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By Gwen Holdman
With nearly all of the teams in the top 30 or 40 having completed their 24-hour layovers and en route to the Yukon River, we are beginning to get a much clearer picture of where everyone stands.
Of course, the leaders at this time appear to be Lance Mackey and Jeff King, who are already in Ruby waiting for their competitors to make an appearance. With at least 26 teams on the trail heading to Ruby, I don’t think they’ll be waiting for long.
What we will see now is that teams will begin to attempt some long runs, with many breaking the Yukon River stretch up into 2 runs of approximately 8 hours each. Teams are also required to take a mandatory 8 hour layover at a checkpoint of their choosing on the Yukon River.
Once they get off the river in Kaltag, there will be some long marches overland to Unalakleet and then along the coast all the way to White Mountain. Teams will be cutting rest and pushing ahead.
From here on out, with so many teams still in the competition for the top 5 and 10 positions, there is not a lot of room for error. Minutes count, and there are two way to gain them: you can either cut rest, or you can run further or faster than your competitors.
The Iditarod Insiders had a video of Ken coming into Cripple yesterday. He looked pretty beat, and had a dog in his sled. It was a black dog and impossible to distinguish who it might be, since black describes about 95% of our team.
A few seconds later, when he went to park, it looked like he had put the dog back in the team, so the problem must not be too serious. The dogs overall looked really strong and focused.
I think Ken will be in a good position to make some long runs in the days ahead.
Ken is also in good company, travelling closely behind Ed Iten and Martin Buser. I am expecting all three of them to move up.
Thanks to John and Nancy Doughty from Redondo Beach, CA who are sponsoring a dog for the 4th year in 2008! They are sponsoring Kinga for the second year in a row. John and Nancy also send on our updates to their own group of Iditarod fans. We thank John and Nancy for their long-standing support. Kinga is one of the best dogs we have ever owned. She is 7 years old, and I am currently harness-breaking her 7 puppies, which are out of Lance Mackey’s dog Hobo. Kinga is one of the smartest dogs we own, and she loves to be in the house.
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