We are all apples to apples now that everyone in the front has taken their mandatory rests. Aliy served hers in Nulato and then ran the 47 miles to Kaltag, rummaged around her drop bags for 14 minutes and headed down the trail towards the coast...truely in the first position this time! She will quite likely stop at Triplod Cabin about a third of the way down the trail to rest. Its 90 miles to Unalakleet from Kaltag and mushers typically break it up into 2 or 3 runs. Its still reported VERY cold.......40 below!!! Aliy's schedule has been such that she has been missing the shelter cabins and camping out in this cold...Im glad she will have a cabin to hole up in on this stretch!! Im sure as I am writting this Jeff King and Dallas are preparing to take chase....King has been in Kaltag for about 4 hours and Dallas a little over 2 hours. Its all about run and rest strategies....cut rest and you may hurt your speed....drive them too hard and they will need longer rests.
I'll keep you posted on the long run via GPS Trackers. As I mentioned before, the real race begins on the coast! Also keep in mind the fastest team doesnt always make it to Nome first....but the strongest team always does. Last year the coast was a "make or break" place for the Teams due to the wind and the ice.....right now Unalakleet is 4 degrees above 0 with only 9 below predicted for overnight....a welcomed change for the mushers for sure! The winds are predicted to gust into the 20 mph range, but thats nothing compared to last year. Lets hope Mother Nature cooperates this time!
Time to make some coffee!!
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