Iditarod Update #14 - Monday Afternoon Tandem

The “Lead Pair” are to Elim

Dallas Seavey and Aliy Zirkle arrived about 1 mile apart to the Norton Bay coastal town of Elim. From there, it’s another 46 miles to the final mandatory 8-hour rest at White Mountain, then the 77 mile sprint to Nome. They have a nearly 10 mile lead over Aaron Burmeister, who is followed by Ramey Smyth, known for fast runs to the finish. Peter Kaiser and Mitch Seavey, are next, followed by John Baker.

Teams still in Koyuk or crossing the frozen sea from Shaktoolik have little chance of catching the leaders, barring unforeseen problems up front. The forecast looks clear for the race to end on a good trail.

Looking at the last 3 years, when they leave Elim, they will take about 7:30 to get to White Mountain. After the 8 hour break, they averaged 9:30 to Nome. (Lance Macky in 2009 was the fastest winner over that stretch.) So, unless they take a long break in Elim, expect a finish in the vicinity of 5:00pmAKDT/9pmEDT.

The lead rookie, Brent Sass, is crossing the frozen bay on his way to Koyuk. Anjanette Steer and Braxton Peterson have yet to reach Shaktoolik.

The back of the pack of Bob Chlupach and Jan Steves are on the trail moving toward Galena together.

UNOFFICIAL CURRENT STANDINGS as of 4:00pm AKDT/8:00pm EDT
(Based on tracker data and Official Standings):

On the Trail to Elim
1. Dallas Seavey (34)
2. Aliy Zirkle (14)
3. Aaron Burmeister (44)
4. Ramey Smyth (21)
5. Peter Kaiser (28)
6. Mitch Seavey (35)
7. John Baker (11)

In Koyuk
8. Ray Redington Jr (2)
9. Ken Anderson (39)
10. Michael Williams, Jr (51)
11. DeeDee Jonrowe (17)
12. Sigrid Ekran (24)
13. Sonny Lindner (59)

On the Trail to Koyuk
14. Brent Sass (50) {R}
15. Michelle Phillips (26)
16. Paul Gebhardt (25)
17. Rohn Buser (62)
18. Martin Buser (41)
19. Anjanette Steer (32) {R}

On the Trail to Shaktoolik
20. Hugh Neff (27)
21. Rick Swenson (60)
22. Lance Mackey (18)
23. Braxton Peterson (63) {R}
24. Colleen Robertia (42)
25. Jodi Bailey (6)
26. Nicolas Petit (9)
27. Ed Stielstra (45)

In Unalakleet
28. Gerry Willomitzer (23)
29. Kelley Griffin (20)
30. Gerald Sousa (58)
31. Mike Santos (22) {R}
32. Bruce Linton (36)
33. Jim Lanier (3)
34. Cim Smyth (8)

On the Trail to Unalakleet
35. Ryne Olson (46) {R}
36. Karin Hendrickson (43)
37. Tom Thurston (5)
38. Curt Perano (61) {R}
39. Kelly Maixner (12)
40. Matt Giblin (52)
41. Scott Janssen (37)
42. Justin Savidis (38)
43. William Pinkham (4)
44. Anna Berington, (33) {R}
45. Kristy Berington (31)

In Kaltag
46. Trent Herbst (16)
47. Karen Ramstead (56)
48. Hank Debruin (48) {R}
49. Travis Cooper (19) {R}
50. Art Church, Jr (64)

On the Trail to Kaltag
51. Jaimee Kinzer (30) {R}

In Nulato
52. Michael Suprenant (13)
53. Matt Failor (57) {R}

On the Trail to Nulato
54. Kirk Barnum (47)

In Galena
55. Dan Seavey (65)

On the Trail to Galena
56. Bob Chlupach (49)
57. Jan Steves (40) {R}

Scratched
Josh Cadzow (55) {R}
Jeff King (10)
Pat Moon (15) {R}
Jake Berkowitz (29)
Lachlan Clarke (66)
Zoya DeNure (53)
Wade Marrs (7)
Ryan Redington (67)
Silvia Furtwängler (54) {R}


Bib Numbers (X)
Rookie {R}