Long run to Cripple sets stage in battle for race lead
CRIPPLE — Jeff King made his first bold move Thursday by gunning his team from Takotna on a 12-hour, 98-mile run through the heat of the day all the way to this remote tent camp about half way to the first Yukon River checkpoint of Ruby.

Pulling up with a full string of 16 lively dogs, King and team looked surprisingly fresh, despite relentlessly sunny skies and temperatures that were somewhere above freezing. The move singled King out, but it didn’t necessarily propel him to the comfortable lead he enjoyed two years ago when he made the exact same move and went on to win his fourth Iditarod.

Certainly, King gained an advantage of perhaps six hours over DeeDee Jonrowe and the rest of the mushers who were waiting out their 24-hour layovers at Cripple. But he would have to be looking over his shoulder. Lance Mackey and Kjetil Backen were on the exact same pace out of Takotna, but opted to pull over and rest their dogs through the heat of the day. The three could still possibly wind up with the same rest time, making it a three-way sprint for Ruby and the coveted prize for being first to the Yukon. (The first competitor to Ruby gets a multi-course meal from Anchorage’s Millenium Hotel and $3,000 cash. It’s always a hit with the mushers).

My guess is one of the teams could reach Ruby by 10 a.m., but probably later. It all depends if King rests six, seven or eight hours at Cripple, and how Mackey and Backen choose to break up their probable two rest breaks. By running long to Cripple, King’s only option is to match that effort with a second non-stop marathon down to Ruby if he is to remain in the hunt to win. Likewise, Backen and Mackey will have to take a couple of three- or four-hour breaks to stay with King. Their advantage is they get two chances to get lots of food, water and quality nap time on their dogs. King gets one. Backen and Mackey are betting the twin rests will translate into more speed on the river, or over to Unalakleet.

King’s team, though, did not look at all troubled by the run. King arrived needing only a baseball cap on his head. Standing on his runners, he spent several long seconds studying the check-in sheet, which showed the in times for his competitors. Most of them made the run from Ophir in 11 to 12 hours; King made it in nine and a half hours. “It’s such a nice day, and I really can’t complain, when I can tell it was slower for the others,” he said.

Asked if he talked to Backen or Mackey as he passed them, he said, “No, I had my earphones on. Backen said something about ‘Hawaii.’ ”

This is hardly a three-way race; Jonrowe, Martin Buser, Paul Gebhardt and the others taking their 24-hour layovers are still very much in the hunt. Mitch Seavey is just four hours off the lead pace. Teams that are six hours back at the halfway point can come back to win; case in point, last year, when Mackey shaved away such a deficit and went on to his historic victory. Buser, in particular, was very comfortable, and not just because he was wearing a bright red Hawaiian shirt as his dogs napped away their 24-hour layover under mild sunshine.

Buser rips a page from Mackey’s play book
Buser has always had one simple strategy: Get out in front early and dare others to catch him. It’s succeeded four times, and failed a few others. But he said he’s done with that, especially after last year. Competition is simply too stiff for anyone to be the rabbit and get away with it anymore, he said, pointing out that Robert Sorlie was the last to pull it off in 2003. “I think the days of winning the race from up front are come and gone,” he said.

Last year, Mackey reeled in the early leaders (Buser being one of them).

This year, Buser aims to do the reeling. And he’s got 15 rested dogs capable of running high speeds. He deliberately held back on the way here. “It’s just a hunch I have,” he said. “Besides, it also benefited me to see him (son, Rohn) in the checkpoints.”

Rohn Buser was parked next door to his father at Cripple, arriving just three hours after him with 12 dogs in harness. Of all the mushers who endured a night of hot, swampy weather that soaked sleds and drivers alike, Rohn Buser looked the least affected. Could be his youth. His father said he feared some dejection after the 12-hour marathon from Ophir. Instead, Rohn told him, ” ‘Dad, you what was fun about this run? My feet were dry all the way.’ ”

Talk about finding the positives.