Today is when you see how crummy the coverage of the back of the pack and weekends really is by the Iditarod Trail Committee et al. The only real source of information is the GPS tracking system, which I ‘beta-tested’ when it was first introduced, but now is part of their ‘corporate strategy’. Both the ITC and the Anchorage Daily News are nickel and dime-ing fans to death, by requiring everyone involved to sign non-disclosure agreements and limiting all media access, and then charging for access.

Elliot has probably been in White Mountain for hours, but I won’t give the ITC their 30 pieces of silver to find out. I gave them more than that as a donation when it was voluntary, but no longer.

Update: Elliot scratched at Elim, probably as a result of ‘Rule 36’ pressure, so Marcelle Fressineau is the new Red Lantern.

Update: Marcelle blew through Safety with only a brief stop so Monica is carrying the tail light.

It’s over. Marcelle ended up with the Red Lantern by arriving less than a minute after Lisbet at 7:42PM AKDT [10:42PM CDT]

Finished at Nome
41 Charley Bejna (26)^R
42 Robert Bundtzen (64)
43 Newton Marshall (9)
44 Tommy Jordbrudal (12)^R
45 Yvonne Dabakk (8)^R
46 Alex Buetow (60)^R
47 Monica Zappa (18)^R
48 Lisbet Norris (41)^R
49 Marcelle Fressineau (50)^Q Φ

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.