March 4, 2008
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Iditarod Day “4″
It is the third day of the race, and some knowing insiders say they will know within the next half hour or so who is and who is not in the running for the championship. Longtime Iditarod competitors and watchers say that by the time the leaders reach Nikolai, anyone who is more than four hours behind them doesn’t have any chance to win.
At 1:05 PM today, in Nikolai, in this order: Kjetil Backen, 15 dogs; Gerry Willomitzer, 14; Paul Gebhardt, 16; Lance Mackey, 15; Jeff King, 16; Hans Gatt, 15; Hugh Neff, 15, Mitch Seavey, 14.
Leaving Rohn, the checkpoint before Nikolai, 44 teams were four hours or less behind Backen. Most of them will have fallen farther behind on the trail. Between Rainy Pass and Rohn, Martin Buser’s, Rick Swenson’s, and rookie Sven Haltmann’s teams averaged over 11 MPH. On that same stretch, the standings show that Wayne Curtis averaged 18.23 MPH. If that’s not a reporting error, his team was flying. Ten teams averaged between ten and eleven MPH on that leg, but most of them were down around 8 or below.
On the Rohn to Nikolai leg, the fastest time among the leaders was Hans Gatt, at 8.33 MPH. Rohn Buser is ahead of all the other rookies. In sixteenth position
out of Rohn, the checkpoint he was named for, on his way to Nikolai,
the checkpoint his older brother was named after, he’s looking like the
Rookie of the Year.One musher, rookie Tom Roig, has scratched since the restart. He quit late last night at Finger Lake. Kim Franklin, another rookie, who was bringing up the rear for a couple days, left Finger Lake this morning in 92nd position. Trent Herbst, in 94th position, is the current Red Lantern.
Comments (2)
I am really enjoying your updates. I can feel the pace. Thanks. The energy must be high!
Thanks for your time and effort in doing the updates. i am really amazed that there is still nothing in the news about the race. And i live in Washington State! It may be in the newspapers here, but we don’t get the paper… and nothing on the radio about it either… it is as if it doesn’t exist. This is the last of the greatest races for endurance for both man and beast. May they sled in safety!