Iditarod 2017 - The Race to the Coast

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The Iditarod sled dog race is nearly a week old, and the race for the lead is heating up.

The top five teams are heading towards the coastal village of Unalakleet, the first stop on the Bering Sea coast. And while weather is always a wildcard on the final leg of the race, at this point, the winner would appear to come from this bunch. The teams are all within 3–7 mile of each other.

Mitch Seavey, showing that Father really does know best, has an extremely small lead over his son Dallas. And close behind are Wade Marrs, Nicolas Petit and Norwegian Joar Ulsom.

It is still anybody’s race…

Iditarod 2016 - Run to the 24

Dallas Seavey leads the way to Cripple, where he will most likely take his 24. This race is shaping up

Robert Sorlie, the two-time champion from Norway running his final Iditarod.

Long-time musher Hans Gatt had to scratch due to his dogs having an illness.

Here are the first teams through to those in Takotna:

At 6:30pm ET, here are the updated standings, based upon the Official Standings and my own analysis of the GPS trackers, so some mileage may vary.

On the Trail to Cripple

1.     Dallas Seavey

2.     Noah Burmeister

3.     Robert Sorlie

4.     John Baker

5.     Lance Mackey

6.     Jeff King

7.     Kelly Maixner

8.     Ralph Johannessen

In Ophir

9.     Ketil Reitan

10. Nicolas Petit

11. Segrid Ekran

12. Joar Leifseth Ulsom

13. Brent Sass

14. Scott Smith

15. Ken Anderson

16. Cym Smyth

17. Martin Buser

In Takotna

18. Jessie Royer

19. Nathan Schroeder

20. Allen Moore

21. Peter Kaiser

22. Aliy Zirkle

23. Jodi Bailey

24. Ray Redington Jr

25. Mitch Seavey

26. Jason Campeau

27. Michelle Phillips

28. Dag Torulf Olsen

29. Mats Pettersson

30. Richie Diehl

31. Linwood Fiedler

32. Ed Stielstra

33. Paul Gebhardt

34. Karin Hendrickson

35. Geir Idar Hjelvik

36. Katherine Keith

37. Lars Monson

Iditarod 2016 - Beyond Nikolai

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Although Nicolas Petit was the first team to Nikolai, Brent Sass blew through to camp beyond. Noah Burmeister has gone halfway to McGrath, where he appears to have stopped to rest. Also out of Nikolai are Dallas and Mitch Seavey, plus Wade Marrs. The next few checkpoints will be used for their mandatory 24-hour breaks. Once the time differentials have been made up, we’ll have a better picture of where they truly stand.

At 6:00pm ET, here are the updated standings, based upon the Official Standings and my own analysis of the GPS trackers, so some mileage may vary.

On the Trail to McGrath

1.     Noah Burmeister (39)

2.     Dallas Seavey (16)

3.     Mitch Seavey (19)

4.     Wade Marrs (33)

5.     Brent Sass (32)

6.     Peter Kaiser (11)

7.     Aliy Zirkle (13)

Iditarod 2016 - To Nikolai

Nicolas Petit is leading a long parade of teams that stretch all the way from outside Nikolai to Finger Lake. Behind Nicolas is Dallas Seavey, Wade Marrs, Mitch Seavey, hugh Neff, Aliy Zirkle, Peter Kaiser, Lance and Jason Mackey. As this is an even year, it is the Northern route. When to take their mandatory 24-hour rest becomes a major strategy. Stay tuned, it’s going to get exciting!

Iditarod 2015 Final Results

The 2015 Iditarod race is officially over, with Cindy Abbott taking the Red Lantern on her third attempt at finishing the race.

At the awards banquet, Thomas Waerner received the Rookie of the Year for the rookie who placed the highest. The complete list of award winners is on the Iditarod website at http://iditarod.com/eye-on-the-trail-iditarod-xliii-is-history/

Here are the final Official Results:

