The analytics at the Insider are a separate study for the very intelligent fan.  The stuff you can look at is overwhelming, from location of the team to details about run speed, elevations, et al.   And the first thing I have learned is the danger in making predictions about the future.  A few studious volunteers at our tent camp suggest that 4x champ Buser is once again taking early control of the race and in the lead to Finger Lake, while favorites Zirkle, King, and Sorlie appear to have chosen a traditional strategy and  shut down for a rest in Skwentna.

 Last year we all expected Martin to stop in Finger Lake.  Instead, he didn’t hesitate and moved through at 1:33am, surprising all of us and teaching mushdom not to make assumptions.   The guy learned a lot last yea,r so I prefer to sit back and enjoy watching his strategy unfold.   The camp here in Finger Lake guesses 1;23 am for a Martin Buser arrival.   Will he stay or go?  Having now traveled about a 100 miles, one assumes this move is only for experts.   Some, including me, wonder if Kelly Maixner, running second, has chosen the correct strategy for a racer we would expect to be running in the middle of the pack.

I ask if anyone sees anything in checkpoint speed times, and no one hazards a guess other than to say Buser appears to be again one of the fastest on the trail.

Martin Buser enroute to Finger Lake!  Crews ready at midnight to accommodate the 4x champ.