He did it! He crossed under the arch at 6:59 PM, EDT. He became the second musher in race history to finish in less than 9 days -- by just 51 seconds. In 2002, Martin Buser set the record when he crossed the finish line in 8 days, 22 hours, 46 minutes and 2 seconds. Mackey's finish today missed that record by less than an hour and a quarter.
That's Lance Mackey leaving Safety, the last check point on the way to Nome. With only 22 miles to Nome, and the closest musher (Hans Gatt) ten miles behind him, it appears to be all but over. This will be the fourth win in a row for Mackey, and that is a record. There are other four time winners, but none did it four times in a row. Rick Swenson has won five times, in 1977, 1979, 1981, 1982, and 1991.
This is the Finish Line on Front Street in Nome. You can see photos of Mackey in Nome in tomorrow's edition of the Alaska Daily News by clicking here.
The 38th running of The Last Great Race on Earth started, officially, on Willow Lake, Alaska, this past Sunday. The lead mushers reached Rohn, checkpoint #5 this morning. You can follow the 1100 mile race to Nome at the website of the Idiatrod Insider, here, or through the Sports section of the Alaska Daily News, here.
Here are my picks for the first place male and female finishers this year:
That's Aliy Zirkle, Bib #50 this year. She was the third female finisher last year, and finished #17 overall. I just think she's ready to finish first among the ladies and in the top 10 overall.
That's Sebastian Schnuelle, Bib #35 this year. He finished second to Lance Mackey last year, and appears determined to keep Mackey from passing him this year. The above photo is Schnuelle winning the Yukon Quest last year, just ahead of fellow musher Hugh Neff. It was the closest finish ever in that 1600 km race, which ends in Fairbanks.
It's time for the 2010 running of the Iditarod. The ceremonial start is this Saturday, March 6th, in Anchorage. The official start will be the next day in Willow as always. As most readers know, this Blog originated at last year's Iditarod (where I was a volunteer) as a sort of journal for the grandkids. There are lots of good websites one can access to follow the "Last Great Race on Earth," and the Iditarod Insider is the best. Here's the latest from that source.
The first 63 posts on this Blog were about the 2009 Iditarod (and getting ready to go). The last of those posts provides a pretty good summary of the results of last year's race, and that post can be re-visited here. (Note: The music had to removed from the post.)
Due to (as they say) circumstances beyond my control, I will not be attending this year's Last Great Race on Earth, but hope to be there for the 2011 start.
