and Aliy 3 miles away at 855 going 6.7 mph.

Mitch Stops on Ice

GPS shows Mitch stopped on ice....probably just snacking his dogs. Aliy closes the gap to 3 miles. Still a ways away from White Mt...dogs probably needs a rest.

Update on the Main Chase Pack

Behind Mitch, Aliy and King, we have Redington trailing King 7 miles back, Dallas 4 miles behind Redington, and Burmeister a mere 2 miles behind Dallas. I call that a RACE!

Aliy on the Sea Ice!

Aliy is now on the sea ice.....still trailing Mitch by 4 miles with 19 miles to go to get to White Mt. King is climbing the hills 8 miles behind Aliy.

Mitch Back on Sea Ice

Mitch is about to step onto the sea ice....Aliy is 4 miles behind and appears to be going downhill now. Her speed has slowed in the last hour or so, but I believe it's because she was climbing uphill. Now her speed is back up and riding towards the coast again from the hills. Mitch is at mile marker 849...Aliy at 845....White Mt at 869....that 8 hour mandatory rest is going to feel good!

Aliy within 3 miles!

Aliy is now back on the trail broken by trail breakers. The snap shot of her on GPS has her 3 miles behind Mitch and traveling slightly faster. Aliy at mile 840, Mitch at mile 843, and White Mountain at 869. GO ALIY!

Trail Conditions Poor

According to the Iditarod website, the trail conditions are once again punchy. This explains why Kings big dogs had problems on the trail to Elim. He was in the lead, then pulled over and Mitch passed him. They say its like a bottomless sugar bowl.....and what is odd is both Mitch and Aliy tracked towards the beach instead of the trail over notorious Lil McKinley. It's possible the trail was too punchy to even try using it to go up and over the steep hillside. Mitch is back on the trail as plotted on the GPS.....Aliy trails by 4 miles and is making her way back onto the trail as plotted. Aliy is at mile 838 and Mitch at mile 842.

Aliy 4 Miles Behind - King now on Trail!

Aliy still 4 miles behind....King takes chase out of Elim! Mitch is at mile marker 839!

White Mt and 8 hrs Rest @ Mile 869!

Who will get there first? They have to climb Lil McKinley, lots of ups and downs in this section of trail! The SP Kennel Crew must be on the edge of their seats! I certainly am! It's nearing 4 am here in the Adirondacks...time for some coffee. C'mon Aliy, close the gap and make this a hell of a race in the last stretch!

Aliys turn to Chase

Aliy cuts rest to take chase after Mitch! She is 4 miles behind him at this point! He left the check point about 50 minutes before her!

Mitch Passes King!

Mitch passes King....Mitch Seavey is now in the lead! Aliy, Redington and Burmeister continue to be running within a mile or so from eachother.

Total Race Coverage until the Top Ten are IN

I'm off from work now....and will be following this race and blogging until the top ten are in! Visit often and tell a friend that THIS RACE IS AWESOME!!

King is King in Koyuk

King came off this ice behind Mitch and stayed only 6 minutes.....filled his water bottle and he was gone! Everyone else was wondering how far he would travel before pulling over. Thanks for the tracker we could see he went 8 miles and pulled over to rest. He rested for 3 hours and Mitch rested for 37 minutes on top of that. King holds a good hour lead on Mitch. Soon the next 3 were off the ice....Aliy, Redington and Burmeister. Everyone rested a bit and are back out on the trail. King stopped at mile marker 808, Mitch right behind catching up at mile marker 804, and the main chase pack at 791 (Aliy and Redington), with Burmeirster at 788.

Mitch JUST left Shakloolik

According to the GPS....Mitch has left Shaktoolik! And now I gotta leave The Arm Chair Mushers Headquarters and get to work.....BUT, watch for all night and day coverage starting tonight.....I'm taking my traditional IditaDay off of work tomorrow to watch the end of the race unfold!!

Strategy

After reading up on some other blogs, it's generally thought Berkowitz will unleash the power of his 15 dogs on the run over the sea ice to Koyuk. King, who rested longer in Unk and still was able to bite into the lead of Burmeister may also be reserving strength to make a move. Mitch is moving well up in front, but if King and Berkowitz challenge it will be interesting if he can hold on. Aliy is in 4th right now, and is driving a very alert dog team of 11 huskies. The pundants are not mentioning any challenge for Aliy, so it just be Berkowitz and and Kings Team look stronger. Aliy made a very good run into Shaktoolik and may be planning a move of her own. The run of the sea is is a bit unnerving. The horizon is lost in the flat topography, and when the wind blows it really can be disorienting. I believe a GPS at this juncture is a valued tool, outlawed all they way till last year! No one has bolted out of Shaktoolik thus far....who will be the first to cross the ice?

