Iditarod Race Updates and Coverage--Ultimate Iditarod

I have been coaxing Jim to make his move. When Jim rolled into the Galena checkpoint this afternoon it was quite apparent he had a powerful team, and that was after a 65 mile run. Now he has to start making key decisions that will effect the outcome of this race. Maybe it's just my nature, but I have been encouraging him to go for it and try to catch some of the teams ahead of him. Jim is all for a faster schedule but his one concern is again his leader situation.

Willow and Don are still making it happen but if he pushes too hard and has to drop one of those two it'll be a long trip to Nome. The reason why leaders are so important is because, even if a team really wants to get up and go, someone still has to go up front and make it happen. That's a lot of responsibility.

One of Jim's long-time wheel dogs, Otis, became a leader on the run over from Ruby. Jim was running with Iditarod rookie Peter Bartlett and he took the opportunity that following another team provided for him to try out some new leaders. At first Otis didn't know he was in the lead. He just followed Peter's team. After a while Jim stopped and held his team for a few seconds, allowing a gap to grow between Peter and himself, and then he would let his team go and let Otis lead and catch up. After an hour or so of this Jim passed Peter with Otis in lead and continued on to Galena. By the time he had pulled into the checkpoint he had gained nearly 15 minutes on Peter with his new leader.

Right now would be a good time for Jim to make a push because the flat trail down the River is fast and easy. Going into this race Jim's goal was to finish in the top twenty. Now, a little over half way to Nome, he has to decide whether to risk it all and push on or to hold back and finish with a strong team near the middle of the pack. I can analyze and speculate all night long but at this point the decision lies in Jim's hands, and as his team's musher he is the only person who can make that decision. Which ever side of the fence Jim is on in the morning he'll be having fun and making good time towards Nome, which is what this is all about.

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