All five of the top mushers are now safely into the checkpoint at Huslia, which is the half-way point for this year’s race. They have completed 478 of the 979 miles. Looks like the leader, Burmeister, is finally taking his required 8-hour layover, and Dallas Seavey & Thomas Waerner may be starting their 24-hour rest period.
The leaderboard, with times in to Huslia noted:
1. Aaron Burmeister 9:47 last night
2. Dallas Seavey, 11:40 last night
3. Thomas Waerner, 1:21 this morning
4. Ken Anderson, 6:09 this morning
5. Hugh Neff, 7:15 this morning
My pick to win this year, Aliy Zirkle, checked into Galena just before 6 am. She still has all 16 of her dogs and her current average speed of 7.6 mph is actually higher than those in the top five, so I still look for her to be a competitor.
Check back this evening for another update.
Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!