As surprised as we were that Martin Buser rested in Galena, his move is understandable from a speed factor. Dallas Seavey did something similar back in 2012 in Nulato, where he pulled in for a short rest, despite having a good run. It kept his speed up and in the end he won the race. It still is a long way to Nome from here.
The other mushers now taking advantage of the speed factor are Sonny Lindner who has already passed Nicolas Petit, who by no means is moving slow. And Sonny is gaining on Robert Sorlie, who has posted some of the fastest runtimes throughout the race.
A little further behind, the same scenario plays out between Mitch Seavey and Jeff King. Jeff, who left almost half an hour later, has caught up to Mitch. Sonny ‘s and Jeff’s dogs got a huge recharge with getting a good 24 hrs nap time. Matter of fact almost 25 and a half in Jeff’s case. That is pretty substantial at a point in the race, where most other competitors can only afford to give the dogs 4+ hours to stay in the game. Now it is up to Sonny and Jeff to preserve that energy and make sure the advantage lasts for more than one run. I am going to hop on the snow machine to see if I can get some shots. Stay tuned….
Sebastian
