Iditarod Update – First Race Day
The first teams are more that 50 miles from the re-start at Willow moving at around 10mph through the 28°F temperature that has been prevalent up to Rainy Pass. The temperature is 20 degrees less on the other side of the Pass.
The mushers are required to take two 8-hour breaks and one 24-hour break on the trail, but they will probably push on if the dogs want to run, stopping only to provide food and water. Water is vital after Rainy Pass because the colder temperature mean drier air and dehydration is a major problem in the Arctic, even as you are surrounded by ice and snow. The dehydration will really weaken you and cloud your judgment, if you ever had a hangover you understand dehydration because that’s the largest part of the problem.
If you’re into that sort of thing, a PDF of the official rules is available on-line. In addition to everything else, you have to come up with $3K to enter this race, so these are some serious people who really want to do this.
