The following is from Iditarod Insider analyst Bruce Lee in Takotna Alaska

I’m sitting here in Takotna waiting for the first team to arrive… waiting to see if that team decides to stay (for 24) or prepare to head to Ophir and maybe beyond.  This is critical strategy time. Back in Nikolai there were signs that  some teams were ready to rest… maybe not rest 24 hours, but rest enough to repair any fractures in a team’s physical and mental attitude.  It takes a certain intuition to tell that kind of thing.

So let the gamesmanship begin. Some in the lead pack are probably thinking about those Iditarod trailbreakers up ahead of them breaking trail.  The gamble is whether to follow them and risk breaking ground for the rest of the field in hopes that they get ahead of the weather that seems to be closing in on them.  Its a tricky gamble.

There’s no doubt that this field is deep.  The oveall quality of the teams is something to see. But over the next 24 hours its the decision making that will tell the story of Iditarod 2009. It’s all about to unfold right in front of us. And we haven’t even mentioned the most awe inspiring element in this whole equation; Mother Nature.

Come daybreak “The Last great Race” could get a lot more interesting.