Covering a lot of miles of the Iditarod trail today, I started the morning at the Takotna checkpoint watching the front teams pull out after their 24 hour layover. All of the top teams without exception looked revved up to go and in great condition. Of particular notice were Mitch Seavey’s, Aliy Zirkles’s, Dallas Seavey’s, Jeff King’s and Aaron Burmeister’s teams. They all left the Takotna checkpoint at a crisp pace. I then flew up the Iditarod trail heading to the checkpoint of Cripple and got there in time to see Jim Lanier come in winning the half way award. Flying into Cripple we traveled along the trail hoping to see the front teams moving but we were only lucky enough to see Mitch Seaveys’s team about 7 miles shy of the checkpoint. A number of the other teams were stopped on the trail taking breaks as we flew over. Viewed from the air Mitch’s team looked beautiful, they were moving along at a fast clip with all of the dogs trotting in unison. Although it is way too early to start talking about who has the winning team, it is fair to say that whoever wins this Iditarod will have to beat Mitch Seavey’s team. Once we landed, they came into the checkpoint looking perky and still with plenty of “gas in the tank”. Mitch reported that they ate well on the trail traveling over and they exhibited that same trait in Cripple eating a meal of beef, kibble and poultry fat. I also saw Dallas Seavey’s team come into Cripple and they were moving smartly as they pulled into the checkpoint, barking and lunging as he stopped to sign in and get his mandatory equipment check. . At this point in the race we now have two different strategies being played on this run to the Yukon River. It appears that some of the other top 10 teams, like Aliy Zirkle decided to rest short of the Cripple checkpoint and then add that mileage on to the 70 mile run from Cripple to Ruby. This actually breaks the run into two runs where the longest leg might be covered on a section of trail that tends to have better traveling conditions. The trail from Cripple to Ruby usually has a better base and the hills and ridges on the last half of that section of trail tend to be windblown as they approach the Yukon River. Both Mitch and Dallas said that the trail to Cripple was better than reported and flying over the trail on my way to Ruby the next section of trail looked well established and should make for fast to normal traveling speeds. Flying over I was struck by the miles and miles of open wild country that make up this Alaskan landscape. Valleys, meandering rivers, mountain ranges and the mother of all Alaskan Rivers, the mighty Yukon stretching from horizon to horizon, It is a magnificent stage to hold this great dog race on. It is fair to say that the true race is now beginning with this run to the Yukon River. The pace will begin to pick up as teams try to separate themselves from their other competitors. We will know more as the sun rises in the morning and teams pull into Ruby on the Yukon River.