Into Shatoolik

Mitch was first into Shaktoolik, followed closely by Burmeister....then King and 5 miles later Aliy. Next it will be the trek over the frozen sea ice to Koyuk. Again, wish I had the day off!

The Breakdown

We have a lot of Teams now in Unakaleet.....and when you look at the run times, you can't help but notice Jeff King has the fastest Team in that stretch....Aliy the slowest. I know Aliy rested her Team a lot during that run....so her time doesn't look great.....but unless that equates into cutting rest in Kaltag, all I can say is Aliy rested her Team more because they needed it. But King.....seriously, he was way back in the pack running to Iditarod checkpoint....you got to say Jeff, you and your Team have done good!! Here you are in 3rd place......and I saw the video of his Team coming in....barking and pulling hard.....this Team has some power yet for us all to see further down the trail. Reportedly Mitch is fixing to leave Unk soon....so we shall see how this all unfolds. Burmeister and Mitch have about 3 hours on the first chase pack, led by King. This is all getting really interesting!! The race up the Bering Sea Coast has begun!!

Mitch and Burmeister are Tired!

The first 2 Teams are into Unk, and they both are tired. Burmeister caught up with Aliy 18 miles outside of Laktag where she was camped, then had to break trail until 18 miles outside of Unk when Mitch took the lead and broke it the rest of the way to the coast. People are saying they quite likely will have to stay for a longer rest....like 6 hours rest instead of the typical 4 hours at this stage in the game. Breaking trail was hard, and it appears to have taken its toll. Next in we have Berkowitz just 9 miles outside of Unk, then King one mile behind him, Aliy one mile behind Jeff, Redington just 2 miles behind Aliy, and Ulsom one mile behind Redington. It really does not matter what order these Teams ride into Unk.....what will matter is what order they will leave in! The next chase pack is back at mile marker 576 presently led by Dee Dee.....Buser, Dallas, Gebhardt and Baker are all within a mile or so from eachother. The Pundants in Unk say the winner of the race may be in this more conservative group....saving their Teams power for when they really need it. As one of them recently said, "Im not racing to a checkpoint, Im racing to Nome". With trail conditions not being the greatest, perhaps a conservative race will be the strategy that wins!

Mitch Seavey will be the first into Unalakleet!

Mitch Seavey is just one mile out from Unalakleet and will claim the Gold Coast award in the Idiarod! Burmeister is just a few miles back at mile marker 697....then a string of Mushers beginning with Berkowitz, then King, Aliy and Ulsom will be funneling into Unalakleet BUT this second round of Teams will quite likely blow through The checkpoint since they did stop and rest along the way. Both Mitch and Burmeister just stopped briefly to snack as it appeared on the GPS tracker. I'm not sure if the so called "heat of the day" worries exist on the coast since it is quite windy even though the temps might be above 20. It will be interesting to see who goes through at Unalakleet for sure! It's really any bodies race right now. Interesting that the 3 big prizes along the trail, Mackey at the halfway point, Buser first to the Yukon, and now Mitch the first to the Bering Sea, have all been won by 3 different Teams. But who will win the race??? I don't know if Berkowitz has really unleashed his Teams power quite yet....and then there is King with his string of big male power houses. Aliy's team is said to look good too and they ran after Hugh Neff for a good portion of the Yukon Quest and ended up winning that race in the end. We have roughly 300 miles to go....with no real clear winner in the picture.

Mile Marker Update to Unalakleet

Ok....Unalakleet is at mile marker 700.....we have Mitch Seavey at mile marker 682, Burmeister at mile marker 682....this is near Old Woman Cabin, and it looks as though Burmeister may be staying for a rest there since his speed is at 0 mph right now. Then it's Berkowitz at mile 667, Buser, Ulsom and Aliy at mile marker 666.....their speed is all at 0 mph and may be resting at the Tripod Cabin. Jeff King is making a move and is rolling along at mile marker 664.

