Seavey makes a move

In an interesting turn of events Dallas Seavey has "cut rest" and headed back out on the trail after spending just two hours and twenty-five minutes out on the trail. The Five Time Champion has banked more time than the other front runners in part due to his two hour penalty added on to his 24 hour mandatory rest. However, Dallas and his team of fifteen dogs seemed to hit the Yukon and kick into a gear many didn't expect - at least, not realistically.

Dallas pulled the hook at 9:01pm and left Kaltag after sending three dogs home. The musher had thought about leaving them with the volunteers in Nulato, but chose to keep them in the team for the run to Kaltag, however now speed matters and the fewer dogs he has the more efficient he will be when he takes breaks out on the trail and in checkpoints.

As Dallas was pulling out of the checkpoint, Jessie Holmes was readying his team to do the same. Jessie pulled the hook forty-six minutes after Dallas and gave chase. Matt Hall also pulled the hook and left just two minutes after Holmes. 

At last glance at the GPS tracker, Travis Beals is still resting at the shelter cabin 13 miles outside of Kaltag. It's anyone's guess when he will decide to pack up and head to Unalakleet, whether he knows Dallas and Jessie and Matt are all on their way. The race to the coast looks to be a close one.

Dallas packed straw in his sled, expect the champion to camp before Unalakleet as is his habit.

It's too quiet

Kaltag got busy this afternoon as first Travis Beals and then Jessie Holmes were followed by Paige Drobny, Matt Hall, Ryan Redington, and Dallas Seavey into the checkpoint. Only Beals chose to cut and run after a quick stop to grab supplies. Beals went 13 miles up the trail and camped. 

That was this afternoon, the sun has now set and no one is moving. It seems the front runners are all still trying to preserve as much energy as possible from their teams. Dallas Seavey who was two hours behind his schedule due to a penalty given at his 24hour mandatory seemed just a day ago to not be in the running to challenge Beals, and now he's acting as though he might be the first of the chase pack to leave Kaltag. 

In the back of the race the final two teams are running into Ruby and then everyone but Beals will be on the Yukon. Beals, of course, left the river and is now on his way to Unalakleet (or will be once he stops camping).

This race is far from being determined. All of the teams resting in Kaltag (and the one camping) look phenomenal. This may be one of those races that isn't declared until the teams run up Front Street in Nome. 

First three -no, FOUR- are into Nulato

It was a long night on the Yukon for the top teams as they traveled down the wind tunnel known as the Yukon River. By 10pm the air temp was already -10 (according to Dallas Seavey's sled thermometer) and getting colder. Teams were running into Galena to meet up with Travis Beals who has a strong handle on the lead. Beals chose to take his mandatory 8 in Galena and pulled the hook at 11:24pm and found himself pulling into Nulato at 5:49pm giving him a run time of 6 hours and 25 minutes.

Dallas Seavey left Galena after a 3.5 hour rest in the checkpoint following forty minutes behind Beals. Dallas had a six minute faster run. According to commentary on the Insider it is believed Dallas will take his 8 in Nulato. Of the top 10 teams, Seavey is the only one who has yet to take his 8. This should not be surprising considering his over 27 hour break in Cripple. The team has been power charged this whole race and the longer than normal rest did not seem to slow them down (which can sometimes happen if a team isn't managed correctly).

Jessie Holmes came into Nulato at 8:15am and he ran it 10 minutes faster than Seavey. Holmes has the smallest team of the three as he is down to 11 dogs (not something to worry about), Beals has 12, and Seavey is still at 15. Holmes team looked fast and loose coming into Nulato. Holmes has taken his 8 so this shouldn't be a very long break for him.

Nulato will continue to see mushers come in Saturday morning and afternoon, and it will no doubt unnerve Seavey that he is "stuck" there as Beals and presumably Holmes take off well before he can. Beals has never had to "protect his lead" in the Iditarod, it's all new territory for Travis and he, too, will have to survive the mental gymnastics that entails.

Paige Drobny is picking off teams one by one as she goes further down the trail. She is now fourth into Nulato with a blistering pace of five hours and forty-five minutes. The Squids are definitely going to play a huge factor in how Beals and Holmes race the Coast.

At -30 on the river this morning, there's only one more checkpoint on the river before they cross over to the coast. Early Sunday should be when we see the first team hit the coast. (And, yes, folks we're to the point where you should probably order those Peace on Earth pizzas in Unalakleet for your favorite teams, and maybe some for the volunteers on the trail). 

There's no clear shake down yet, which seems a little strange. There is a huge field of contenders late in the race and it may not be until Shaktoolik that we get a better picture of how this all ends. 

