From the Anchorage Daily News: March 12, 2009
TAKOTNA -- An armada of about a dozen mushers was on the move across one of the most desolate stretches of the frozen Alaska Interior this afternoon as the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race neared the halfway mark at the ghost town of Iditarod.
Aaron Burmeister from Nenana led the way out of the old gold camp of Ophir with a group of former champions and contenders close behind. The first to Iditarod stands to claim a halfway prize of $3,000 in gold nuggets, but with the trail reported soft and slow, none of the contenders was expected to risk tiring his dogs in a race to get there.
From Iditarod to Nome is still a tough 500 miles.
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The leader board has some changes. Here are the Top 10 plus a few of my favorites. The Top 17 have all left Ophir, and the time listed next to the mushers is the time they departed Ophir.
1. Aaron Burmeister, 6:17 AM, with 13 dogs (finished 19th last year)
2. Hugh Neff, 6:48 AM, with 14 dogs (Iditarod rookie of the year in 2004)
3. Lance Mackey, 7:24 AM, with 16 dogs (winner of last two)
4. Sebastian Schnuelle, 7:40 AM, with 15 dogs (winner of last month's 1,000 mile Yukon Quest)
5. Ken Anderson, 8:06 AM, with 12 dogs (finished 4th last year)
6. Jeff King, 8:15 AM, with 15 dogs (four time champion)
7. Mitch Seavey, 9:12 AM, with 14 dogs (Champion in 2004)
8. Paul Gebhardt, 9:36 AM, with 13 dogs (stopped drinking 19 months ago)
9. John Baker, 10:15 AM, with 15 dogs (finished third in 2002)
10. Cim Smyth, 10:53 AM, with 13 dogs (son of Iditarod founder, Bud Smyth)
12. Aliy Zirkle, 11:28 AM, with 15 dogs (pictured above with husband Allen Moore at Takotna)
18. Martin Buser, not yet out of Ophir (four time champion, holds record for northern route)
23. Rick Swenson, not yet out of Ophir (winningest musher - five time champion)
39. Allen Moore, not yet out of Takotna (husband of Aliy Zirkle - see above photo)
The Top 17 mushers have all taken their mandatory 24 hour rest and have to take only two more rests of 8 hours each. Those mandatory 8 hour rests will not afford a lot of rest as the mushers have to care for their dogs, make repairs as needed to their sleds, and eat, so there won't be a lot of sleeping.
