The front eight are back on the trail after their 36 hour layovers in Dawson, on their way to Eagle via American Summit.
Denis Tremblay and Matt Hall look to be employing the 2-leg strategy, running all the way to the US border - 70 miles - before resting. And presumably they'll run all the way to Eagle (another 70 miles) in their next leg.
OTOH, Brent, Michelle, Hans, Allen, Paige, and Ryne are aiming for 3 legs - stopping at Clinton Creek cabin (55 miles), and again 45-50 miles down the trail on the US side - getting in good rest before going over American Summit.
Reading the data from the trackers:
- Brent rested 4 hours (as he said - running his own race).
- Michelle cut her rest by an hour - taking only 3 hours and sneaking herself an extra hour of runtime
- Hans just started moving after (I think) resting 3.5 hours, so he's sneaking a little time in also.
- Allen seems to be gambling on his dogs feeling good after their 36-hour - and making a solid move: he rested short in Clinton Creek (3.5) and only 2 hours at the next rest stop, effectively giving himself a 2.5 hour leg up - have to see if this pays off or results in slower run times further down the trail.
- Paige is still resting
- Denis took a solid 5.5 hours at the US border - and I'm glad. I always worry about newcomers overdoing it out of enthusiasm, and his dogs were a little on the lean side arriving in Dawson, so good to see him taking care of them
- Matt (edited to add:) rested ~4.5+ hours near the US border
- Ryne is on her way to the US border after 4 hours at Clinton
It has warmed to a balmy -2°F in Dawson, and looks to be warmer still in Eagle (8°F?). No wind where the front runners were resting, according to the online data, at least - but maybe getting a little breezier up over the summit.