In the back of the pack there was quite teh shake up last night as Calvin Daugherty turned around and went back to Cripple about two hours into his run to Ruby. According to chat fans KattiJo reported over night that Calvin had forgotten his mittens and chose to go back to get them. He is now about seven hours behind schedule and third from last place. Robbins and Mumford continue to go back and forth in the Red Lantern position.

Beals rests in Galena as chase pack moves in

Travis Beals has had the checkpoint of Galena all to himself for much of Friday afternoon having checked into the second stop on the Yukon River at 3:24pm. The musher elected not to take his 8 hour break in Ruby wanting to keep as much trail between he and the chase pack as possible. 

While Nicolas Petit sat in Ruby Friday he watched the leaders and chase pack catch him. Beals and Jessie Holmes were the first two in - but nearly three hours apart. Beals chose to head on down the trail after about four hours of rest, Holmes chose to stay and take his mandatory 8. As they rested, Paige Drobny and Ryan Redington were next in.

The two mushers on very different schedules met on the run into Ruby after Redington fell off his sled and Paige picked him up and carried him until they came up on his team. Musher and dogs fine they continued into the checkpoint with Paige taking the lead. Drobny has steadily picked off teams in this race and she doesn't look to be finished yet.

Pete Kaiser and Dallas Seavey also spent time in Ruby Friday, with the five time champion taking just under three hours resting before heading back onto the River. Pete Kaiser chose to stay for four and a half hours before following. Both Kaiser and Seavey had very strong looking teams, with Seavey's team eating everything offered to them enthusiastically.

Redington and Drobny also chose to spend 8 hours in Ruby and are now back on the trail behind Kaiser and Seavey. Aaron Burmeister looks to be taking his 8 hour as he's been in Ruby since 1:30pm ish. 

Matt Hall is 2 miles from Galena. It will be interesting to see if Beals gets up and gets moving. 

Beals leads the Iditarod

While Nic Petit enjoyed a steak dinner courtesy of Iditarod partners South and Spenard Roadhouse, Travis Beals and team continued up the trail into Ruby. The musher originally from Seward checked into Ruby at 4:48am Friday morning. Nic Petit decided to take his 24 in Ruby and cannot leave until late Friday Night, so on paper, this race is Travis Beals' to lose at this juncture.

Next behind Travis - behind by nearly three hours - is Jessie Holmes who so far seems to be having quite the race. Both teams parked and settled their team in for rest. At now 8:45am Travis is packing up getting ready to leave after about four hours of good rest for his team. 

The chase pack of Ryan Redington and Paige Drobny have pulled into Ruby and Paige gained and passed Redington into the checkpoint. 

Behind them are a second chase pack that includes Dallas Seavey.

The leaders are on their way to Ruby

 

As Nicolas Petit makes his way into the checkpoint of Ruby to win his first to the Yukon Prize (which sounds super yummy again this year!), the teams behind him are strongly making their statement that they're the teams to beat. Travis Beals, Paige Drobny, and Jessie Holmes have slingshot themselves over Dallas Seavey and are now in control of the race to the Yukon. 

While Petit may be furthest along, he's also furthest behind of those out in front. Why? One simple reason, the musher has chosen to wait to take his 24 hour mandatory rest presumably in Ruby. This was the plan, the musher assured fans on Insider back in Ophir, to go as far as possible before taking the 24. He had Jeff King do just that two years ago with his team, and he's back trying it again.

There are currently five teams on the trail out of Cripple. Dallas Seavey remains in the checkpoint of Cripple preparing to leave in just over an hour when he can finally give chase to those who passed him this afternoon. Seavey spoke at length with Iditarod Insider Thursday afternoon giving the run down on just what happened with the moose and the choices he made in the aftermath of dispatching the animal. In the nearly thirteen minute interview Dallas accepts the penalty the Race Marshall handed down (which yes Dallas knew about it back in McGrath so it wasn't a surprise into Cripple), he also apologizes for not doing things properly out of shock. All in all, Dallas is ready to move on and finish strong.

It will be another exciting night of Iditarod, and for those that can watch without having to go to work in the morning: just know you are very envied.

Tomorrow the race on the Yukon begins.

Petit is going to Ruby

Nicolas Petit and team rode into Cripple Thursday morning at 7:39am AK time. Petit chose short term parking and did not declare his twenty-four. Petit has a full string of 16 dogs and stated that the current schedule he's on is one he's had planned for two years.

