The ceremonial start of the grandaddy of them all, the Iditarod Sled Dog Trail Race, begins in under 17 hours! This start from Anchorage, Saturday, March 7, 2020, at 2 pm Eastern / 10 am Alaska, gives the public a great chance to be part of the excitement and to see the dogs up close and personal, before the actual race starts on Sunday at Willow. The restart is at 6 pm Eastern / 2 pm Alaska. Continue reading Are You Ready?→
Nicolas Petit has regained the lead going into Unalakleet.
1 Nicolas Petit (20) In to Unalakleet
2 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (28) Out of Kaltag
3 Jessie Royer (14) Out of Kaltag
4 Peter Kaiser (9) Out of Kaltag
5 Mitch Seavey (32) Out of Kaltag
6 Matt Hall (3) Out of Kaltag
7 Jessie Holmes (5) Out of Kaltag
8 Aliy Zirkle (19) Out of Kaltag
9 Matthew Failor (17) Out of Kaltag
10 Paige Drobny (40) Out of Kaltag
The top 20 racers have passed under the burled arch, with Joar Leifset Ulsom taking the win. He took 9 days and 12 hours to complete the 998 mile trek.
In second place, Nicolas Petit finished in 9 days, 14 hours and 15 minutes, while Mitch Seavey crossed the finish line in 9 days, 17 hours and 11 minutes.
Ray Redington, Jr. was 4th, and Peter Kaiser was 5th.
The standings:
1. Aaron Burmeister, out of Galena at 6:26
2. Dallas Seavey, out of Galena at 8:48
3. Martin Buser, out of Galena at 10:55
4. Rookie musher Thomas Waerner, out of Galena at 12:39
5. Hugh Neff, out of Galena at 2:12 this afternoon
These top five mushers have all completed their 8-hour layover, with the exception of Burmeister.
Photo from Terrie Hanke via Iditarod.com
Today’s race activity is centered around the Galena checkpoint. In first place, Aaron Burmeister left Galena at 6:26 this morning, followed by Dallas Seavey at 8:48. In third place, Jeff King arrived at Galena at 4:37 this morning, followed by Aliy Zirkle at 5:54 and Martin Buser at 7:07. Seavey, King, and Buser have all completed their required 8-hour layover.
The leaders in the 2014 Iditarod are about 2/3s of the way done, having made it through Kaltag.
The leader board shows Aliy Zirkle in the lead, having left Kaltag just after 3 am. She was followed by Martin Buser at 5:34, Nicolas Petit at 7:14, Sonny Lindner and Jeff King, who both left the checkpoint at 8:32. All have completed both their 8-hour and their 24-hour layovers.
Kaltag is 629 miles from the start in Anchorage. The race ends in Nome, 975 miles from the start.
Those of you who follow this annual race may remember that Zirkle finished 2nd last year, followed by King in 3rd place, Petit in 6th, and Lindner in 9th. Last year’s winner, Mitch Seavey, is currently running in 6th place, having left Kaltag about an hour after Lindner and King.
I’ve posted a few times this week about the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. I’m interested in your level of interest in the race – I think it’s fascinating to see how these dogs work so hard.