Unk-Shak-Koyuk-Elim-WM

[elsietee]

Six teams out of Koyuk:

Dan and Jessie running neck and neck after leaving two mins apart - Dan evidently got tired of it, and stopped to snack in the hills before going back down onto the ice.

Of the trailing three, Aaron Peck is leading Richie and Chad (who all left koyuk within minutes of each other) - all with good speed.

And Aaron B just left a little over an hour later.

[tanglefoot]

Sass out of WM

[elsietee]

Of the next group, Jessie is about 7 miles outside of Elim - but Dan is chasing a couple of miles behind, and seems to have a little more speed, so it'll be interesting to see how that turns out.

Richie has gone past Aaron P, while Chad is trotting along behind them. All three are spread a mile apart from each other.

Ten miles behind Chad, Aaron B has Pete a mile behind him, and coming in fast.

[elsietee]

Weird - I posted this but it never showed up. So maybe it'll post twice.

Mitch left Koyuk, went out about a mile... turned around and retreated back a half mile, turned around again and went out half a mile... and now he's back in the dog yard, unhooking his harnesses and setting the hook. Dogs are still on their feet, looking confused.

Not clear if they baulked, or he just decided to stay longer.

[elsietee]

Ramey Smyth just came off the ice into Koyuk - poor dogs are all iced up, icy beards, ice encrusted eyes.

He's running without necklines, so they are all over the place. Thinking they are ready for their rest for sure.

[elsietee]

Update on Mitch from Danny on FB:

Mitch got clobbered in a blowhole (windy spot) just outside Koyuk. He and dogs are fine, but they got blown off the glare ice trail twice. Went back to Koyuk, but will be leaving again.

[elsietee]

As always, a lovely analysis by Danny:

Seavey's IdidaRide Sled Dog Tours

Iditarod 2022 2.0

Brent Sass and Dallas Seavey are as entrenched in 1st and 2nd place as can be at this point (yes, there's a storm coming tonight, it ain't over) I'm expecting a 4am finish. But lets shift our focus 90 miles back down the trail to Iditarod 2.0.

In a dead heat for first place we have Dan Kaduce and Jessie Holmes. These two have been the fastest teams on the trail from day 1, and have predictably worked their way to the front. They're both athletic, driven guys who will surely be working alongside their teams up and over the hills outside Koyuk. Dan is still driving 14 dogs, compared to Jessie's 9, but it's hard to tell which is an advantage right now. Dan is faster, therefore it's to his advantage to stop as much as possible. He's more than happy to take long breaks in each checkpoint and overpower teams with his speed on the trail. Dan should finish 3rd overall, or 1st in Iditarod 2.0.

Just a three miles back are Aaron Peck and Richie Diehl. Aaron's certainly giving it his all here, he's been down to 8 dogs since Ruby, but he clearly has confidence in them. Somehow he's worked his way from 14th place in Ruby to 5th now, with the littlest dog team. Richie meanwhile has been very consistent, holding very steady in the 5-6 range this whole race.

Another mile back is Chad Stoddard. I barely know Chad, but I have to say I love his style of racing. This is only his second Iditarod, and he may be inexperienced, but he trained with Dallas all winter, and is running dogs from his kennel, so they're well prepared. He's got a schedule, and he's sticking it to. He came into Shaktoolik in 10th place last night, where seven far more experienced teams were hunkered down for the long haul waiting for the storm to blow over. Some stayed almost 12 hours. But Chad's schedule said to leave after 4 hours, so Damn the Torpedos, Chad left in four hours. In third place. One of the biggest things competitive mushers have to overcome is outthinking themselves when they get sleep deprived. This is not a problem for Chad. It would surprise exactly no one if he ends up third with the 10th best dog team.

Aaron Burmeister is in 8th, having just left Koyuk after a long stay.

Then we have the group that hasn't left Koyuk yet: Former Champ Pete Kaiser, Up and Comers Travis Beals and Ryan Redington, and the M's Mitch, Mille and Michelle. Most of these teams are having a rough race, and are more in make-it mode than trying to race each other. I expect Travis Beals to be the first of this group to Nome.

Predicting strategy is a little tough for these guys, they will likely mostly stop in Elim.

You may be wondering why it is this group doesn't skip checkpoints, or seem to be in as much of a hurry as Dallas and Brent, even though we know they're just as competitive, and moving even faster on the trail. Jessie Holmes was right behind Dallas on the Yukon for instance, and was moving faster. What's the difference?

In a nut shell, there's a big difference between running fast and covering super long distances fast. Many of the teams you see in the lead early in the race, or posting super fast run times don't fully understand the overall effect moving that quickly has on a dog team, and all the little things required to maintain that pace.