In an interview Wednesday with Iditarod Insider Nicolas Petit stated that when he got Covid in 2022 and was forced to sit out the race just several days before the start he asked Jeff King to take his team to Ruby for his 24. Petit said he had always wanted to get past Cripple before the long rest and that in 2022 he felt he had the team to do it. Last year, he said, he 24'd in Nikolai and that was "a big mistake."

The veteran musher quickly got to work bedding down his dogs and feeding them before wandering over to the lovely smells of bacon. Look for Nic to take a few hours of rest before continuing. Team Petit is the only team not actively taking their 24 or running with a completed 24.

In other news, Mille Porsild's social media team shared the veteran musher is battling pancreatits. She was monitored during her mandatory 24 with the caveat that race officials had to clear her before she could continue. Porsild was allowed to pull the hook, as they say, and head off down the trail. Mille's team says that she will take the race one checkpoint at a time as she continues to deal with flare ups. She currently sits in Ophir.

Mille isn't the only one dealing with illness, though probably not as extreme, Travis Beals reported to his family that he is suffering from a very bad cold (possible flu?) but that he is on antibiotics now and had hopes of bouncing back during his 24. Beals is currently out of Ophir on his way to Cripple. It seems a very bad flu bug is going around Iditarod with many of the volunteers having reported being sick as early as the Ceremonial Start (if not before).

In regards to Dallas Seavey's two-hour penalty - it seems we won't have more detail until Insider chats with Dallas later today. They wanted to give Seavey ample time to rest in Cripple before bothering him as they report he's run the race so far with very little sleep. If you aren't an insider, now might be a good time to subscribe as the race is truly underway now.

Seavey assessed a two-hour penalty for moose kill

The Iditarod released a statement Wednesday stating the Race Marshall Warren Palfrey after convening a panel of three race officials decided that Dallas Seavey had not efficiently gutted the moose after dispatching it Monday morning.

You can read the full press release here.

Seavey is currently 29 miles to Cripple where it is assumed the musher will take his mandatory 24-hour plus differential break. This will now include an extra two hours for the penalty. It is unknown whether Seavey knows about the decision.

This is a developing story. 

Update on Seavey's injured dog

Fans were happy to learn Wednesday morning that Dallas Seavey's dog Faloo, who was attacked early in the race by an aggressive moose, has recovered enough after surgery to be released into the kennel's care.

That's right, the dog who went from a 20% chance of survival to a 50% chance of survival is now looking to be picked up later Wednesday to travel home to Talkeetna to recooperate!

The kennel was sure to praise the Iditarod Vet team and Pet ER in Anchorage for their care of Faloo and thanked them.

Faloo's musher is currently on his way to Cripple after a more than three hour rest on the trail where it is suspected he will declare his 24 hour rest. Seavey has fifteen dogs on his team, the only team member missing is Faloo.

It's nap time on Iditarod

As the middle and back of the pack make their way into the checkpoints of McGrath and Takotna, most of our front runners have declared their 24 hour mandatory rest in said checkpoints. Several teams pushed to Ophir before declaring, and so far Dallas Seavey looks to be pushing to Cripple to take his (if he doesn't keep going, but history tells us Cripple's his spot with this maneuver). 

For Iditarod fans this means they can catch up on Insider interview videos or even take a break from the computer to get other things done (if they haven't spent the two weeks prior to the start of the race prepping food and what not so as not to have to be away from the computer long - yes, it's a thing.) While the live feeds show calming footage of sleeping puppers on straw in dog blankets often made by school children as part of the Iditarod Education program, it's also the perfect time for fans to take a nap.

From here on out the race is truly on. Once teams come off their 24 all teams are on a level playing field. They will all just have their two mandatory rests to take after this, the time differential from the start being made up on the 24 hour mandatory (Bib 39 has to take 24 hours vs Bib 2 has to take 24+1h14m...if the mathing is correct). 

Jessie Holmes pushed to Ophir in lead last night and declared his 24 - that doesn't mean he couldn't decide later to pull the snow hook and chase after Dallas later and take his 24 hour later, but the clock starts over and at this point that might not be a wise choice. Jessie reached Ophir at 3:46am Wednesday, he is bib number 9 so doing the math (hopefully somewhat correctly) he should be able to leave at 4:52am Thursday morning (give or take a couple minutes).

Snow is currently falling in Takotna, Dallas is camped about 11 miles out of Ophir and has about sixty miles to go before he hits the halfway point of Cripple. He'll be breaking trail unless someone decides to pass him before he gets ready to leave (not likely). This is always a gutsy move by teams to take this part of the trail first, but Dallas studies the histories of the races more than probably anyone else on the trail (including the commentators) and his moves are all calculated. This is no doubt the plan he's had most of the season. We'll see how it pays off.