Good Morning Race Fans!
Just 7 short days ago we were all gathered in Anchorage, either in person or online, to watch the Ceremonial Start of the 2014 Iditaraod. Now here we are over 600 trail miles away and looking towards the start of the Coastal Challenge! What a great race!
It has been a cold one on the Yukon. Temperatures last night were pushing -20, but luckily the wind was light and the moon was out. Mike Jr. and his Team arrived into Nulato just after 8 this morning with his 9 friends in harness. This must be a great group of dogs as he hasn’t had to drop any since McGrath. Other teams are down to 8 dogs, including Paul Gebhardt Hugh Neff. Good Job Mike! It takes extra work to keep a small team together and he is doing a remarkable job.
Pete and Richie are still traveling together and are about 5 miles upriver at this hour (8:30am). The trail must be exceptional as we are seeing high 9mph speeds from many of the Teams including Real Diehl Racing and Kaiser Racing Teams.
It looks like they will post a trail times close to 6 hours and may even have times under 6 hours which is right up with the fastest times on the board.
The Excitement at the front of the race is heating up with many mushers staking their claim for the lead at the finish. Martin Buser still controls the race, but early this morning Aliy Zirkle blew through Kaltag (As she often does) to continue on and take the lead. She likes to camp out on the trail between Kaltag and Unalakleet, but one wonders if such a strategy at such cold temperatures is going to overcome Martin’s lead. If nothing else though, it is surely a mind game. Martin came into the Kaltag checkpoint and told folks he would be leaving at 8am. After Zirkle’s pass, he stayed an hour less and was on the trail by 7. Let the Games Begin!!
Nulato Checkpoint Photo
Nulato School during Iditarod
