Category — Iditarod

After 14 hours Nic changed his mind and hit the trail. Many others are beginning to take their 24-hour stops at Takotna.

Shaynee Traska (7) has scratched at Nikolai. A lot of people got beat up by the trail from Rohn, which is not unusual.

Standings at 10:15 PM CST:

Beyond Ophir
1 Aliy Zirkle (19)
2 Martin Buser (21)At Ophir
3 Nicolas Petit (20)
4 Jessie Holmes (5)
5 Aaron Burmeister (38)
6 Anna Berington (10)
7 Kristy Berington (26)
At Takotna
8 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (28)
9 Jessie Royer (14)
10 Peter Kaiser (9)
11 Matt Hall (3)
12 Richie Diehl (29)
13 Ryan Redington (22)
14 Mitch Seavey (32)
15 Matthew Failor (17)
16 Paige Drobny (40)
17 Mats Pettersson (4)
18 Travis Beals (51)
19 Linwood Fiedler (15)
20 Jeff King (23)
21 Jason Campeau (12)
22 Charley Bejna (31)
23 Michi Konno (43)
24 Ed Hopkins (33)^Q
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Nicolas Petit is taking his 24-hour break at McGrath.
Standings at 9:15PM CST:

Beyond McGrath
1 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (28)
At McGrath
2 Nicolas Petit (20)
Beyond Nikolai
3 Jessie Royer (14)
4 Peter Kaiser (9)
5 Aliy Zirkle (19)
6 Matt Hall (3)
7 Ryan Redington (22)
8 Travis Beals (51)
9 Richie Diehl (29)
10 Mitch Seavey (32)
11 Jessie Holmes (5)
12 Matthew Failor (17)
13 Aaron Burmeister (38)
14 Wade Marrs (36)
15 Paige Drobny (40)
16 Mats Pettersson (4)
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Things are starting to sort themselves out. Keep in mind that the higher bib numbers started after those with lower numbers and that will be equalized at the 24-hour stop.

Standings at 9:20PM CST:

Beyond Rohn
1 Nicolas Petit (20)
Beyond Rainy Pass
2 Peter Kaiser (9)
3 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (28)
4 Ryan Redington (22)
5 Aliy Zirkle (19)
6 Matt Hall (3)
7 Jessie Holmes (5)
8 Jessie Royer (14)
9 Aaron Burmeister (38)
10 Linwood Fiedler (15)
11 Mitch Seavey (32)
12 Mats Pettersson (4)
13 Richie Diehl (29)
14 Jason Campeau (12)
15 Travis Beals (51)
16 Kristy Berington (26)
17 Anna Berington (10)
18 Wade Marrs (36)
19 Matthew Failor (17)
20 Ramey Smyth (6)
21 Sarah Stokey (52)
22 Paige Drobny (40)
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The real racing starts at 5PM CST with a team leaving the gate every couple of minutes. The high temperature is in the 30s which is not good for the puppies – overheating will be a problem especially for young teams. There is no help for running at night because the moon is a waning crescent and the skies are cloudy.

Everyone is on the trail as of 6:42PM CST [3:42PM AKST]. With the exceptions of Jeff Deeter & Jeremy Keller with 13 dogs and Cindy Gallea with 15, the rest of the field have gone with 14 puppy teams, like the Quest.

Standings at 10:00PM CST:

Beyond Yentna
1 Jessie Holmes (5)
2 Matt Hall (3)
3 Linwood Fiedler (15)
4 Jessie Royer (14)
5 Jason Campeau (12)
6 Ramey Smyth (6)
7 Lev Shvarts (13)
8 Anna Berington (10)
At Yentna
9 Mats Pettersson (4)
10 Matthew Failor (17)
11 Peter Kaiser (9)
12 Blair Braverman (11)^R
13 Martin Buser (21)
14 Jeff King (23)
15 Ryan Redington (22)
16 Nicolas Petit (20)
Beyond Willow
17 Anja Radano (2)
18 Shaynee Traska (7)
19 Kristin Bacon (8)
20 Cindy Abbott (16)
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It is the first Saturday in March which is Susan Butcher Day in Alaska and marks the Iditarod ‘parade’ from Anchorage to the airport. The actual race is set to start tomorrow in Willow.

