Jeff King arrived at Kaltag just before 9:30 p.m. Saturday night. He posted an impressive 8.27 mph pace from Eagle Island, where he leapfrogged Martin Buser by only five minutes. King still has 13 dogs on the line.
This year’s race is a real nail-biter, with so many experienced teams clustered near the front, all in contention for a win. And the win draws closer — Kaltag is just 351 miles from the burled arch in Nome.
For now, though, the story seems to be a back-and-forth tug of war between Buser and King. But I wouldn’t mind being #3, currently Paul Gebhardt. Let the hot shots up front cheat their teams out of rest little by little. All I’d have to do is wait for them to make a mistake or just plain slow down. Then I’d make my move in the last 200 miles or so.
Gebhardt could definitely do it. But so could Lance Mackey, currently in 4th place. Gebhardt and Mackey both showed up at Eagle Island at the same time (officially 1 minute apart).
Further back is Zack Steer, more than 3 hours behind. But Zack doesn’t look like a contender any longer. The four leaders have all taken their 24- and 8-hour mandatory layovers. Zack still has to complete that task somewhere along the line.
Next in line is Ramy Brooks. But his contender status is also questionable. He arrived nearly 8 hours after Buser and is down to 11 dogs. At least Steer still had 15 dogs at last count.
For the record, Brooks is tightly clustered with Ken Anderson and Ed Iten.
Keep an eye on the Iditarod leaderboard whenever you get the chance.
i have been waiting for him to take the lead, i am a big fan and a fellow musher myself. i am not a distance racer but i do sprint racer. i give alot of credit to those mushers out there that can be brave to face the elements that mother nature throws at them and for the dogs, how they just love to run, no matter the conditions they are true athletes in the sport. i love to see my dogs run. and every hook up they are always ready to run. i have some of jeffs bloodline in my dogs and i also have bloodlines of susan butcher who was a great mentor and i will always remember her spirit and her love for her dogs. good luck jeff.
wisconsin dells, wisconsin
What am I missing? By the ITC leaderboard, Jeff King arrived in Kaltag 53 minutes ahead of Martin Buser. Since they have each taken their mandatory stops, King had a 53 minute lead, not 5 minutes. However, since both are still in Kaltag (by the ITC leaderboard)there is NO current time differential. RICHARD BARRY LEE
Sorry if the write-up wasn’t perfectly clear.
The 5-minute lead note was based on departure times from Eagle Island, not arrival times at Kaltag. King left Eagle Island at 12:55 p.m. on Saturday, Buser left at 1:00 p.m.
In the ensuing race from Eagle Island to Kaltag, King’s lead expanded to nearly an hour. He posted a better point-to-point speed and has one more dog on the line compared to Buser.
Of course, all this can change in flash over the next 24 hours.
it appeared Buser may have wanted to give his dogs as long a rest as possible before leaving Eagle Is. and knowing if Jeff left, he would then pull out. 5 min. lead for Jeff and even though his team made tracks almost an hour ahead of Buser, it will be very, very interesting to see who leaves Kaltag first. Go Jeff