The 2008 Iditarod is in full swing today with the top mushers and their teams making their way to Rainy Pass after the first full day on the trail. By all accounts it’s been a good day of racing, with the trail reportedly in excellent conditions and even the run to Happy Lake, often the first testing ground for the teams, was said to offer few problems this year.
It’s obviously still way early in the race, but it’s hard to not get excited about the possibilities of the race when you take a glance at the current leaderboard. As I write this, Kjetil Backen is running in first place, with Aaron Burmeister and Gerry Wllomitzer holding second and third respectively. While those aren’t exactly household names to fans of the sport, a quick glance at the rest of the Top Ten shows Paul Gebhardt lurking at number 4, Lance Mackey in sixth, and five time champion Rick Swenson in ninth. Mitch Seavey and Jeff King are in position just outside of the Top Ten as well. With all those big names near the top, you can’t help but wonder what the next two weeks or so have in store for us.
You can follow the race over at the Official Website and at the Official Blog. Also be sure to check out the Iditablog for excellent race insights and commentary from a fan’s perspective.
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Spammers on the prowl lately. Ugh!
This is going to be a good race season!
I hope they say more about the dogs too…
DSD
I love hearing about the dogs as well. I’ve been enjoying the Dog Profiles over at iditablogs.com. I especially liked the one about the dog that was rescued from a shelter, re-trained for behavioral issues, and is now part of the team, including being the lead dog at times. 🙂