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By Gwen Holdman
I am sitting at the Mini Convention Center in Nome, which is headquarters for the Iditarod. As luck would have it, Ken called my cell phone from Kaltag as I was in the air en route to Nome.
But he did leave a pretty extensive message. He sounded really alert and positive, saying that things were going extremely well. He said his dogs were eating better than he had ever seen them eat during a race, and they were all healthy.
He said he was planning on leaving Kaltag with all 15 dogs (which he did around 12:40 p.m. today). Ken really emphasized how well they were eating and how well they were maintaining their weight. That has been a real issue for him in the past. His dogs have a tendency to not eat much during the first 200 miles or so.
Then they start to regain their appetite, but by that time they have lost most of their fat reserves and it is hard to get enough food into them to maintain an adequate body weight. So it’s great to hear that has not been an issue this year.
Ken said he has been running Kinga and Magnus in lead for the most part. That is a surprise to me, and it sounded like it was a surprise to him as well. Kinga is an older dog who has been a great leader in shorter races in the past, but this is only her second Iditarod since we never thought she would excel at this format. But she finished last year as well.
Magnus is a young dog, 2-years old, and Kinga’s son. He has never been a standout, but just a consistent steady puller. We have had high hopes for him, but it is great to hear he is stepping up to the plate in this race.
Ken said he was very happy with how his strategy on the Yukon played out, and he felt he had a very strong team which was faster than most of those around him. He is planning to run straight to Unalakleet and take a 6-hour break, then split the run to White Mountain into two legs. He said he planned to go through the next checkpoint at Shaktoolik and run all the way to Koyuk.
In Koyuk, he was going to take ‘as long of a rest as I can afford to,’ and then run through Elim to White Mountain. At White Mountain, all teams must take a mandatory 8-hour layover, so all the strategy is basically over at that point. From White Mountain in, you just go as fast as you can to get to Nome.
One thing the race is requiring this year which is new is that each team must undergo a vet check at each checkpoint along the coast. That means that even when Ken doesn’t plan to stop, he must stop for a minimum of 15 minutes for a team of veterinarians to assess his team. They have the authority to pull a dog or hold the musher, but generally the mushers and vets work together to make the best decisions for the health of the team. It is a very positive working relationship between the mushers and vet crew, which is great to see.
As I have been writing this, Ken just arrived in Unalakleet. He came in just behind Martin Buser and Paul Gebhart, but looked like he had a faster run time – almost 45 minutes faster than Martin. It’s harder to tell with Paul because he camped partway.
However Ken’s time of 10:33 is only 15 minutes slower than Jeff’s, and he has the fastest time at this point. Ken’s arrival time puts him only 1-1/2 hours out of third place, currently occupied by Kjetil Backen. But Ken was one hour faster than Kjetil on this last leg, so he definitely is still in the running.
As far as Lance Mackey and Jeff King go, Jeff is only 4 miles behind Lance as they approach Shaktoolik. I definitely think Jeff has a much stronger team at this point, and if they arrive in Shaktoolik together it will be very difficult for Lance to pull any moves that Jeff can’t counteract. He is simply moving slower, and that puts Jeff completely in the drivers seat.
With that being said, I think it is equally unlikely that unless Lance has a major meltdown, and he is too good of a musher to allow that to happen, no one is going to catch him behind and steal 2nd from him. The real race at this point is for third place – and Ken is definitely in the running.
Thanks to Mike Ubell and Paula Hawthorn of Oakland, CA for sponsoring a dog for the first time in 2008. They are sponsoring our young two year old Magnus, who according to Ken has proved to be a real superstar in this race. Mike and Paula surprised us by coming up to Anchorage for the start, and are following the race all the way to Nome. Thanks to joining the team!
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