A quick look at the tracker history shows that Emily overtook Ryan early Sunday morning, less than an hour after the top two teams left the checkpoint. The teenager and her team held around a two mile lead for most of the morning before kicking it into high gear and ended up with about a four mile lead at the end.
Emily had just under a twenty minute lead over Ryan who ended up having about twelve minutes over third place Hunter Keefe. Keefe left the checkpoint nine minutes after Redington, so Ryan did gain a couple minutes on the third place finisher. Riley Dyche made up a lot of time on Keefe however which made the third place battle the one that was most exciting. Dyche left ten minutes after Keefe and came in around a minute behind Keefe at the finish.
The top five was cemented about twenty-one minutes after fourth place when Robert Redington came into finish. Five-ish minutes behind him was Wally Robinson, father to the Knik 200 champ. The dad who joked he wouldn't let his daughter pass him without a bit of a shoving match (dads and their jokes) came very close to the top five.
At this time it looks like six or seven teams are still on the trail. Rohn Buser's tracker died early this morning so he still shows as camping on the trail, but Buser came into the finish in eighth place. It isn't a sled dog race without some tracker shenanigans. Buser's kennel posted Saturday that Rohn was planning on using the Knik 200 as a training run for next weekend's Copper Basin 300.
The Red Lantern seems to be camped on the trail at this point and could either be Chloe Beatty or Leni Stolz. Both teams are camped about halfway in the loop, a strategy they both used on Saturday. Look for a mid-afternoon finish for the final teams to come in.
Emily Robinson's next race will be the Kuskokwim 300 which takes off on January 24, 2025. This will be the first Kusko for the teen.
Thoughts on the outcome of the race? Were you surprised? Excited? Hoping for a different winner? Comment below with your thoughts.
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I cannot wait for Emily to race the Iditarod!! So thrilled for her
ReplyDeleteIt'll be a steep learning curve. She races in the Kusko 300 this year and I believe that will be her first 300mile race, and first ever time running on the Western Coast of Alaska. It'll be interesting to see how she handles it!
DeleteBut, yes, her future in the sport is very bright.
What makes it so different than running an interior race? Will they have 2 mandatory rest periods due to the length of this race?
ReplyDeleteTerrain is one of the biggest differences. The Western Alaska coast is a lot of ice and wind. There is a set amount of mandatory rest the musehrs all must take, because there is more than one checkpoint in this race they will have some flexibility where they can take their rest and for how long. They just have to make sure it all adds up to the total amount the race requires.
DeleteHere are the rules for rest for the Kusko:
Required Rest:
1. Racers must take six (6) combined layover hours at the checkpoints of Kalskag (outbound), Aniak and Kalskag (inbound).
2. Alayover begins when the racer declares their intention to the checker and signs in. A layover ends when the racer signs out.
3. Aracer may cancel a layover, once declared, if the racer elects to postpone the layover time until a later checkpoint.
4. Each team is subject to a time adjustment to compensate for the staggered start wherever the team takes its first layover.
5. The six layover hours may be broken up amongst the checkpoints however a racer deems appropriate. For example, a racer may take a 4-hour layover (plus time adjustment) in Kalskag (outbound), a 1-hour layover in Aniak and a 1-hour layover in Kalskag (inbound).
6. Layover time will only be counted in 1-hour increments and will round down to the nearest whole hour. For example, staying in a checkpoint for 1 hour and 55 minutes would count as 1 hour of layover time, while staying in the checkpoint for 2 hours and 4 minutes would count as 2 hours of layover time.
7. Each team is subject to a 4-hour mandatory layover at Tuluksak on the return trail during which time the Race Veterinarian will inspect each dog to determine its fitness to travel the remaining portion of the trail to the finish line. This 4-hour layover begins when the racer signs in and ends when the racer signs out with the official checker.