Money for Mushers : The Final Push

Dallas Seavey has a pretty commanding lead at this point and has just checked into White Mountain, which is just 77 miles from Nome. All mushers have a mandatory 8-hour layover here. I have a feeling they are going to all be looking forward to it.

This is the time in the race where everyone and his brother (literally in the case of Danny Seavey) starts making predictions about who will reach Nome first. If I've learned anything in the years I've been following this sport, it is not to make any certain bets on who will get to that burled arch first. Last year everyone was certain victory would go to Jeff King, but a nasty storm pinned him down and had him scratching from the race less than 30 miles from the finish line. Saying that Dallas has this one in the bag isn't far out of the realm of possibility, but there's still a long way to go. Don't count out Mitch Seavey, Aaron Burmeister or Jessie Royer, Aliy Zirkle.

Jessie Royer is having an outstanding race. This is the twelfth year she has run in the Iditarod, and she has always finished in the top 21. In 2014 she was the 7th place finisher, running the race in 9 days 4 hours 3 minutes 25 seconds, which netted her a prize of $35,300. You can learn more about Jessie at her website huskypower.com. I'm really excited for her that she is having such a great race. Wouldn't it be great if she snuck in there and won the whole shebang? That would set everyone on their ears for sure!

Race Standings – Top 5 Mushers (as of 3/17 @ 11:30 am)

1	Dallas Seavey Bib 46	IN TO White Mountain AT 03-17 10:10
2	Mitch Seavey Bib 18	OUT OF Elim AT 03-17 06:10
3	Aaron Burmeister Bib 63	OUT OF Elim AT 03-17 06:26
4	Jessie Royer Bib 3	OUT OF Elim AT 03-17 08:30
5	Aliy Zirkle Bib 32	IN TO Elim AT 03-17 06:10

It sounds like the conditions are rough along the Bering Sea. One commentator said the dogs were running in snow conditions similar to dry sand in how difficult it is to run on. The weather is warmer up in Nome, so I'm sure everyone is looking forward to that.

We've had two more scratches, both citing the best interest of their teams as their reason for stopping their race. Jan Steves scratched in Huslia with 14 dogs in harness and Katherine Keith and her 9 dogs called it quits in Unalakleet. I sure wish they gave us more information in these press releases.

One of the sites I read talked about how much care the mushers get along the trail. The dogs get hot meals, lots of rest, massages, foot rubs, ointment, snacks, and hugs and kisses along the way, but the poor mushers are on their own. There is no doctor at each checkpoint looking them over for strains and injuries. Aliy Zirkle couldn't even summon up an Advil at one checkpoint. The worst of it is the what the cold does to their hands. Much of the work they need to do requires dexterity that can't be found wearing gloves. There are a lot of sore and frostbitten hand out there on the trail. Tell me again why these people think this is fun? Take a look:

Jeff King (who has lost parts of his fingers to frostbite from previous races)