by oddjob » Tue Mar 05, 2019 4:06 am
I don’t know if this thread is the right noe for this, but this is a take-out from Joar’s FB post this morning:
«What a SCOOP!! Jenn Seavey is one of the best at analyzing an Iditarod race, summing up for rest of us mortals “what’s going on...!” NOW, every day, right here, Jenn has agreed to share her take ‼️ So without any further ado—here is Jenn’s take on the first 24 hours of this race (this early afternoon)....
Iditarod Update- by Jen Seavey
The teams have been on the trail now for 24 hours, and the early stages of their strategies are beginning to emerge. Pete Kaiser is making a statement. Following up last year's fifth place, this could be his breakthrough year. He's on a short-run-short-rest schedule, taking 2h stops between 5-6 hour runs. Second to arrive in Rainy Pass, this is by far the most assertive schedule he's ever run. Pete may be the scariest team on the trail.
Mitch Seavey is carrying dogs, systematically giving them rest in the sled. This allowed him to run 8h straight out of the start. His powerful team is traveling the same speed as the other guys, even with the loaded down sled, but his run times are notably longer than the competition due to time spent stopped loading and unloading dogs. You could argue that he's lost 1h of time loading dogs as of Finger Lake. The risk of this strategy is diminishing returns.
Defending champion Joar Leifseth Ulsom is putting together a solid, disciplined schedule. So far a couple of 5h 30m runs and 3h rests. This is about establishing a sustainable rhythm at a competitive pace. Joar is a really fast tortoise.
Nic Petit knocked out a 10h run right off the bat. That's long, but he does it every year and somehow manages to be a driving factor in the race all the way to the end. After a 3h 30m camp, he dashed another 6h down the trail, leading the race through Rainy Pass. Nic is the wildcard. Predictably unpredictable.
These are not the only contenders. My impression is that the 2019 Iditarod competition is wide open. This year there is no standout dominate team. Rather, about half a dozen intensely talented teams have a shot to win. The most interesting and exciting aspect is how diverse these competitors are. Vastly different strategies will be converging, vying for the championship, all with individual strengths and unique weaknesses. I usually give "luck" very little credit for the outcome of the Iditarod. However, this year could be different. The elements could very well tip their hat to one of these teams.
Photo: Jenn Seavey running her Iditarod team in 2019. Copyright Jeff Schultz