Good Morning Boys and Girls, I bet you just couldn’t wait to get up and check to see how the race was going. I know you’ve heard me say before that we won’t know the true leaders until after the 24 hour mandatory rest. Are you wondering what I’m talking about? Well, I want you to imagine that your class of 25 students is going to run a race. The trail is too narrow for all 25 of you to start the race at the same time. So your teacher decides that you will start one at a time, 2 minutes apart. You are the last person to start and you start 48 minutes after the first person. You run really well and pass several of your classmates. At the end of the race you have the fastest time but no one knew it because you didn’t finish first. Once all the times are posted, you figure out that won. This is pretty easy for a short race. Most sprint and shorter distance sled dog races work this way. Now let’s look at the Iditarod. Can you imagine all 85 teams leaving the start at the same time? That would be impossible. So the teams leave one at a time, 2 minutes apart. This year the last musher, Martin Koening, left 2 hours and 28 minutes after the first musher, Scott Jensen, did. This difference is called the Time Differential. Every musher must take a 24 hour mandatory break. At this break only one musher takes exactly 24 hours. That would be the last musher to leave the start line. This year that would be Martin Koening. The musher who left just before Martin would take 24 hours and 2 minutes. Two minutes are added to each musher until you get to Scott Jensen who will take 26 hours and 28 minutes for his mandatory rest. I know it sounds confusing, but it works. And after everyone’s rest is completed, we’ll know what place everyone is in. Mushers have started taking their 24 hour breaks so if your musher doesn’t seem to be traveling down the trail, don’t worry. They and their teams are getting a much needed break. Have a great day, Gypsy