Gebhardt racing hard despite setback
RUBY — Paul Gebhardt’s dog team jumped off its straw at Cripple and trotted smoothly back out on to the trail, then they gained speed. It wasn’t long before the cagey and dogged veteran with two second-place finishes was devising a new plan to gain back some of his lost time.

Gebhardt had just endured what he described as “the worst run of my life” getting over to Cripple. Slow trail, drenched by wet snow verging on rain, a dog in the bag — it all culminated in a 17-hour struggle and the realization that his shot at winning this year’s race was over. You don’t make mistakes in the Iditarod and win. The competition simply won’t let you. He worried that he’d taken the zing out of his team.

Once he realized they still had it, Gebhardt switched back into race mode. “I might as well get over it and come up with a new plan,” he said, after snacking his team at Ruby. His dogs were bright and their movements were fluid and easy as they nestled into the straw. That’s a very good sign. He’d had to pack another dog most of the way in here, yet still posted one of the fastest run times. “I’m as upbeat as I can get,” he said.

All of that is to explain why Gebhardt didn’t take his mandatory eight hour Yukon River layover here. He rested just shy of four hours. He figured the dogs just came off a 24-hour break, and he’d need the eight-hour rest before making the long portage through the hills from Kaltag to the Bering Sea coast and Unalakleet. Watch for Gebhardt to hopscotch down the Yukon and rest long at Kaltag. Once he’s through to Unalakleet, he’ll be able to assess his team, his position and race for the best possible finish.

<b>Movin’ on up</b>
Jim Lanier is having a very strong race this year. The 67-year-old retired pahtologist as been at this long enough to learn how to race and He’s putting his knowledge to work. Lanier said last night before leaving Ruby that he’s never had 16 dogs to this point of the race. He would later drop two before taking off for his leg down the Yukon River in 10th place.

Lanier has a kennel of all white dogs, which started naturally when he had a litter of white dogs. He then speculated that white dogs might handle the heat better because their coats reflect the sun’s energy. Then he just figured it would be kind of fun to go with it. The uniform color makes it easy to spot Lanier when he’s coming in to a checkpoint.

Lanier has a few battle scars from his years on the trail. One big toe is gone, a victim of frostbite, “and I’m working on the other one,” he deadpanned the other day. He said his feet were fine, though, this year. The weather’s been too warm to worry about frostbite.

<b>The Lance and Jeff show continues</b>
Anyone watching the standings can see what’s going on as Lance Mackey and Jeff King continue their epic duel to win the 2008 Iditarod. Mackey is breaking the Yukon River into two chunks, more than likely, since he blew through Galena. That tactic, pioneered by Charlie Boulding a few years ago, involves a run of nine hours or so to a place called Bishop Rock; it’s in the lee of the wind and mushers can park on the river in a relatively calm place. From there, they blow through Nulato on another eight- or nine-hour run to Kaltag.

Meanwhile, King is moving significantly faster than Mackey. He gained almost 40 minutes of his two and a half hour deficit to Mackey on that run to Galena. He parked for three hours and moved on — still with 16 dogs. King is banking that his better traveling speed at this point will eventually enable him to catch Mackey; but he has to give his dogs rest to maintain that speed. Both mushers are gambling. Mackey risks going slower and slower; King risks never being able to catch up.

Nobody else is racing for first — at this point. In third, Kjetil Backen seems resigned to keeping a healthy, strong dog team, essentially preparing this relatively inexperienced squad for next year. Mitch Seavey has a smaller team, and some of the dogs he’s running need some TLC, so he’s looking to maintain position, not move up in the standings.

Ed Iten has a big, beautiful dog team, as usual. He didn’t take his full eight at Ruby, like Gebhardt. So he’s a bit of a wild card with 400 miles of racing still to go.

A quick review of the top 20 teams at Ruby, and a review of the teams I’ve seen come in here, and I’m sure the standings will change by Nome. Watch for Jessie Royer, Martin Buser, Rick Swenson, Sigrid Ekran and DeeDee Jonrowe to move up in the standings.