Rachael Scdoris, the legally blind musher from Bend, Ore., had to call it a race this year, opting to scratch from the race after trying to leave Koyuk today behind her visual interpreter, Joe Runyan. After the team of mushers talked it over, Scdoris returned to the checkpoint to scratch and Runyan continued on to finish the race with a strong and fast team of 14 dogs. Scdoris had 10 dogs when she scratched. She was concerned with their health. Some were sick when she left Koyuk, race officials said.

Runyan was out of Elim before 1 p.m. and due into the penultimate checkpoint of White Mountain by roughly 7 p.m. He only has one 77-mile leg to the finish, which is taking about 10 hours to complete. It’s a frustratingly late time for Scdoris to scratch.

She has started the race three times, finishing in 2006.