Zirkle leads super tight Iditarod race in Alaska
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Aliy Zirkle was barely holding on to the lead in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Sunday, arriving at a checkpoint just a minute ahead of her closest rival on Alaska’s wind-scoured western coast.
The 44-year-old musher arrived at the Norton Bay village of Koyuk with 11 dogs at 2:07 p.m. Sunday after a 50-mile run from the previous checkpoint at Shaktoolik. Four-time champion Jeff King and his 12-dog team were close behind, arriving into the Koyuk checkpoint at 2:08 p.m.
Zirkle has come in second place in the last two years in the nearly 1,000-mile race to Nome, which is 171 miles west of Koyuk. She is seeking to become only the third woman to win the race and the first woman to win since the late Susan Butcher in 1990.
King last won in 2006 and is trying to be only the second musher to win five races.
Other front-runners Sunday were four-time champion Martin Buser, who arrived in Koyuk in third place at 4:20 p.m. Sunday, followed 13 minutes later by 2012 Iditarod champion Dallas Seavey. Veterans Sonny Lindner and Aaron Burmeister were fifth and sixth out of Shaktoolik. Defending champion Mitch Seavey, father of Dallas Seavey, was running seventh after leaving Shaktoolik at 10:54 a.m. Sunday.
The racers, who have four more checkpoints after Koyuk and before Nome, are expected to begin arriving in Nome no later than Tuesday.
While the front-runners were gunning up the Bering Sea coast, volunteers and Nome city crews were busily preparing the old Gold Rush town for the coming onslaught of dog teams and spectators. Dog lots were being readied, and volunteers at the town’s mini convention center were folding souvenir T-shirts to be sold. Early Sunday morning, the famed burled arch marking the finish line was moved by bulldozer from a city parking lot to its yearly spot on Front Street.
Temperatures in Nome hovered slightly above zero Sunday, which brought clear conditions and brilliant sunshine. Snowfall has been light this winter in the frontier town of nearly 3,700, so the city has been stockpiling snow, which was being trucked to Front Street for the final stretch to the finish line.
The race began March 2 in Willow with 69 teams. As of Sunday afternoon, 16 mushers had scratched, leaving 53 teams on the trail, which was marked by long stretches of bare and rocky ground that made for an icy, treacherous trail in the early part of the race.
Zirkle on Saturday was the first musher to reach the coastal community of Unalakleet. But she thought she was running second behind Buser, learning only later that he was resting at a cabin. Thinking she was running second, she wasn’t all hyped up thinking she was first, Zirkle said before taking off from the Unalakleet Saturday night.
“I made the run really mellow,” she said in a video posted on the Iditarod website.
King left Unalakleet 69 minutes later, saying he and his dogs were feeling great. King, 58, has been battling a stiff back, shoulders and arms all winter, but he was feeling “loose as a cucumber now,” King said in an Iditarod video.
“Man, my aches and pains go way when I rattle down the trail,” he said. “I swear it.”
The first to reach Nome wins $50,000 and a new truck. The 29 teams after that win cash prizes decreasing on a sliding scale. All other teams finishing the race receive $1,049.
