Nicholas Petit remains in the lead, leaving Kaltag this morning at 1:43 am after dropping one dog. He continues on with 13 dogs and has had an average speed of 4.53 mph. Continue reading Iditarod Standings at 1:00 PM Eastern 3/11/18
Tag Archives: mushing
Saturday Survey: Iditarod 2018
One of my bucket list items is to go to Alaska to actually see the Iditarod in person. In lieu of that, I’m following along as best I can from Ohio. How about you – are you a big fan?
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Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!
Iditarod Standings at 9:15 AM Eastern 3/10/18
All five of the top mushers on the leaderboard have cleared the checkpoint at Grayling.
After briefly losing his lead to Mitch Seavey yesterday, Nicolas Petit is back in front, leaving Grayling yesterday at 4:48 pm (Alaska time) with 14 dogs and an average speed of 6.35 mph. Continue reading Iditarod Standings at 9:15 AM Eastern 3/10/18
Iditarod Standings at 12:30 PM Eastern 3/9/18
Iditarod Standings at 8 AM Eastern 3/8/18
The majority of the top five are headed for the Iditarod checkpoint, trying to catch up with leader Joar Leifseth Ulsom, who checked in there at 8:28 (Alaska time) last night. He is apparently taking one of his rest breaks, as he spent the night there with all 16 of his dogs. Ulsom’s next objective after he leaves Iditarod is Shageluk, 55 miles away. His average speed has been 5.13 mph. Continue reading Iditarod Standings at 8 AM Eastern 3/8/18
Musher Hugh Neff comes up out of nowhere!
The race is one of strategy as much as of speed. How long can you go without giving your team any real rest, vs. how long do you spend in any one checkpoint.
Always exciting!
Iditarod Standings at 10 AM Eastern, 3/7/18
The remainder of the top five are resting a bit in Takotna, just 30 miles short of Ophir. Continue reading Iditarod Standings at 10 AM Eastern, 3/7/18
Iditarod Standings at 8 AM Eastern 3/6/18
Ryan Redington is in first place, having left Rohn at 7:08 last night (Alaska time). He dropped one dog in Rohn, leaving him with 13, and his average speed is 8.75 mph. Continue reading Iditarod Standings at 8 AM Eastern 3/6/18
Getting Ready for the Iditarod
The ceremonial start is going on now, and actual racing starts Sunday at 2:00 pm, Eastern Time (10:00 am in Alaska). Typically the restart, as it is called, leaves from Willow, but poor conditions there have moved it to Fairbanks. The race lasts 9 – 12 days, ending when the last team makes it to the burled arch in Nome.
The mushers leave at 2-minute intervals in a staggered start that keeps the dogs and sleds from getting tangled with each other. The time is made up by adding time to the 24-hour mandatory rest period. Every musher has to add two minutes to the rest period for every person that left after him or her. The first of the 67 mushers to leave Nome, Cody Strathe wearing Bib # 2, adds 134 minutes to his required rest period because he gets to start 134 minutes before Hugh Neff wearing Bib # 68, who takes only the required 24-hour rest period. Continue reading Getting Ready for the Iditarod
Iditarod Starts This Week Under Crushing Challenges
The ceremonial start of the 46th Annual Iditarod is this Saturday, and Rachel D’oro at the Associated Press reports on a few of the challenges they will be facing this year…other than the normal snow, ice, and freezing temperatures. Continue reading Iditarod Starts This Week Under Crushing Challenges