Category — Iditarod

Rachael Scdoris (55), the legally blind musher from Bend, Oregon, has scratched in Koyuk while in 62^nd place. No word yet as to why she decided to drop out.

Allen Moore (76), who scratched at Shaktoolik yesterday, is receiving medical attention for a high fever. His wife, Aliy Zirkle (17), finished in 21^st place.

The warmer than normal temperatures have not been kind to dogs or mushers – both have to work a lot harder in soft snow, and sub-zero temperature tend to kill microorganisms.

The first 4 are finished, the next 4 are in Safety, and the rest are in White Mountain.
Current Standings:

31 Gerald Sousa (10)
32 Rick Casillo (34)
33 Jason Mackey (36)
34 Scott Smith (35)
35 Robert Bundtzen (97)
36 Louis Nelson Sr. (80)
37 Rohn Buser (37)
38 Sven Haltmann (73)
39 Cindy Gallea (82)
40 Jon Korta (71)
41 Clint Warnke (15)
42 Robert Nelson (70)
43 Rudi Niggemeier (52)
44 Rick Larson (95)
45 Kelley Griffin (86)
46 Fabrizio Lovati (77)
47 Karen Ramstead (19)
48 Lachlan Clarke (58)
49 Bruce Linton (8)
50 Benoit Gerard (91)

Rachael Scdoris (55) is in Koyuk in 62^nd place, while the back of the pack is 81^st place, Liz Parrish (75) , in Unalakleet.

The next group of 15 arrived at Nome:

16 Gerry Willomitzer (7) [Yukon]
17 Ed Iten (32)
18 Ray Redington Jr. (49)
19 Aaron Burmeister (14)
20 Jim Lanier (4) [oldest]
21 Aliy Zirkle (17)
22 Silvia Willis (40)
23 John Baker (67)
24 Sigrid Ekran (24) [Norway]
25 Hugh Neff (16)
26 Warren Palfrey (44) [Northwest Territories]
27 William Kleedehn (66)^r [Yukon]
28 Matt Hayashida (5)
29 Ed Stielstra (92) [Michigan]
30 Melissa Owens (59)^r [youngest]

This group includes the first 2 rookies, and the youngest and oldest mushers.

Jim Lanier is not only the oldest musher, at 67, he raises and races all-white huskies from his Northern Whites Kennel.

Melissa Owens is home and will have to return to her school work as a senior at the high school in Nome.

Rachael Scdoris (55) is on the trail out of Shaktoolik in 64^th place.

Aliy Zirkle’s husband, Allen Moore (76), scratched at Shaktoolik.

^r – Iditarod rookie

Since I got up early to catch Lance Mackey win, I’ll leave you with the list of people who have finished the race to this point:

1 Lance Mackey (6)
2 Jeff King (11)
3 Ramey Smyth (48)
4 Ken Anderson (9)
5 Martin Buser (13)
6 Hans Gatt (38) [Yukon]
7 Mitch Seavey (33)
8 Paul Gebhardt (69)
9 Kjetil Backen (42) [Norway]
10 Sebastian Schnuelle (68) [Yukon]
11 Zack Steer (26)
12 Cim Smyth (2)
13 Rick Swenson (61)
14 Jessie Royer (3)
15 DeeDee Jonrowe (39)

Lance Mackey won the Spirit of Alaska Award by being the first into McGrath. PenAir gave him a spirit mask and a $500 credit on his air freight bill.

DeeDee Jonroe won the Dorothy Page Halfway Award as the first team into Cripple and $3,000 in gold nuggets.

Lance Mackey won the First to the Yukon Award in Ruby, worth 5,000 one-dollar bills and a gourmet meal.

Jeff King won the Gold Coast Award as the first musher to reach Unalakleet and received a trophy and $2,500 in gold.

As the overall winner Lance Mackey gets a new pickup truck and $69K.

The other top finishing mushers get some cash; everyone who finishes gets a belt buckle; and the last team gets the Red Lantern.

Jon Little at the “official Iditarod blog” has a nice piece on the winner.

Sadly the Anchorage Daily News reports on a third dog dying:

A 4-year-old dog in the team of veteran Kotzebue musher Ed Iten died Tuesday between Elim and White Mountain, according to the Iditarod Trail Committee.

The dog named Cargo died about 5 p.m. It was the third animal to perish during this year’s race.

It is probably another case of aspiration pneumonia, the dog inhaling food particles while gulping down a meal. Large dogs tend to gulp rather than chew, not just huskies. We lost a beautiful German Shepherd puppy because she swallowed a bone she found. Paul Gebhardt spread the ashes of one of his lead dogs while on the trail. Governor, a 4-year-old lead dog had died four months ago from swallowing a rock. You can’t guard against their nature.

Mackey and King are in Nome, but the race continues.

Current Standings:

1 Lance Mackey (6)
2 Jeff King (11)
3 Ramey Smyth (48)
4 Ken Anderson (9)
5 Martin Buser (13)
6 Hans Gatt (38)
7 Mitch Seavey (33)
8 Paul Gebhardt (69)
9 Kjetil Backen (42)
10 Zack Steer (26)
11 Sebastian Schnuelle (68)
12 Rick Swenson (61)
13 Cim Smyth (2)
14 Jessie Royer (3)
15 DeeDee Jonrowe (39)
16 Ed Iten (32)
17 Gerry Willomitzer (7)
18 Aaron Burmeister (14)
19 Ray Redington Jr. (49)
20 Jim Lanier (4)

In the Rookie race, it’s 27^th place, William Kleedehn (66), and 29^th place, Melissa Owens (59), on the trail from Elim with a three hour difference.

