Aaron Burmeister Bib #23 is the First to Check in at Nikolai (Photo by Insider)

It’s Tuesday evening and according to Insider race analysts Bruce Lee and Greg Heister, the two guys leading the pack – Brent Sass and Dallas Seavey are executing strategic moves as they make their way from Nikolai to McGrath that will set them up for the 24-hour required rest.  Lee and Heister discussed many theories but we’ll simply have to wait and see where these guys set the hook and refuel.

All of the teams have checked into Rohn.  Only three remain at the little safety cabin, Apayauq Reitan, Yuka Honda and Lisbet Norris.  There was plenty of snow for the gorge run and most teams made it without incident.  Both Jeff King and Mitch Seavey crashed but made Rohn with no injuries to report except for King’s broken glasses.

The trail from Rohn to Nikolai had/has its challenges even though at one time there was plenty of snow.  Mother Nature however cranked up the winds.   Bruce Lee saw it from the air and described it as “wind scoured.”  Aaron Burmeister said the trail consisted of “blue glare ice, dirt and rocks.”  He characterized it as the roughest run from Rohn that he’s ever had.  That says a lot as Burmeister is a 20 year veteran of the race but in 2003 and 2017 the race went out of Fairbanks.

The fifteen mushers at the front of the pack are en route to McGrath.  Nearly the same number are resting in Nikolai and nearly the same number are making their way from Rohn to Nikolai.

The first musher to reach McGrath will receive the Alaska Air Transit Spirit of Alaska Award. The 2022 award recipient will receive a pair of musher mittens made of beaver fur and moose hide handmade by Loretta Maillelle of McGrath as well as a musher hat made from beaver fur and beaded velvet made by Lucy Miller of McGrath.  Aaron Burmeister was the first Musher to McGrath.  Richie Diehl, Ryan Redington, Dallas Seavey, Brent Sass and Mille Porsild will file into McGrath with an hour of Burmeister. 

There are many very informative interviews with mushers posted for Insiders to enjoy.  The individual interviews are interesting and help race fans stay closely connected to a favorite musher on the trail.  Here’s a snippet of what of few of the mushers shared in interviews recorded earlier in the day.

Jeff King – right now he’s running a very conservative race allowing him to get to know the Petit team. Truthfully, he’s not in real race mode and isn’t geared up to challenge for a sport in the top ten.

Amanda Otto – running King dogs from Husky Homestead is a great honor.  Her team is made up of half experience race veterans, a few young dogs and several dogs with mid-distance experience.  They are performing very well together.  She’s happy to have her mentor, Jeff King on the trail.

The Beringtons – Anna broke a sled runner coming to Puntilla Lake  She was happy to borrow the necessary tools from the Perrins family to repair the runner to make the run down the gorge.  Kristy was very happy that the runner was fixed so that Anna could focus on the trail and have a safe sled for the gorge and the burn.

Jeff Deeter – the race starts in the first miles with strategy.  Race begins a Puntilla Lake by getting over the range with adequate rest but still being in striking distance of the front runners.  Racing begins at Nikolai.

Travis Beals – my job is to take pressure off the team going up hills.  They’ll pull me on the flat but I need to run and help them on the hills.  You have to find your inner kid to run.  When I was 21, I was running all the time.  Now that I’m 30, I’m still in great shape but it’s just a little harder to run.

Liz Raines Failor and Bruce Lee are doing a great job of commentating on the race.  One thing that has impressed Bruce is seeing the dogs within a team performing in unison.  They are smooth and in synch with each other and that’s what makes a team.  We know the acronym for TEAM – Together, Everyone Achieves More.

Here’s an interesting fact as we draw closer to the mile marker that teams begin to settle down for the long winter’s nap, well make that the 24-hour layover.  There has never been a team that’s done the 24 in McGrath and then went on to win the race.  Takotna has been an extremely popular resting spot but it’s not an official checkpoint this year.  It would seem that the winner will come out of the teams that rest wither in Ophir or Cripple.  Of the two locations, Cripple would offer the most comforts but nothing like Takotna and Cripple certainly doesn’t have pie. 

Go to race stats and take a look at the first 15 teams to check in at Nikolai.  The Insider analysts say that the top ten and certainly the champion will come out of that group.  Only time will tell!