Iditarod 2015 – Day 8
The top 10 teams are on the coast with the weather a bit warmer and the winds lower than yesterday. The equinox is almost here so there is plenty of light for travel. The end is going to depend on who has the right mix of running and resting that produces the fastest time. The lead will change from checkpoint to checkpoint, and it looks like a sprint to Nome to determine the winner.
Dallas has a 3 minute lead over Aaron at Koyuk.
Beyond Koyuk
1 Dallas Seavey (46)
2 Aaron Burmeister (63)
At Koyuk
3 Aliy Zirkle (32)
4 Jessie Royer (3)
5 Mitch Seavey (18)
6 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (16)
Beyond Shaktoolik
7 Jeff King (59)
8 Wade Marrs (65)
9 Nicolas Petit (12)
10 Peter Kaiser (54)
11 Ken Anderson (36)
At Shaktoolik
12 Jason Campeau (70)Q
13 Paul Gebhardt (28)
14 Hugh Neff (24)
15 Michelle Phillips (6)
16 Kelly Maixner (9)
Beyond Unalakleet
17 Nathan Schroeder (26)
18 Christian Turner (73)
18 Travis Beals (56)
20 John Baker (78)
21 Martin Buser (4)
22 Thomas Waerner (8)R
23 Ray Redington Jr (34)
24 Mats Pettersson (55)
25 Richie Diehl (42)
At Unalakleet
26 Paige Drobny (58)
27 Jodi Bailey (22)
28 DeeDee Jonrowe (29)
Beyond Kaltag
29 Curt Perano (21)
30 Justin Savidis (19)
The Mushers in bold are former winners of the Iditarod, while italics indicates Yukon Quest winners. The numbers in parentheses are their Bib numbers. The small “R” indicates a total rookie, while the small “Q” indicates an Iditarod rookie who has completed a Yukon Quest.
These are the official standings. That means they are official, not that they are correct. Things jump around a lot as people decide to update the standings. This problem is especially bad in the back of the pack, as no one bothers to update those standings when the lead is changing.
This post will be updated during the day, and the map changed on all posts to reflect the current situation.
All posts on the Iditarod can be seen by selecting “Iditarod” from the Category box on the right sidebar or clicking on the Sled Dog graphic.
5 comments
Back again! The upside of taking care of someone with dementia is that it never gets boring!
Unfortunately, I’ve missed half the race. Still, it looks like the last leg may be exciting. There’s about an hour between the top three. That doesn’t seem like a long time, does it? At last look, Dallas seems to be running a bit faster than Aaron, so he’s obviously trying to make up for lost time.
I noticed that the Zirkle/Moore dog Boondocks is running with Allen this year. I believe she’s the smallest dog running since Colleen’s Penny.
Although there are a few people scratching this year, it’s nothing like the pile that dropped out last year. There were about three times the number last year, most in the first couple of days. The old trail really thinned them out on that first leg.
Last things first – no snow busted people and sleds last year. This year it was cold on the rivers with wind chills.
Usually Allen gets the A-Team for the Quest and Aliy gets it for the Iditarod. Aliy may have seen a young dog on her Q-300 team that impressed her and made the switch.
The speed of the team is related to rest, and to rest between checkpoints. The entire team has its own time for rest, i.e. a number of hours it can run before it needs a break. The real speed of the team is determined on the runs between checkpoints about 30 miles apart, where no one would stop for food or rest. The run from White Mountain to Nome will be a sprint, with the team making an all out effort. A two or three hour lead doesn’t guarantee anything if you take it to White Mountain, only if you can take it to Nome.
Being a care giver is a tough job and not one I want to do again.
Yes, I see what you mean about Aliy’s team. I checked, and she’s got one rookie on it, so that must be what she’s doing.
And yeah, being a care giver is a challenge. Your time is never truly your own, and you never feel quite up to speed. Okay, enough complaining…
With three second place finishes in the Iditarod and two Quest wins, the team peaked. The older dogs will have to be replaced and the team rebuilt. I think she has been running the Quest 300 looking for new candidates.