Mushers lined up once again this afternoon just like yesterday, only at the re-start the atmosphere is completely different than the day before in Anchorage. Racers are focused, teams are excited and handlers are stressed as mushers head out onto the Iditarod trail. Things went as planned this afternoon in Willow, the restart runs like a highly choreographed machine. Once a musher leaves, the next musher has two minutes to get to the starting line, prepare their team, get behind the sled, and then they are released…and the whole dance starts over again. When one person isn’t ready to go when released, the musher behind them has to make up for their mistake.
At 4:42pm, 2 hours and 42 minutes after the first musher left the starting chute all the
teams had gone through and the race had offically started. By 8pm, almost 20 mushers had left Yentna, the first checkpoint 50 miles from Willow. Mushers will take a 5-10 minute break at Yentna before moving onto Skwentna, another 34 miles away. Doug Swingly told reporters to expect a musher into Skwenta around 9:30pm, implying that he would make it there before all the others. It will be tough to read the standings for the next few hours as we start to see the huge pack of mushers separate. Of the top twenty into Yentna, Jim Lanier made it the fastest in 3 hours 3 minutes passing 6 other mushers on the way.
At this point, aside from over analyzing, all we can do is wait for the pack to split up, tomorrow will bring a whole new race and a whole new perspective.
Expect some new audio posted tomorrow as we send reports to KICY. We’re also working on our next podcast update of the race, and need your help. Call into our toll free number, (866)731-6332 and let us know what you think, who you’re rooting for and maybe even a top ten prediction. Throughout the race anyone who calls in and leaves a message that we use in a podcast will be entered to win an Iditarod/Nome prize pack, sent straight from the finish line!