With a night of unprecedented drama surrounding the finish of Iditarod 42, fans are hungry for more as the mushers, even today, persevere through winds that would drive less hardy souls inside and under the covers. It was no picnic for anyone (Dallas Seavey, Aliy Zirkle, Mitch Seavey and Joar Leifseth Ulsom) coming to the finish line before sunrise on Tuesday March 11th. The same was true for Sonny Lindner and Martin ‘Buser who made the burled arch during the daylight hours of March 11th. Hundreds of fans turned out to welcome their heroes who had braved nearly all the weather Alaska and the Iditarod Trail could dish out.  Ten mushers finished Iditarod 2014 today – Tuesday March 11th.

Returning rookie of the year, Joar Leifseth Ulsom improved his previous 7th place finish as well as his time. Ulsom signed in today at the burled arch claiming 4th place with a time of 8 days, 19 hours, 1 min and 1 second. His time in 2013 was 9 days, 12 hours and 34 minutes. It’s no secret that the trail for this Iditarod was hard and fast. The unrelenting wind experienced by mushers on the run from White Mountain to Nome today was a factor that affected speed adversely. One can only imagine what times might have been if Mother Nature hadn’t provided the wind to offset the fast trail. Ulsom was joined in The Last Great Race by fellow Norwegians Yvonne Debakk, Ralph Johannessen, Tommy Jordburdahl and Robert Sorlie. There’s a question I have for Joar, what’s this little stuffed animal that was on your sled last year and this year too?

Sonny Lindner made the burled arch shortly before noon. His dogs looked energetic coming into the chute. Sonny looked happy to be in Nome. With all the challenges mushers have faced over the last ten days, they’ve learned more about themselves and what they are made of. They’ve always appreciated their canine athletes but undoubtedly, their respect for the abilities of their dogs has multiplied many many times. Sonny says he enters Iditarod to see if his dogs have learned the skills that they have worked on during training. Sonny’s team performed will and probably surprised him with all the skills they’ve acquired, even skills they haven’t had much practice at like running in wind that could knock a human over. Lindner’s trip to Nome was completed in 8 days, 20 hours, 50 minutes and 49 seconds. Lindner, in 5th place rounds out the 8-day finishers. His average speed over the 1049-mile trail was 4.53 miles and hour.

The single musher arriving in Nome on Tuesday afternoon was the Master, Martin Buser. Martin, known for his innovative run rest schedules made Nome in 6th place with a time of 9 days, 0 hours, 59 minutes and 58 seconds. The Happy Trails team came in strong. A short while before the start of Iditarod 42, Buser dislocated the little finger of his left hand. Throughout the race he was frequently fixing it (putting it back in joint). Today it was swollen to twice its normal size. No question that finger needs some attention. Earlier in the race Buser sprained his ankle. He was walking, not limping in the chute so that seems to be on the mend.  Martin seemed happy to be in Nome out of the wind and put this race in the record books. Speaking of records, going into this race Buser has made 28 consecutive runs to Nome. With his finish today the string is 29! This is Martin’s first top-ten finish since 2008.

Iditarod veterans Jessie Royer and Ray Redington Jr. made Nome within 8 minutes of each other. Royer who bested Redington said she was sure he was going to pass here. Fans watching the tracker agreed. When Ray rolled in, Jessie’s team was still parked in the chute. Immediately she asked him what took him so long. Royer and Redington experienced high winds and icy conditions out on Golovin Bay. Teams were blown sideways across the ice. It was a challenge to regain the trail. Many mushers, Royer and Redington included removed booties to give the dogs better traction. Royer and Redington both attributed their success to the performance of their dogs. Ben Harper, a handler for Ray Jr. commented on the great condition of the dogs and the fact that they had maintained their weight for the ten days on the trail. This is Royer’s 12th Iditarod and her 4th top-ten finish. Jessie completed the race in 9 days, 4 hours and 3 minutes claiming 67h place, her highest Iditarod finish. Redington has been a regular in the race since 2001. His 8th place finish in 2014 gives him four top-tens. Redington completed the race in 9 days, 4 hours and 11 minutes. These times are personal bests for Jessie and Ray. Both average 4.38 Miles per hour.

Hans Gatt was on the Iditarod trail to see his younger dogs race for their first time and enjoy the Iditarod experience. Gatt rode a Gattsled, a high performance sled for mid-distance and ultra-long distance designed and produced by him self. He was on of many mushers on the trail using a Gattsled. With the mayhem of the Gorge and Farewell Burn, Gattsleds got a good test. Hans grew up on a farm in Austria and has had a passion for dog racing since he attended a dog race in Europe. He won all eight races he entered in his first year. He then moved to Canada to race in North America. Hans has run 13 Iditarod times accumulating 5 top-ten finishes in the past five years. His best finish was in 2010 when he finished 2nd behind Lance Mackey.

Aaron Burmeister rounds out the Tuesday Ten. Burmeister finished with 7 dogs with a time of 9 days, 5 hours and 46 minutes. Aaron’s average speed was 4.35 miles per hour. Under the arch Aaron called the performance of his dogs phenomenal. He was very pleased with the ready to go attitude demonstrated by the canines leaving every checkpoint. They were just ready to go and it was easy to get back on the trail after resting. Aaron calls Nome home. Once his team hit the Yukon River, they knew they were on the way home. Aaron is a second generation Iditarod participant, following in the footsteps of his father, Richard. Aaron has made 15 trips to Nome carding his best time in this race. Burmeister has been in the top ten three years.