Mile Marker Stats to Unalakleet

Next Checkpoint Unalakleet at mile marker 700 Burmeister mile 662 Mitch Seavey Mile 661 Berkowitz mile 658 Ulsom mile 655 Aliy mile 646 King 640 Lindner 640 Redington 638 Dallas 636

Race to the Bering Sea Coast

Burmeister, Buser, Mitch, Berkowitz, and Ulsom are out in front towards Unalakleet....Aily rested a bit on the trail and is now moving about 16 miles behind the lead pack. Believe it not, Dallas and his small team of 10 dogs have caught up to Aliy.....he is resting now but wow, he made up some really good time up the Yukon when most of the Teams struggled. It is said this is where Teams will make their moves, and you can see it playing out on the GPS. Aliy is running her own schedule, she may try to blow through Unalakleet to Shatoolik. Speaking of blowing, the wind is strong on the coast. This is the next place to watch for Mother Nature to play her hand. A good wind could easily make for very poor visibility. On the Yukon it was rain that played a part in the race. Most mushers complained about wet feet that froze into blocks as temps dropped. Mackey....poor Mackey is fighting frost bite on a toe, and worse yet he broke a tooth clear off exposing a nerve. OUCH! He says the radiation from the throat cancer really did a number on his teeth....so a simple act of eating a brownie broke off one of his brittle teeth. He says the cold air is brutal on his exposed nerve!! You GOT to be kidding me...this guy is tough!! Also it is said Berkowitz contracted some food poisoning but seems to have worked through it. He dropped a dog in Katag and now has 15 on the Team. He admits he is the weak link. Burmeister nursed some dogs back from the canine creepy crud that ran through his team.....it wasn't an extensive bout of the stuff but still he had to deal with it by watering his dogs more to assure they don't dehydrate. As the front runners roll into Unalakleet it is said the top 5 finishers will be in there somewhere. We are running out of miles for any big moves from the middle of the pack. Dallas and perhaps Ramey Smyth will challenge for a front spot, so sit back and enjoy this Sunday racing day.....and don't forget to set your clocks ahead! It could take from 12 to 15 hours to make the trek from Kaltag to Unalakleet depending upon rest times on the trail. I'll post throughout the morning with GPS milages since the stats won't be updated until they roll into Unalakleet. The first Teams could arrive there around 11 am EST.

Aliy Camping!

Not to worry....our favorite Musher Aliy is camped 8 miles from Kaltag....so the stats will show her dropped down in the standings, but she is resting during the heat of the day....dogs ate well and resting in the sun out of the wind. Meanwhile, Buser made it into Kaltag, and all the other teams seem to be doing the same. Now it's a game of cat and mouse....the next push is on to Unalakleet and the Bering Sea Coast. Its a wide open race...Buser will now leave Kaltag with the pack.....and Aliy will be out of sight and out of mind 8 miles outside Kaltag....the element of surprise is with her!

Buser with a 7 Mile Lead

It's a long way from Eagle Island to Kaltag along the Mighty Yukon.....62 miles usually is a hop skip and a jump for a sled dog Team. Add in horrible conditions, slush and frozen nastiness plus having no where to stop and rest is simply a recipe for slow going at best! Buser is now only 7 miles from the chase pack.....his 5 hour lead last night dwindled down to 3 hours this am, and now is merely a little more than an hour. The next checkpoint is Kaltag, just 7 hours in front of Buser. Here everyone will rest.....but who will venture out first? It won't necessarily be Buser....he won't have that much rest on the chase pack...it would be "easy" or rather bold for one of the front ruuners to step up to the plate. Trail conditions from Kaltag will play a big factor. This is the place the Mushers will leave the Yukon River and follow an old portage route that connects the Yukon River Villages of the interior to the Bering Sea Coast of Eskimo Villages. This is a 90 mile stretch...is the trail blown in....is it broken....is it frozen slush? This long haul is typically broken up into 3 legs. That is typical, but who will break away from the typical....do something different like Mackey in 2007 who did this in one giant long haul? That is what this race needs.....it started with Buser making a long run in the beginning of the race....now that strategy is hanging by a thread. Time for a new break away....but who will be the Team? We shall find that out in the next 24 hours!

Trail Conditions Deteriorate on the Yukon

They just posted an excellent overview of the trail conditions to Kaltag (the next and last checkpoint on the Yukon) on the Iditarod website at www.iditarod.com Basically things are not very good, and the communications have been down, hence the slow updates on the stats.....THANK GOODNESS FOR THE GPS!!!

Busers Lead Narrows by the Hour

Aliy Zirkle is a mere 14 miles behind Martin Buser....and she has Mitch Seavey on her tail 3 miles behind her. Burmeister and Berkowitz are 6 miles behind Aliy.....and Berkowitz is running a full compliment of 16 dogs! This is an incredible and critical part of the race.....Buser probably has no idea of how the hounds are closing in. He must feel his team slowing down.....his big risk in the beginning may be taking its toll. Buser, Aliy and Mitch all have 13 dogs.....Burmeister has 15 and Berkowitz is running with 16... a testament to his excellent dog care!

