IDITAROD: Special Coverage from APRN

With the Iditarod sled dog race lead pack now negotiating the Yukon River section of the trail, an ageless group of mushers are demonstrating that they still have what it takes to keep up with the youngsters in the field. Race leader Lance Mackey at 36 years of age is the baby of the crowd. He is being hotly pursued by the team of 51 year old Jeff King. 52 year old Paul Gebhardt has worked himself back into 3rd place after having a disastrous run into the halfway point at Cripple. Rounding out the top 10 are 47 year old Mitch Seavey, the ageless 67 year old Jim Lanier, 54 year old Ed Iten, 55 year old Rick Swenson, 38 years young Kjetil Backen, 49 year old Hans Gatt, and 49 year old John Baker. The average age of the top 10 mushers at this point is 49.8 years old.