Mushers have been on the trail for just shy of an even 8 days and, after a near perfect race with a blistering pace, Mitch Seavey has completed his 8-hour in White Mountain and is on the final 77 miles to Nome. He pulled out with 11 dogs on the line and is currently running at 9.6mph at race mile 939 according to his GPS tracker. Mitch, 56, is a 2-time Iditarod champion, having won the race in 2004 and again in 2013. His closest competition right now is his son, Dallas. But as Dallas is about 20 miles behind his dad, and only running an 8 dog team, something pretty drastic would have to happen to Mitch for Dallas to catch him. In 2015, the last time the Fairbanks-to-Nome route was run, Mitch came in 2nd place after 8 days and 22 hours on the trail. It took him 10 hours to run from White Mountain to Nome that year, but he also only had 10 dogs on the line ~ one fewer than this year. So for those looking to witness what could likely be the fastest Iditarod win in history, I'd be paying close attention to those GPS trackers before 5pm Alaska time today.
Meanwhile, further back on the trail, the twins pulled into Shaktoolik, race mile 758, around 10:15am Alaska time this morning. They were reported in 38th and 39th place. Of course the winds have picked up a bit from my last write-up, so they're not escaping that this year. But at least there are no reports of ground blizzards, which is a huge plus. I expect the twins to rest in checkpoint for about 5 hours before tackling another 50 miles of sea ice as they make their way to Koyuk.
We have had one more scratch in the race, Ellen Halverson, who called it quits in Koyukuk. That leaves rookie Roger Lee in 66th and final place - nearly 350 miles behind the leader!
Here are a few images from the trail. You can imagine how crossing that sea ice in a ground blizzard could be a very dangerous thing... If you or your lead dogs get misdirected, you could find yourself dangerously far from shore and on thin ice before you know it.
Meanwhile, further back on the trail, the twins pulled into Shaktoolik, race mile 758, around 10:15am Alaska time this morning. They were reported in 38th and 39th place. Of course the winds have picked up a bit from my last write-up, so they're not escaping that this year. But at least there are no reports of ground blizzards, which is a huge plus. I expect the twins to rest in checkpoint for about 5 hours before tackling another 50 miles of sea ice as they make their way to Koyuk.
We have had one more scratch in the race, Ellen Halverson, who called it quits in Koyukuk. That leaves rookie Roger Lee in 66th and final place - nearly 350 miles behind the leader!
Here are a few images from the trail. You can imagine how crossing that sea ice in a ground blizzard could be a very dangerous thing... If you or your lead dogs get misdirected, you could find yourself dangerously far from shore and on thin ice before you know it.