Aliy Takes Chase Again

Aliy JUST took off from Eagle Island checkpoint after Buser now now 19 miles ahead of her. he is traveling at 6 mph right now...does Aliy have enough strength in the Team to push a little faster on this run? Mitch and Berkowitz Im sure are bootieing up their Team right now to chase after Buser and Aliy. They were running faster from Anvik to Eagle.....lets see if Aliys Team can keep her in second and possibly nip at the lead Buser has built up!

A Little Analysis

Finally the Iditarod updated the stats......it looks like Berkowitz has the fastest Team, with Mitch Seavey also running a very fast Team. They both nipped at Aliys lead by a half hour. We shall see how her Team responds after the rest at Eagle Island. It is quite likely Mitch and Berkowitz will overtake her team unless they find another gear. It's important to note only 570 miles of this race has been run......we still have a long ways to go yet! So far no Teams have ventured out of Eagle to chase Buser.....I anticipate Mitch and Berkowitz at the very least will be heading out shortly.

Buser has Solid 4 Hour Lead

Buser has a 4 hour lead and got into Eagle Island first, followed by Aliy 4 hours later, then a mere 20 minutes after her Mitch Seavey pulled in, then 10 minutes the Norwiegen Rookie Ulsom pulled in. Another 10 minutes later we have Royer, King, and Petit, all pulling into Eagle Island. The chase pack looks like a string of pearls laid out on the Yukon. Who will cut rest and jump out ahead? Any takers? The Iditarod website has been slow to update the current standings. If you go to Sky Stats a little further down in the menu it will show you what the GPSs are picking up. If you have a subscription you can actually see the bib numbers on a satellite map. I'm looking at it right now and we have Berkowitz just pulling in to the Eagle Island checkpoint with Burmeister right behind him. Mackey will be next but is still 12 miles away. The big question now is who will challenge Buser.....who will make the big move. Buser is right there in Eagle Island with the others.....but his dogs have been resting for 4 hours before the first chase Team rolled in. I'm beginning to question why hasn't he bolted? I look up at the Screen and wow.....he JUST took off......the rabbit is outta the hole.....who will be the first team of hounds to take chase?

Buser Widens the Gap

As Aliy takes her mandatory 8 hour rest in Grayling, Buser left his 8 hour mandatory rest in Anvik and now is 30 miles ahead of the Grayling Checkpoint. It appears at least to some that this is Busers race to loose. If someone is going to catch him they better make a move soon because before you know it your out of trail! By all accounts, Aliy is the closest to Buser, but she won't be able to take chase until 9:52 pm EST. By then he may be 50+ miles ahead translating into at least a 5 to 6 hour lead. Busers bold move early on seems to be working.....the rest of the Teams can only watch. Someone will have to cut rest a few times to catch up with Buser who doesn't seem to be slowing down any time soon. It will be an interesting night for sure!

Aliy Blows Thru Anvik!

Aliy Zirkle has checked in and out of Anvik and is presently in the lead of this race. Buser is taking his mandatory 8 hour rest in Anvik, so once his time is up he will again be able to take chase. So, when you do the math (Aliy will also have to stop for 8 hours somewhere on the Yukon) Buser has about a 3 or 4 hour lead. Physically Aliy is leading the race....it's a lot about strategy now. The next checkpoint is 18 miles away in Grayling. There is nearly 150 miles of trail on the Yukon and Teams must take an 8 hr break either in Anvik, Grayling, Eagle Island or Kaltag. Aliy is being chased by Petit and rookie team Joar Ulsom from Norway. More on Joar in a bit.....I know he is a rookie in the Iditarod but he is a star musher in Norway.....I'll have to research his team a bit and post some info. Petit I thought was a flash in the pan, be he too is demanding some respect with the race he is running. It looks as though Petit and Ulsom are staying in Anvik, but could take chase after Aliy any time. The GPS tracker at 11:57 has Aliy at 3 miles out of Anvik up the Yukon with no one chasing her.....awesome! GO Aliy!!!

Aliy Takes Chase!

Aliy has taken chase after Buser, who now sits in Anvik eating the prized 7 course meal and claiming the "after dinner mint" of $3,000 in crisp $1 dollar bills. I'm glad to see this prize make it back into the race.....last year the Millenium Hotel cheaped out and didn't offer it! Ok...back to the race....Aliy rested on the trail to Shagaluk.....so as Mitch and Burmeister blew past her, they stopped in Shagaluk to rest up a bit before heading over to Anvik. Aliy is in second now....but Im sure the rest of the pack will be taking chase shortly. Aliy has smaller dogs, many are females. King and Seavey run large dogs (incidentally all male dogs) which do better on good hard trails. Buser use to run bigger dogs too, but this year went back to smaller framed dogs, half of which are females. He said this is the type of team he won 4 Iditarods with....and making the choice to go back to the smaller dogs has paid off with this trail which hasn't always been hard packed. As King slowed, the Aliy and Buser Teams excelled with fleet footed team members. Busers strategy of the monster run to Rohn may just work....but we are only about half way now....lots of time to have even a Kaiser or Dallas to come from behind. It is reported that Dallas did have a lighter sled shipped to Anvik which he will use for the rest of the race.....so his strategy is to step on the gas in this second half of the race. Baker, Ramey and Dallas all seem to do this very well. Keep your eye on them this weekend as the Race up the Yukon begins!!!