Rachael Scdoris (55) is in 62^nd place in Unalakleet.

In the back 81^st place, Liz Parrish (75), and 82^nd place, Deborah Bicknell (21), separated by a minute in Kaltag.

Lance Mackey(6) at 2:46AM AKDT.

A double double – for the second year in a row he has won both the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod.

Update: Here’s the Anchorage Daily News story.

Just a quick listing of the top 20, as Mackey and King are the only ones racing for Nome at the moment:

1 Lance Mackey (6)
2 Jeff King (11)
3 Ramey Smyth (48)
4 Ken Anderson (9)
5 Martin Buser (13)
6 Hans Gatt (38)
7 Mitch Seavey (33)
8 Kjetil Backen (42)
9 Paul Gebhardt (69)
10 Zack Steer (26)
11 Sebastian Schnuelle (68)
12 Rick Swenson (61)
13 Cim Smyth (2)
14 Jessie Royer (3)K>
15 DeeDee Jonrowe (39)
16 Ed Iten (32)
17 Aaron Burmeister (14)
18 Gerry Willomitzer (7)
19 Ray Redington Jr. (49)
20 Jim Lanier (4)

Places 3 through 13 are waiting for the end of the 8-hour stop in White Mountain and the rest are racing to get to White Mountain.

Oh, Jeff King’s GPS unit has been flaky, so you can’t be sure, but it looks like Lance Mackey has about a 7 mile lead.

Jeff King left White Mountain and the sprint is on. The other are spread out back to Elim.
Current Standings:

1 Lance Mackey (6)+57 min
2 Jeff King (11)
3 Ramey Smyth (48)
4 Ken Anderson (9)
5 Martin Buser (13)Koyuk
6 Hans Gatt (38)
7 Paul Gebhardt (69)
8 Mitch Seavey (33)
9 Kjetil Backen (42)
10 Sebastian Schnuelle (68)
11 Zack Steer (26)
12 Rick Swenson (61)
13 Jessie Royer (3)K>
14 DeeDee Jonrowe (39)
15 Cim Smyth (2)
16 Ed Iten (32)
17 Gerry Willomitzer (7)
18 Jim Lanier (4)
19 Ray Redington Jr. (49)
20 Aaron Burmeister (14)

Melissa Owens (59) dropped to 29^th place in Koyuk, when 28^th place, William Kleedehn (66) left Koyuk, becoming the lead rookie.

Still in 63rd place, Rachael Scdoris (55) is on the trail out of Kaltag

In 82^rd place is Liz Parrish (75) in Nulato. She took over the back of the pack when 83^rd place, Steven Madsen (57), scratched in Galena.

Lance Mackey was back on the trail at 4:53PM AKDT [7:53PM CDT] with under 70 miles and one check point to go.  Jeff King can’t leave until 5:50PM AKDT, giving Mackey a 57 minute lead.  One or the other should be in Nome in 10 to 12 hours depending on the strength of their team and the conditions on the trail.

The Anchorage Daily News reports that a Snowmachine kills team dog on Yukon

A dog in the team of Iditarod musher Jennifer Freking from Finland, Minn., died Sunday evening after being hit by a snowmachine near the village of Nulato, according to the Iditarod Trail Committee and Freking’s Web site.

Freking and her husband, Blake, a fellow Iditarod musher, arrived in Nulato on Monday about 4:25 a.m. and left at 5 p.m. They were in 56th and 57th places.
…

According to a press release from the Iditarod, “at approximately 10 p.m. (Sunday) evening, a snowmachiner ran into Jennifer Freking’s team on the Yukon River near Koyukuk (upriver from Nulato). Unfortunately, the incident caused the death of a 3-year-old female named ‘Lorne.’ “

The Freking’s raise and race purebred Siberian huskies, which are beautiful dogs if not quite as fast as the purpose-bred racing dogs of others.

Losing a dog is always hard, and a second dog was injured in the “accident”, but to get hit in the middle of a wilderness is mind-boggling. What was anyone doing racing at night along the Iditarod trail at 40 mph during the middle of the race?

At Noon CDT the GPS tracking has Lance Mackey pulling into White Mountain with Jeff King 7 miles behind him.  That should give Mackey about an hour lead on the sprint to the end.  It’s it’s a matter of what the dogs feel like at this point.

1&2 are out of Elim, 3 to 14 are out of Koyuk, and the rest are in Koyuk.
Current Standings:

1 Lance Mackey (6)+50 min
2 Jeff King (11)
3 Martin Buser (13)
4 Hans Gatt (38)
5 Ken Anderson (9)
6 Ramey Smyth (48)
7 Paul Gebhardt (69)
8 Mitch Seavey (33)
9 Kjetil Backen (42)
10 Rick Swenson (61)
11 Sebastian Schnuelle (68)
12 Jessie Royer (3)
13 Ed Iten (32)
14 DeeDee Jonrowe (39)
15 Zack Steer (26)
16 Gerry Willomitzer (7)
17 Cim Smyth (2)
18 Ray Redington Jr. (49)
19 Aaron Burmeister (14)
20 Jim Lanier (4)

Melissa Owens (59) got up a little earlier in Shaktoolik and leads the rookies at 24^th place, but in 29^th place, William Kleedehn (66) isn’t that far behind.

Rachael Scdoris (55) is on the trail out of Nulato in 64^th place and the back of the race is 83^rd place with Steven Madsen (57) in Galena.

There is the mandatory 8-hour rest stop coming up in White Mountain, so the first in is the first allowed to leave. Lance Mackey has a 50 minute lead, but only 11 dogs still racing, while Jeff King has 16 dogs still running. There will be a sprint race from White Mountain to Nome.