Wade Marrs is running another solid race. In 2014 he finished 16th, and was also 16th into Unk, at 9.19 in the morning. Now 2 years later, he has shaved 6 hrs off that time. In 2015 Wade finished 8th, and this year could potentially see his first Top 5 finish. His team arrived nicely in the checkpoint. The veterinarians asked”  You mind if we look at your dogs, before they get too comfortable? ” and Wade gave them the go ahead. Having a quick checkpoint routine at this point in the race is key. No wasted moves with Wade. Stopping, walking up front with snow hook to secure his team and on the way back he is removing all dog booties. So the vets can start checking the dog from the front of the team.

With me always liking to look at numbers I have taken a peek at  Jessie Royer’s runtimes. I had her pegged for a Top 5 finish and am surprised to see her running where she is, around 20th place. So I thought something must have happened somewhere. Not so. Looking at runtimes, all of her times are” normal “. Matter of fact she has taken many 4 hr rests, which a few years ago was considered short. But she has not done ” any moves ” or longer runs… and that has slowly dropped her in the standings. This shows you how competitive Iditarod has become. 4 hr rests are 6 to 7 hrs of runtime are considered long these days. She is still running a strong string of 13 dogs and most likely will pass a few teams along the coast.