On Towards the Yukon!

Busers strategy did indeed give him about 3 hours ahead of the pack......the chase pack , now lead by Aily Zirkle is about 20 miles behind. Buser is still moving well and at this moment is right outside of Shagaluk. Reports are a trapper from Shagaluk has been using this section of trail all winter, so Buser is now on a good trail and it doesn't appear he was slowed down at all from having to break trail out of Iditarod! Up to this point in the race, Aily has just been ok with her Team.....as she puts it they are "just there...not up, not down but just there", however after her 24 hour rest it was said her Team was very animated......like it took half the race for them to step up beyond being "just there". This great news for Aliy Fans (like me!). Heading into Shagaluk we have: Buser at mile marker 455 Aliy at 433 Burmeister at 428 Mitch Seavey at 427 Berkowitz at 426 Yeah, it's that close! Shagaluk is mile marker 461...Anvik on the Yukon is at mile 485. Most musher push on through to Anvik without stopping. Mushers must take an 8 hour rest somewhere between Anvik and Unalakleet....it is possible Buser will get his 8 hour done in Anvik since he took his 24 so long ago in Rohn. Then it will be up to the chase pack to set their strategy to put as many miles between Buser and their Teams in order for them to tighten the lead. 3 hours or 20 miles is not insurmountable. This race is still wide open. Kaiser and another chase pack is around mile marker 419. 8 capable Teams are strung out between him and Dee Dee at mile marker 407. Lance Mackey will complete his 24 in Iditarod shortly, then watch out! He will probably blow right on through Anvik and catch the pack somewhere on the Yukon if all goes well for his lil B Team! It's 2 am.....once the Teams roll into Anvik I'll update the post!

Awards and Fun Along the Way

The first big award was given to Burmiester for being the first Team into McGrath. Then the halfway award was presented to Mackey in Iditarod.....gold nuggets, Lances favorite! The next big prize is $7,000 waiting for the Team to be the first to the Yukon in Anvik. Not sure who that will be yet. Then the final trail prize will be when the first Team reaches Unalakleet. This prize is called the Gold Coast Award and is more gold nuggets for reaching the Bering Sea. It's worthy to note other unofficial awards are given to mushers too. Buser reportedly was presented with a big fat envelope for being the first musher to a lake outside of Rohn. The envelope had $1,900 in it!! It has also been fun watching the children in McGrath rush up to each approaching musher just to get an autograph and sometimes scoring a dog bootie!! It must be a thrill to have the race come through your village....like having special access to rock stars in a way. As I watched the videos I wished I grew up in McGrath....how fun!!

King Arriving in Iditarod

King is about to arrive in Iditarod behind Mackey and Lindner who are resting there. No details if any of the Teams have declared their 24 hour rest. Mackey advertised he would push on the Anvik, but the trail is slow and the next 45 mile leg on over into Shagaluk has not been traveled much. Might best hunker down in Iditarod and let the fresh teams off their 24 come and break it for you! So we got Mackey, Lindner and now King in Iditarod, and Buser has about 40 miles to go to get to Iditarod. The Teams in Takotna (Burmeister, Aliy and Mitch, etc) are just outside of Ophir and Berkowitz is in Ophir about to finish his 24 hour. He will be allowed to go right about the time the Teams from Tacotna arrive. I doubt any of the Tacotna Teams will stop at Ophir since it was only a short trek over to Ophir from Takotna with well rested Team. It will be a long convoy of Teams soon on their way to Iditarod, nipping at Busers heels and eventually passing the 24 hour resting teams of Mackey, King and Lindner no matter where they end up taking their 24 hour rest. Iditarod.com (see link above) has some great analysis on the race...now with many of the 24 hour rests being checked off its much easier to compare Teams.

Mackey Poised to Win Halfway Gold at Iditarod Checkpoint!