Standings at 11:00AM CST:
At Anchorage
1 Anja Radano (2)
2 Matt Hall (3)
3 Mats Pettersson (4)
4 Jessie Holmes (5)
5 Ramey Smyth (6)
6 Shaynee Traska (7)
7 Kristin Bacon (8)
8 Peter Kaiser (9)
9 Anna Berington (10)
10 Blair Braverman (11)^R
11 Jason Campeau (12)
12 Lev Shvarts (13)
13 Jessie Royer (14)
14 Linwood Fiedler (15)
15 Cindy Abbott (16)
16 Matthew Failor (17)
17 Emily Maxwell (18)
18 Aliy Zirkle (19)
19 Nicolas Petit (20)
20 Martin Buser (21)
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Anchorage & Campbell Airstrip
Willow
Skwentna & Yentna, Finger Lake, Rainy Pass, Rohn
McGrath & Nikolai, Takotna, Ophir
Shageluk & Iditarod
Anvik
Grayling & Eagle Island
Kaltag
Unalakleet
Shaktoolik
Koyuk
Elim
Golovin
White Mountain
Nome & Safety

It’s the southern route that includes the namesake ghost-town of Iditarod as the midpoint. The Stepping Stones, the Burn, Rainy Pass, the Glacier, all of the hazards of the first half are still part of the race, as well as the long open stretch between Ophir and the Yukon. The route that is normally taken in odd years.

The day will be about 10 and a half hours at Anchorage and the moon is waning with a new moon on March 6th. The temperature is in the 20s in Anchorage, which is a welcome change from recent years.

Things start off next Saturday, Susan Butcher Day, with the ‘parade’ from Anchorage to the airport. The actual racing starts on Sunday at Willow.

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The Red Lantern left White Mountain with Jason Stewart at 4:39 AM CDT at the tail end of the final five teams on their way to Nome.

The Red Lantern was out at 2:13:14PM CDT when Magnus Kaltenborn passed under the burled arch in Nome after 12 days 20 hours 13 minutes and 14 seconds of racing.

52 teams finished, 13 teams scratched, and 2 teams were withdrawn for being too slow.

Standings at 2:13:14PM CDT:

Finished at Nome
41 Lev Shvarts (22)
42 Peter Fleck (67)^R
43 Jeff Deeter (45)
44 Bradley Farquhar (65)^R
45 Misha Wiljes (19)
46 Tim Muto (42)^R
47 Dave Delcourt (57)
48 Shaynee Traska (5)^R
49 Meredith Mapes (16)^R
50 Jason Stewart (66)^R
51 Anja Radano (24)^R
52 Magnus Kaltenborn (6)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 or clicking on the Sled Dog graphic.

Steve Watkins and Tara Cicatello were withdrawn at Unalakleet passing the Red Lantern to Magnus Kaltenborn. The race marshal invoked Rule 36.

Jim Lanier and Scott Janssen scratched at Safety after calling for assistance outside the checkpoint because of weather conditions that stalled them. Jim felt his personal health was not good enough to care for his team, and Scott stayed out of concern for Jim.

Standings at 10:00PM CDT:

Finished at Nome
21 Hugh Neff (68)
22 Anna Berington (4)
23 Michi Konno (63)^R
24 Jeff King (40)
25 Michael Williams Jr. (27)
26 Katherine Keith (51)
27 Rick Casillo (9)
28 Martin Buser (28)
29 Cody Strathe (2)
30 Andrew Nolan (56)^R
31 Noah Pereira (49)
32 Tom Knolmayer (43)
33 Emily Maxwell (58)^R
34 Aaron Peck (50)
35 Charley Bejna (38)
36 Kristy Berington (20)
37 Andy Pohl (12)^R
38 Monica Zappa (48)
39 Brett Bruggeman (37)^R
40 Larry Daugherty (14)
41 Lev Shvarts (22)
42 Peter Fleck (67)^R
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The next 10 finishers showed up overnight and the race has moved to the coast as the Red Lantern left Kaltag.

Rob Cooke gave up his battle with a stomach flu and scratched at Kaltag. He has been fighting it for some time to keep his Siberians on the trail.

Alan Eischens scratched at Koyuk after an arm injury that restricted his ability to care for his team.

Marcelle Fressineau has scratched at Shaktoolik. She left but returned to the checkpoint in the best interests of herself and her team.

