Too Early to look at Standings

Good Morning Race Fans!

Welcome to our 9th run of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race to Nome!!

This morning finds Pete and the Team headed towards Finger Lake after two runs and two rests on the trail. The standings show many Teams jockeying for position as they head towards the Alaska Range and a snowy trail.

When I asked Pete at the Starting Line yesterday about strategy, he told me that he has a pretty good plan for the first 300 miles and then everything after that is reactive to Team, Weather, and many other variables.

Photo from my friend Jay Christensen, a shooter on the trail.

Looking at his statistics shows he ran 4 hours and then rested two hours. In the heat of the day, with a Team that may be a bit warm, he may have decided to “chill out” for a bit and then take advantage of cool night temperatures which dogs really like. He was third out of Skwentna, where many Teams were taking their breaks. Some mushers like to stay out of the checkpoints on purpose as dogs are just like babies and daycare. Teams that haven’t been around other dogs sometimes catch viruses and such, just like babies that aren’t exposed to other kids. So often, especially at the start of the race, mushers will keep their Teams out of popular places with many Teams.

After the two hour run, Pete and the Team put in a 6 hour run and then stopped early this morning at 3am for a 4 hour break. Veteran fans have seen this strategy before as Pete likes a 6hour run/4 hour rest trail strategy. It is all dependent on the Team, but it is something we have seen before.

After the break, they were off at 7am this morning and are making great speed with 10mph on the trail.

Weather this morning is still nice and cool, but temperatures are expected to rise into the mid 20’s and a low pressure system is expected to bring snow and keep the temperatures warm in the area.

What a great start to the race!

Go Team Kaiser!!

 

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