In about an hour, Lance Mackey will roll into Iditarod and claim the Dorthy Page halfway award at the Iditarod checkpoint. He is followed closely by Sonny Lindner, a veteran musher who often times was in the top ten back in the 80s and last year finished in 14th place. King is about 20 miles back behind these two. These lead 3 have not taken their 24 hour rest yet...Buser, who presently is resting quietly in Ophir will be hot on their heels very soon. When you do the math, Buser should be at least 3 hours ahead of the lead pack once the 24 hour rests have all been taken.....that is if he gets back out on the trail soon.....because around 4 am our time, the hounds will be released from their 24 mandatory rest in Takotna with sights on the rabbit Buser on down the trail. Then, around 6 am our time, the group of hounds in Ophir will be released as well. Commentators in Tacotna said Busers Team didn't wolf down their snacks....could it be they were distracted by the crowd, or perhaps the long runs are taking a toll? The next 180 miles through the interior will tell the story. Look to Anvik on the Yukon to see this race really shaping up. Just in time for the wind and the rainy run up the Mighty Yukon River.

Weather Whoas

And then there is the weather.....another game changer. Apparently the weather is changing.....high winds in the 50 mph range are predicted, and the strange thing is temps may rise into the 50s. They fear the trail could literally turn into an oatmeal consistency.....this is a concern. Then add a snow machine on top of that and you have a very unstable trail. The wind will be really bad on the Yukon....if the dogs can't get a grip on the glare ice it's going to be very slow going indeed. Granted I have only been following the race since 2001, but this is a strange mix, I have never watched a race when it rains west of the mountains. It's said most mushers put their rain gear in their "home" bag once through the Alaskan Range to lighten their load. With rain, wind and sleet in the Forcast it's going to be tough to stay dry. Then factor in nights when temps drop, a soaking wet musher could be in a heap of trouble. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best.....right?

Lance Mackey and Mr. Hollywood

There is a great video on the Iditarod website...Lance loving his dog. Mr. Hollywood is Lances PR dog.....travels around with him for photo ops and Sled Dog Tours. Apparently Mr. Hollywood Loves the camera. But this video is sweet....I think the only thing that dogs loves more than the camera is his buddy Lance. Mr. Hollywood is happy on Lances Team in the swing position. The video makes your heart melt!

Snowmachine Whoas

You would think the Iditarod Trail Committee would be able to hold back snow machine travel during the race to that of only official trail breaking needs....but this is Alaska....a State of little rules. Instead, they rely on peer pressure and common sense. This tactic doesn't always work. There is a nice write up on the growing phenomenon of Snow Machine Iditarod vacations and their impact on the race (www.iditarod.com) With literally groups of machines chewing up the trail to "witness" the race, more and more resentment is building between the mushers and the snow machines. Sadly, not only are they witnessing the race, they are having a heavy negative impact on it by ruining the trail. In 2006 a group of snow machine travelers ripped up 35 miles of awesome conditioned "set up" trail and turned it literally to dust. With one pass of a group of machines, the crust was broken and immediately turned into 3 feet of "sugar bowl" snow to have following teams wallow in. Dee Dee said she nearly cried when the snow machines passed trough. Its typically only a problem on the narrow seldom used trail from Tacotna to Anvil. The official trail breakers painstakingly care for a broken trail for the leader...they try to break the trail and let it sit overnight to "set up". Sometimes their efforts are foiled by selfish snow machine tourists. This happened yesterday to Aaron Burmiester...he was leading the pack when a group of 5 machines came by dragging sleds along with them.....he was traveling 8 mph before they came, and immediately went to 7 mph after they passed. I hope the Iditarod Trail Committee can get traffic curbed in this section of trail at the very least. Once to the Yukon the trail is wider up the river, and dog sled and machine can safely share the trail without interference.

Descriptions of the Trail

From Rohn on into Nikolia, the trail was rough to say the least. Dee Dee Jonrowe has a great story regarding her ride....at times being jostled so much her knee swelled up across a snowless Farewell Burn (80 miles long), to running on top of water over ice to cross the Post River...simply terrified she was being swept down stream...in a panic she "balled up her 16 dogs" and lead them to safety on the bank...then spent some time untangling them. Once she got off the snow less Farewell Burn she was happy to be in the lakes....ice covered of course, but to her surprise completely under water...her dogs had to claw their way through the water covered glare ice for the next 30 miles. This is her 31st Iditarod, and she say despite the horrible conditions (they are the worse she has seen) her Team is traveling at a good clip! Oh, and Buffalo where all over the famed "Buffalo Chutes" down off of the Alaskan Range....the dogs smelled them everywhere and ran fast as she held tight for a bumpy, rocky dirt ride. Simply incredible. I cant imagine!!!

Hell of a Race!!!!