1.     Dallas Seavey (46)

2.     Mitch Seavey (18)

3.     Aaron Burmeister (63)

4.     Jessie Royer (3)

5.     Aliy Zirkle (32)

6.     Joar Leifseth Ulsom (16)

7.     Jeff King (59)

8.     Wade Marrs (65)

9.     Ken Anderson (36)

10. Nicolas Petit (12)

11. Travis Beals (56)

12. Paul Gebhardt (28)

13. Kelly Maixner (9)

14. Peter Kaiser (54)

15. Christian Turner (73)

16. Ray Redington Jr (34)

17. Thomas Waerner (8) {R}

18. Jason Campeau (70) {R}

19. Hugh Neff (24)

20. Michelle Phillips (6)

21. John Baker (78)

22. Martin Buser (4)

23. Richie Diehl (42)

24. Nathan Schroeder (26)

25. Mats Pettersson (55)

26. Scott Smith (69)

27. Paige Drobny (58)

28. Anna Berington (39)

29. Kristy Berington (11)

30. Jodi Bailey (22)

31. DeeDee Jonrowe (29)

32. Curt Perano (21)

33. Justin Savidis (19)

34. Charley Bejna (38)

35. Seth Barnes (23) {R}

36. Benjamin Harper (37) {R}

37. Linwood Fiedler (27)

38. Allen Moore (57)

39. Mike Santos (61)

40. Rohn Buser (31)

41.  Matt Failor (15)

42. Jason Mackey (72)

43. Lance Mackey (30)

44. Rick Casillo (52)

45. Timothy Hunt (68)

46. Laura Allaway (49) {R}

47. Monica Zappa (53)

48. Heidi Sutter (76) {R}

49. Lisbet Norris (41)

50. Rob Cooke (2) {R}

51. Chuck Schaeffer (67) {R}

52. Brian Wilmshurst (50) {R}

53. Yvonne Dabakk (33)

54. Lev Shvarts (40) {R}

55. Yuka Honda (60) {R}

56. Alan Stevens (77) {R}

57. Becca Moore (47) {R}

58. Steve Watkins (66) {R}

59. Mark Selland (17) {R}

60. Alan Eischens (7) {R}

61. Isabelle Travadon (43) {R}

62. Marcelle Fressineau (25)

63. Lachlan Clarke (5)

64. Cindy Gallea (64)

65. Trent Herbst (75)

66. Cindy Abbott (10) {R}

Scratched

Zoya DeNure (79)

Gwenn Bogart (14) {R}

Christine Roalofs (62)

Philip Walters (51) {R}

Ellen Halverson (35)

Gerald Sousa (44)

Jan Steves (45)

Katherine Keith (74)

Jim Lanier (13)

Scott Janssen (20)

Bryan Bearss (48)

Withdrawn

Brent Sass (71)

Iditarod Update - Friday March 20

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Teams keep on streaming in to the finish, as the weather has cleared up on the bay.

The back of the pack are moving across the frozen Norton Bay on their way to Koyuk. Current Red Lantern have all made it to the coast, with the exception of Cindy Abbott, who is in position for the Red Lantern, is resting in Shaktoolik.

Two teams who struggled in severe weather on the bay between Shaktoolik and Koyuk have scratched, bringing the total to 12 teams that are out of the race.

At 12:30 ET, here are the updated standings, based upon the Official Standings and my own analysis of the GPS trackers, so some mileage may vary.

Finished in Nome

1.     Dallas Seavey (46)

2.     Mitch Seavey (18)

3.     Aaron Burmeister (63)

4.     Jessie Royer (3)

5.     Aliy Zirkle (32)

6.     Joar Leifseth Ulsom (16)

7.     Jeff King (59)

8.     Wade Marrs (65)

9.     Ken Anderson (36)

10. Nicolas Petit (12)

11. Travis Beals (56)

12. Paul Gebhardt (28)

13. Kelly Maixner (9)

14. Peter Kaiser (54)

15. Christian Turner (73)

16. Ray Redington Jr (34)

17. Thomas Waerner (8) {R}

18. Jason Campeau (70) {R}

19. Hugh Neff (24)

20. Michelle Phillips (6)

21. John Baker (78)

22. Martin Buser (4)

23. Richie Diehl (42)

24. Nathan Schroeder (26)

25. Mats Pettersson (55)

26. Scott Smith (69)

27. Paige Drobny (58)

28. Anna Berington (39)

29. Kristy Berington (11)

30. Jodi Bailey (22)

31. DeeDee Jonrowe (29)

On the Trail to Nome

32. Curt Perano (21)

33. Justin Savidis (19)

34. Charley Bejna (38)

35. Seth Barnes (23) {R}

On the Trail to White Mountain

36. Benjamin Harper (37) {R}

37. Linwood Fiedler (27)

38. Allen Moore (57)

39. Mike Santos (61)

40. Rohn Buser (31)

In Elim

41. Matt Failor (15)

42. Timothy Hunt (68)

43. Lance Mackey (30)

44. Jason Mackey (72)

45. Lisbet Norris (41)

46. On the Trail to Elim

47. Rick Casillo (52)

48. Heidi Sutter (76) {R}

49. Rob Cooke (2) {R}

50. Brian Wilmshurst (50) {R}

51. Laura Allaway (49) {R}

52. Monica Zappa (53)

53. Yvonne Dabakk (33)

54. Chuck Schaeffer (67) {R}

55. Lev Shvarts (40) {R}

56. Yuka Honda (60) {R}

57. Becca Moore (47) {R}

58. Alan Stevens (77) {R}

In Koyuk

59. Alan Eischens (7) {R}

60. Mark Selland (17) {R}

61. Steve Watkins (66) {R}

62. Isabelle Travadon (43) {R}

63. Marcelle Fressineau (25)

On the Trail to Koyuk

64. Lachlan Clarke (5)

65. Trent Herbst (75)

66. Cindy Gallea (64)

In Shaktoolik

67. Cindy Abbott (10) {R}

Scratched

Zoya DeNure (79)

Gwenn Bogart (14) {R}

Christine Roalofs (62)

Philip Walters (51) {R}

Ellen Halverson (35)

Gerald Sousa (44)

Jan Steves (45)

Katherine Keith (74)

Jim Lanier (13)

Scott Janssen (20)

Bryan Bearss (48)

Withdrawn

Brent Sass (71)