Who’s in front?
Trent Herbst was the first team into the halfway point at Iditarod early this morning and claimed the prizes and honors that come with being the front runner. But there are teams that are coming quickly after him and will take the lead from him by mid-afternoon. Herbst is one of the teams that have not taken his 24 hour layover yet. He’ll sit at Iditarod now and watch team after team arrive, and leave, while waits for the hours to slowly pass. By the time Herbst can leave the checkpoint, he’ll be somewhere in the high teens or low twenties as far as his position.
The teams that will pass him are led by 4 time champion, Martin Buser, Hugh Neff, and Lance Mackey. When the teams that took their 24 hour break at Takotna hit the trail last night, they had a 23 mile run to Ophir. There would be no dallying on that run, all business, no stopping for snacks or gazing at the Northern Lights dancing in the sky. The fastest of the group on that 23 mile run was Buser, it took him 2 hours and 5 minutes, Neff took 2 hours and 17 minutes as did Mackey with his now 10 dog team. Sebastian Schneulle took 2 hours and 37 minutes on that same run. The only other team running as fast as Buser on that was Dee Dee Jonrowe, she had the exact same time, but she is about 5 hours behind Buser. Robert Bundtzen took a minute longer than Buser; Bundtzen is in 10th position, 3 hours behind Buser.
The news of former champion Mitch Seavey injuring himself early this morning will send shock waves through the field. Two days ago, one of the favorites to win this race, Paul Gephardt scratched and went home; now Seavey is out of the race. No one likes to see the competition run into misfortune. Seavey and Gephardt are two of the big names in this race and their presence will be missed. Of course, their misfortune provides opportunity for those who were running behind them.
There is a lot of racing left in this Iditarod and for the moment Trent Herbst is in the spotlight at Iditarod, but Martin Buser seems to be in control of the race.
Things you might want to know…
- The long run from Takotna to the Yukon River villages is some of the most desolate stretch of trail. The winds can blow pretty well in this area; the trail can drift in from blowing snow.
- The Northern Lights were out early last night, a beautiful display for the dog drivers moving all night long.
- The Red Lantern team, driven by James Bardoner, is a team owned by Doug Swingley, one of the other four time winners of this race.