Bad News: “At approximately 12:15a.m. today, Blonde, a five-year-old male from the race team of Katherine Keith (bib #51), died at the Koyuk checkpoint. Blonde had been dropped there earlier in the day and was being treated by veterinarians for signs of pneumonia.”

Standings at 9:30PM CDT:

Finished at Nome
11 Matt Hall (15)^Q
12 Aaron Burmeister (64)
13 Matthew Failor (55)
14 Ketil Reitan (54)
15 Aliy Zirkle (31)
16 Jessie Royer (36)
17 Kelly Maixner (52)
18 Mats Pettersson (3)
19 Michelle Phillips (18)
20 Lars Monsen (61)
21 Hugh Neff (68)
22 Anna Berington (4)
23 Michi Konno (63)^R
24 Jeff King (40)
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Joar made it in at 6:00AM CDT for a total time of 9 days and 12 hours. Nicolas was at Safety when Joar went under the arch.

Jessie Holmes’s 7th place finish is good enough for rookie honors.

Standings at 9:00PM CDT:

Finished at Nome
1 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (33)
2 Nicolas Petit (46)
3 Mitch Seavey (13)
4 Ray Redington Jr (17)
5 Peter Kaiser (30)
6 Richie Diehl (29)
7 Jessie Holmes (41)^R
8 Ramey Smyth (21)
9 Travis Beals (60)
10 Linwood Fiedler (8)
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Joar has about about an hour lead over Nicolas. Both of them will be heading for Nome from White Mountain today

Joar’s lead is 3:01 leaving Elim, but he will probably need to rest on the trail to White Mountain.

Joar made it to White Mountain just before 11AM CDT and collected the new prize – $2500 and a Marianne Wieland print. He will head to Nome at about 7PM CDT.

Nicolas lost the trail and his lead between Koyuk and Elim and had to backtrack. There is blowing snow on the trail for that stretch.

Joar has a 3½ hour lead over Nicolas and 5 hours over Mitch. 5PM CDT marks 9 days since the start of racing.

Wade Marrs, Tom Schonberger, and Allen Moore all scratched today. It would appear, in the absence of official information beyond “best interests of the team”, that the mushers are experiencing health problems.

Standings at 9:15PM CDT:

Beyond White Mountain
1 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (33)
At White Mountain
2 Nicolas Petit (46)
3 Mitch Seavey (13)
4 Ray Redington Jr (17)
Beyond Elim
5 Peter Kaiser (30)
6 Richie Diehl (29)
7 Travis Beals (60)
8 Linwood Fiedler (8)
9 Ramey Smyth (21)
10 Jessie Holmes (41)^R
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The race is compressed to the Yukon and the coast. Nicolas has a 2½ hour lead on Mitch, so it’s down to rest as both teams seem to be maintaining the same approximate speeds.

Ryan Redington scratched at Kaltag, leaving Ray Jr the only Redington left in the race after an earlier scratch by Robert.

Joar pulled it off and took the lead for the moment at 4:30PM CDT.

Standings at 10:00PM CDT:

Beyond Koyuk
1 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (33)
2 Nicolas Petit (46)
At Koyuk
3 Mitch Seavey (13)
Beyond Shaktoolik
4 Peter Kaiser (30)
5 Ray Redington Jr (17)
6 Travis Beals (60)
7 Wade Marrs (11)
8 Ramey Smyth (21)
9 Linwood Fiedler (8)
10 Richie Diehl (29)
[Read more →]

We are now on Daylight Saving Time and headed for the coast. Joar and Mitch are cutting rest to reduce Nicolas’ lead by an hour. That might work in the short term, but it also reduces rest for the puppies and it’s still a long way to Nome.

By being the first to Kaltag, Nicolas picked up 25 pounds of salmon and $2000. Nicolas is first to the coast.

Standings at 9:00PM CDT:

At Unalakleet
1 Nicolas Petit (46)
Beyond Kaltag
2 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (33)
3 Mitch Seavey (13)
4 Richie Diehl (29)
5 Peter Kaiser (30)
6 Ray Redington Jr (17)
7 Wade Marrs (11)
8 Matthew Failor (55)
9 Travis Beals (60)
10 Matt Hall (15)^Q
[Read more →]