Since I left this morning some really awesome things have happened! Mackey and King broke their rest in Takotna and took chase after Berkowitz! Sonny Lindner and Petit did the same. This group is now the rabbits. There are 3 strategies unfolding right now...somewhat unconventional. First you have Buser pushing the limits on that monster haul from the start in Willow to Rohn.....188 miles! He declared his 24 hour there in Rohn while the pack passed him by. But now MOST of the pack is resting their 24 hour in Tacotna....Buser is off his rest and traveling at mile marker 323, a mere 6 miles short of Ophir (25 PAST the resting pack in Tacotna). Buser will travel past Ophir to catch the rest of the crew....namely Lindner, presently at mile marker 376 and going 0 mph (trail resting), and then Mackey, presently at mile marker 328, also resting at 0 mph, King, presently at mile marker 354 and also resting. Pettit, Jason Mackey (Lances brother), Berkowitz and Lanier all seem to be taking their 24 hr rest back in Ophir. Buser may rest a bit before proceeding, but will definitely catch the leaders at some point since they MUST stop SOMEWHERE for their 24 hour rest. Word on the trail is Mackey will try to get to Anvik on the Yukon first, to claim the $7,000 gold prize for first on the Yukon and take his 24 there. Also, there is another trail award waiting someone in Iditarod (halfway).....not sure if that will be Mackey, Lindner or King at this point...whoever breaks their trail rest first may try to grab the gold in Iditarod. HOWEVER, there is a jinx about the first to the halfway checkpoint....odds are they are not the winners.....but that is running a conventional race, and like I said, there is nothing conventional about this race.....how exciting!!!!

Berkowitz in Ophir

Ok....it's 90 miles of no mans land between Ophir and Iditarod....will Berkowitz rest a bit and make a run....or will he settle on a 25 mile lead on the resting pack in Tacotana and take his own 24 hour rest in Ophir? Buser is out of Nikolai and heading at a good clip to McGrath, passing all the recreational Teams as he goes up the trail to claim the lead as other teams in Tacotna rest.....now he has to add another 25 miles to catch up with Berkowitz. If Berkowitz travels on to Iditarod before resting his 24 he will put another 90 miles onto this rabbit and hound game. But it's 90 miles to Iditarod.....can Berkowitz's Team handle that without a big rest? Damn....I gotta go to work! The race will have to continue without me for a bit!

Berkowitz Makes a Move

According to the GPS tracker, Berkowitz is in the lead by blowing through Takotna on his way to Ophir, which he will be arriving at momentarily. He is traveling at a good pace so it is possible he will continue on to Iditarod to put more space in between him and the well rested Buser who did his 24 in Rohn. Buser is still on route to Nikolai at this moment, but somewhere Berkowitz will have to take his 24 hour rest....will he do it in Iditarod, or push on to Anvik on the Yukon? He is reportedly driving a very strong Team, which has been trail hardened by running the Yukon Quest a few weeks back. Today will be fun to watch for sure! The rest of the teams....Mackey, Aliy, Burmeister and others look to be doing their 24 in Takotna. Reports where Mackey, who was running the fastest Team on the last run would run through to Iditarod or Anvik, but as he was snacking his dogs at Ophir Berkowitz blew through and I see Lance according to the GPS is still in Takotna. Maybe Mackey is making it up as he goes along......for some reason he changed his mind and stayed. Was it because Berkowitz's Team looked great? It's got to be something like that. Today watch Berkowitz and Buser......the rest looks like they will be eating steak in Takotna for the next 24 hours.

Resting and Running

Not too much to report, other than Buser coming off his 24 rest and the rest of the pack led by Burmeister and Aliy heading over to McGrath after a 4 hour rest at Nikolai Checkpoint. The top ten are stacked up, with the wildcard being the well rested Buser traveling a good clip down the trail. Most of the Teams will layover in McGrath or Tacotna......when asked outright Aliy said she will go no further than Tacotna for her 24, but when Mackey was asked he just smiled....he ain't about to give any hints of his plans. He even claimed he had no plan, but Im beginning to think this maybe isn't such a bad B Team after all, and I think he knew it going into the race. If there is one thing Mackey loves to do its throw people off....just ask Jeff King!! Anyhow, Mackey is right up there trailing Burmeister and Aliy by just a few hours. Someone will be making a push to Iditarod or perhaps even Anvik on the Yukon River before they take their 24. It will be a bit risky but it has been done in the past. Buser made the big move yesterday.....someone needs to stay ahead and put as much time as they can between the pack and the rested Buser Team. The next few days will be critical as everyone takes their 24 and the start time differentials are synched up. For now it's rest and run, rest and run.....just about an even mix, maybe nipping into the rest just a bit to keep stay competitive....but careful yet....there is still a lot of trail out there!