In human terms, let's say I can run faster than Dallas. (this is a thought exercise, please don't ask me to prove it) I am naturally faster, so can beat him to the end of the driveway, or even in a 5k. But when it comes to running marathons, or 50 milers, pure running speed becomes a smaller part of the overall picture. Dallas knows how to train, stretch, dress, pace himself, how to eat and drink while he's moving, avoid most cramps, work out the rest of the cramps, avoid injuries, etc. The further the run, the more guaranteed he is to win. It's the exact same with dog racing.

I feel like Brent Sass has really made the jump from being able to mush fast to being able to cover 1000 miles fast. He displayed nuance in strategy, recognizing small warning signs early, confidence and willingness to give up some of a lead to get speed back, a willingness and ability to go slow, all things that are just as important as 'running fast.'

Unfortunately, if Dallas and Aaron Burmeister don't race next year, Brent's going to be very lonely up front in Iditarod. We need Thomas Wærner to come back and some of these up and comers to make that leap.

I don't personally have any of these skills, so I'm not qualified to speak, but that's never stopped me from posting my opinions on the internet.

Danny Seavey

[elsietee]

Lev in Koyuk:

Liz "you just came in a minute ago..."

Lev: "er, it was an hour and half ago.

[typing this as he speaks, so it might be off]

"Time flies. I think I remember most of it.

It has been a rough trip in a few places, but the dog team looks pretty good. It was rough coming over to Koyuk - I wasn't expecting 40 mph headwind, I was expecting a 20 mph headwind.

The dogs found a scratched in trail - in places the stakes were missing which was nerve wracking... you're hoping you're going the right way. It's easy to get turned around - the wind is always in your face, but it moves around a few degrees and you wouldn't see a stake for a minute of two, and I'd get really twitchy.

The dogs handled it shockingly well. I'm down to my last two (good) leaders. Half way across, I pulled over to feed - and thought the leaders would be stressed out, but instead they were rolling in the snow. The team were all ready to go - tails wagging. They are a veteran dog team."

Liz - did you have good training?

Lev: "Good question - don't know if they'd've done better with a couple of long runs on them, but I don't know. I would have been more comfortable with a couple of 50-60 mile runs the week before the race, but its immaterial now....

Right now, I'd like to get two hot meals in them - I think that run merits that, being out in the wind so long. "

Liz: Are you nervous about what's ahead?

"Not nervous, but ID has a funny way of throwing curve balls. I've left WM before in wet snow... and then there's Jeff getting caught in the drift. So I'm not going to celebrate until dog team under the arch and Suicide [his lead dog] is eating fish.

Suicide is still as rambunctious and unmanageable as ever. I can't bring myself to wreck that free spirit - because that might be part of the magic. I'm afraid if I place boundaries on the dog - as far as "Would you actually listen to me, you Fuzzy Garbage Disposal??" I might lose the magic, so I'm just letting him be a wild child, and he got me here so far, so I'm not really complaining.

I'm over the wind. I 'll leave when I leave, not going to spend time worrying about it. This race has been challenging in some way, smooth in others. "

Liz: Do you want to say anything to your fans?

Lev: "I have fans?

If there are ppl following - thank you. If you're following along, try to follow someone cooler.

This was my first live interview, I didn't know what to expect, so thanks for making it painless.

Liz: "Thanks for keeping it family-friendly".

: ) ) ) ) ) ) )

[Love Lev - so fun to actually hear him in person after following him so long on FB]

[elsietee]

Dallas is getting his dogs ready to leave WM - he's hand-walking each one, then running them, to make sure everything is good, then hooking them up and putting on booties.

One dog he was walking decided to poop, so he just dropped the leash and went and did something on the sled. When the dog was done, it wandered back to its spot in the team, and he hooked it up and put on its booties.

He's bare-handed, so it can't be that cold out there. Although now he's strapping on sheath protectors on the dogs.

Now he's lining them out. A couple of them aren't very interested in t getting up off the straw.

Now with minutes to spare, he's rushing, trying to get everything done. The dogs nearly left without him.

He's pulling on quilted bib pants.

And he's off - dogs trotting along.

I think he left with 8 dogs (having come in with 10).

(Brent is 21 miles ahead at the time of Dallas leaving)

[elsietee]

Following pack of Richie, Dan, Aaron P, and Chad all stopped in Elim. Jessie kept going and is currently stopped about 8 miles past Elim.

Aaron B and Pete are swapping places (seemingly, but probably not) 9 miles before Elim.

Travis and Ryan are two miles apart.