 |
|||
|
Ultimate Iditarod's EXCLUSIVE 2005 Iditarod Coverage Update 1--Teams Approaching Their Mandatory 24-hour Layover Wednesday, March 9th, 2:00PM
By Ultimate Iditarod's Rick Casillo As of yesterday, Dan Seavey reported from Nikolai that the trail conditions are very slow and 'punchy' in many places. The front runners are definitely at an advantage with the trail conditions being the way the are. If you are not the first couple of teams over the trail, you're slogging through snow that isn't set up and seems to be bottomless. This makes it tough on the dogs because they are never really settling into a nice pace. Each member of the team is being asked to work extra hard without over exerting themselves. If the trail continues to be soft and slow, I believe this will begin to take it's toll on some of the front runners in the race. Most mushers train on groomed trails, which allow the dogs to lope and trot freely and easily. Now, being in race conditions as they are, the mushers are asking a lot of their dogs both mentally and physically. Dan reported that Mitch was in good spirits. His dogs look great. They're all eating well. He has dropped two dogs so far, Rainbow and Zero. Rainbow had a sore shoulder and Zero was having trouble with his back leg. Mitch commented that his dogs were 'rolling along' and the reason he's a bit behind schedule is because of the trail conditions mentioned above. Mitch is currently in 8th place and should be pulling into Ophir at any moment. As for Tyrell, he is resting in Takotna. He pulled in at 16th place. He will more than likely take his 24 hour layover here. So far it seems like Tyrell is managing his dogs very well. He's dropped two so far. The third Seavey, Dallas, is sticking to his planned schedule. Short runs and long rests. Dallas commented that the Dalzell Gorge was 'a fun and crazy ride'. He's currently on his way to Nikolai. |
|||