Back on the Move

Burmiester is first to leave the resting pack....I'm sure the rest soon will follow. Watch for Teams to take their 24 in either McGrath or Takotna.....these are the last hospitable checkpoints before entering the desolate areas of the interior where you would have to spend your 24 in a tent checkpoint. Plus I hear McGrath and Takotna villages put on a pretty good steak dinner for the mushers....which checkpoint will serve more steaks? Wish I didn't have to go to work again today! I much rather watch the race unfold!

Buser and Failor Take a Rest

On the west side now of the Alaskan Range, Buser and Failor take their 24 hour rest as the rest of the pack blows through the checkpoint towards the next checkpoint Nikolai 75 miles away. After their rest, they should again pass by the lead pack because they will be doing their 24 rest somewhere along the way. Buser really has about an 8 hour lead over the rest, but the real question will be how will his Team perform after such a long run and a nice long rest? Will the gamble pay off is yet to see. Aliy dropped a dog in Rohn, as did Mitch Seavey, Gebhardt, King, Redington, Anderson, and Petit. The only top 12 Teams with 16 dogs is Michelle Philips and Jake Berkowitz. Remember, you are only as fast as your slowest dog...if one is not pulling its time to drop that Team member at the next checkpoint....always sad to do. The tracker has everyone bunched up resting on the trail within a mile of each other. Dallas is on the move and will be reaching the resting pack in the next 10 minutes or so traveling Bout 8 mph. This part of the trail is reportedly bare in spots and a lot of glare ice. Camping is not good except in sheltered areas, so I have to assume this stretch is out of the wind since 7 teams seemed to be stopped in there. My guesses Dallas runs past them all and takes the apparent lead....I say apparent since the 24 hour rests are yet to be had, and this is also where they synch the clocks for the 2 minute differential starting times. Strategies are unfolding....all eyes are on Buser, who will be coming off his 24 hour rest at 1:53 EST.

4 Time Champ Buser Makes Bold Move!

It's early yet.....really early, but wow, 4 time Iditarod Champ Martin Buser makes an unprecedented 188 mile run from the start in Willow, all the way to the checkpoint of Rohn. A massive run which included the Dalzell Gorge and Happy Valley Steps! Incredible.....simply amazing! And what is even more amazing is his B Team, run by Matt Failor, is chasing right behind him! When you do the math for the start differentials, Matt is only a little over an hour behind the Boss! But any way you cut it, Buser has about 7 hours onto the chase pack....made up of Gebhardt and Mackey leading the first bunch, and Aliy leading the second chase pack resting in Rainy Pass. Many mushers have been interviewed further down the trail, and most are scratching their heads at Busers move.....most of the time a move like this doesn't work out.....they burn out and fade, even scratch. As one musher said...."you can do a run like that for a 300 mile race...but running another 800 miles shortly afterwards is just unheard of". Time will tell if Buser used too much gas......he is known for his dog care.....I for one would love to see this work for him. Maybe the old guard isn't quite ready to give it up to the Dallas's, Kaiser's and Sass's! King has some moves yet to make too....and Mackey is hot on the trail, even with his "B" Team!

Iditarod 41 Has Begun!!

All the teams have left the Willow restart chute on their way to Nome!! I did lots of race research today and all I can say is there are a lot of great Teams out there!! Dallas is running a younger team than I would have expected, and Mackey admits he is running his B Team.....but wow, he has a nifty new sled.....all tricked out with enhanced steering capabilities and you can even cook and heat water while trotting down the trail!! King has something similar but Mackeys sled is by far the mosted enhanced and sophisticated sled out there on the trail!! Too bad he is running his B Team.....if this sled does what he says it will there is a lot of time savings to be had heating water or melting snow while on the move!! The Dalzell Gorge is always a real technical test of a mushers ability to navigate down a steep canyon on the backside of the Alaskan Range, but this year it might be a sled eater to boot! There are sections of the gorge that literally are built on ice bridges.....miss one of these bridges and you might find yourself in the drink.....or worse yet, have one of these ice bridges collaps when your Team is on it and you can literally drop 5 feet down into a hole where the creek is running. The snow machines dropped through when breaking trail and built up some of the ice bridges in hopes to assist the mushers, but I would be worried if I were them!! It will be interesting to hear what the lead pack says about the gorge. Warm temps are also a problem this year...the general rule of thumb is not to travel in the heat of the day....that would be between 1 and 4. So we may see more camping out on the trail and not so much at the checkpoints.....Teams will be forced to pull over and rest dependent upon daytime temps. We shall just have to watch to see how this all unfolds. I'll be blogging more as time ticks on....please check back often!!