Good Morning Race Fans! Welcome to the Yukon!
I’m not sure how they do it. The mushers I mean. They are putting long miles on the back of a sled that I can’t hang onto on a groomed trail and relating about mushing over “bowling balls.”
AND I AM THE ONE WHO IS TIRED??? Haha!
At this point in the race I struggle to roll out of bed after going late over statistics and of course never taking my eyes off the tracker. It has been long days and short nights. You know how it its, finally shut the computer down, and then before you know it roll out, press go on the coffee maker and try to lift those eyelids open to
“check the tracker” and look at the standings. Press rewind on the tracker… Hmmm…
And of course go to Kaiser Racing!
Well this morning, Pete is in Shageluk and it’s his turn for a break. Once Teams reach Shageluk they can take an 8 hour break. There is a mandatory 8 hour break on the Yukon and often Teams take it in Shageluk before heading North and the trail to Kaltag. Weather cams show an overcast day with temperatures just below freezing and light winds. Not sure what happened to the blizzard. Trail times almost match exactly last year’s times.
The race kind of was a bit more of the same over the night while we slept. Joar was the first into Shageluk maintaining the same 6 mile/45 minute lead over Nicolas Petit since he passed him resting on the trail from Iditarod. (Joar 12:15am, Nic 12:53am)
Jessie Royer, holding a solid third place arrived about 4 hours after Joar. (4:08)
Pete (4:58), Mitch(5:02), and Richie(5:28) arrived into Shageluk about a hour after Jessie.
Run times show Joar, Nic, Pete, Mitch, and Richie having almost identical times. Jessie was about 45 minutes slower over the 54 mile stretch of trail which could be something to take a look at as Teams head North. The next two checkpoints are fairly close together so we will see how speeds are looking which will give us a look at Team health. Especially after an 8 hour rest.
I know we keep saying it, but it is still early in the race. We can definitely see how it is shaping up with Nic an Joar duking it out for the leader, but so much can happen and that’s why you see many Teams starting do what they need to do to advance into the top 5. A mistake by anyone or something unexpected could cause a shakeup at any time. There are a slew of great Teams just behind second group. Redington and Failor are just right there. A short rest would put them right where they want to be just as Mitch Seavey did yesterday. Jessie Royer has decided against an 8 hour and after 4 hours is on the run. Joar took his and is on the trail now also. Another rest strategy chess match!
The other thing to consider right about now is that sleep deprivation can really start to cause issues. Mushers have to be mentally tough to stick to their game plan and whatever sleep they can get will help them. Sometimes, though, mushers do make mistakes which also leads to the unexpected.
Today, as we wait Teams to complete their 8 hour, Nic Petit will enjoy his First to the Yukon 5 course meal and take a break as well. It’s not so often that the meal means a win. It’s bragging rights, but it is just halfway to Nome!
Stay Tuned! Go Team Kaiser!