___Associated Press writer Mark Thiessen contributed to this report from Nome, Alaska.
Aliy Zirkle drives her dog team across the portage from Kaltag to Unalakleet. Zirkle is the first musher to reach the Bering Sea in Unalakleet during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Saturday, March 8, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob Hallinen)
Scott Hughes, 19, of Pittsburgh, Pa., hammers nails into place on the chute to the finish line of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Sunday, March 9, 2014, in Nome, Alaska. Hughes, a student at the University of Pittsburgh, is helping the city prepare for the finish of the Iditarod as part of a church mission. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
Tourists pose under the famed burled arch, which serves as the finish line in the nearly thousand-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Nome, Alaska, on Friday, March 7, 2014. The winner is expected some time next week, and the burled arch will be slid into its proper place on Nome’s Front Street from a city parking lot once mushers get closer to Nome. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
Iditarod musher Michelle Phillips, from Tagish, YT, Canada, arrives at the Unalakleet checkpoint at sunrise during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Sunday, March 9, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob Hallinen)
A Nome public works truck dumps a load of snow onto Front Street on Sunday, March 9, 2014, in Nome, Alaska. The snow was trucked in to provide a trail for mushers to the finish line of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
A Nome public works truck dumps a load of snow onto Front Street on Sunday, March 9, 2014, in Nome, Alaska. The snow was trucked in to provide a trail for mushers to the finish line of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. The wooden frame is the famed burled arch finish line. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
Iditarod musher Michelle Phillips, from Tagish, YT, Canada, arrives at the Unalakleet checkpoint at sunrise during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Sunday, March 9, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob Hallinen)
Iditarod musher John Baker, from Kotzebue, AK, comes into the Unalakleet checkpoint at sunrise during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Sunday, March 9, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob Hallinen)
Aliy Zirkle drives her dog team into the Unalakleet checkpoint. Zirkle is first musher to reach the Bering Sea in Unalakleet during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Saturday, March 8, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob Hallinen)
Sonny Lindner is third musher into the Unalakleet checkpoint at 6:09PM during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Saturday, March 8, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob Hallinen)
Sonny Lindner lines out his dogs after coming into the Unalakleet checkpoint at 6:09 PM during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Saturday, March 8, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob Hallinen)
One of Hans Gatt’s dogs is ready to go as Gatt made a brief stop at the Yukon River village of Kaltag during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Saturday, March 8, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob Hallinen)
Aliy Zirkle poses for the photo with 8-year-old Autumn Nanouk. Zirkle is the first musher to reach the Bering Sea in Unalakleet during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Saturday, March 8, 2014. Autumn’s grandmother, Rhoda Nanouk, made Nanouk’s wolf ruff parka. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob Hallinen)
An Iditarod musher stops to adjust his team as he drives down the Yukon River after leaving the Ruby checkpoint and heading towards Galena during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Friday, March 7, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News Bob Hallinen)
Hans Gatt drives his team off the Yukon River into the village of Kaltag during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Saturday, March 8, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob Hallinen)
Dallas Seavey leaves the Yukon River village of Kaltag during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Saturday, March 8, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob Hallinen)
Robert Sorlie drives his team out of the Yukon River village of Kaltag during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Saturday, March 8, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob Hallinen)
Iditarod musher John Baker, from Kotzebue, Ak, prepares dog food for his team at the Unalakleet checkpoint at sunrise during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Sunday, March 9, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob Hallinen)
Trix, a team dog for Iditarod musher John Baker, from Kotzebue, AK, keeps an eye on the musher at the Unalakleet checkpoint at sunrise during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Sunday, March 9, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob Hallinen)
Aliy Zirkle mushes her dog team between the checkpoints of Kaltag and Unalakleet during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Saturday, March 8, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob Hallinen)
Ray Redington Jr. leaves the Kaltag checkpoint during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Saturday, March 8, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob Hallinen)
Frederick Huntington visits with one of Hans Gatt’s dogs after he arrived into the Yukon River village of Kaltag during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Saturday, March 8, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob Hallinen)
Aliy Zirkle accepts the Wells Fargo Gold Coast Award for the first musher to reach the Bering Sea in Unalakleet during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Saturday, March 8, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob Hallinen)
Gilbert Huntington, from Galena, Alaska, shares a laugh with Iditarod musher Hugh Neff, from Tok, at the Galena checkpoint during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Friday, March 7, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News Bob Hallinen)
Iditarod musher Hugh Neff, from Tok, AK, changes the plastic on his runners as he talks with race judge Curtis Erhart at the Galena checkpoint during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Friday, March 7, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News Bob Hallinen)
Iditarod musher Wade Marrs, from Wasilla, AK, gets hot water to prepare dog food for his team at the Unalakleet checkpoint at sunrise during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Sunday, March 9, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob Hallinen)
Iditarod musher Wade Marrs, from Wasilla, AK, arrives at the Unalakleet checkpoint at sunrise during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Sunday, March 9, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob Hallinen)
Sonny Lindner is third musher into the Unalakleet checkpoint during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Saturday, March 8, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob Hallinen)
Iditarod musher Paul Gebhardt, from Kasilof, AK, mushes up the bank off of the Yukon River and into the Galena checkpoint during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Friday, March 7, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News Bob Hallinen)
Nicholas Petit, from Girdwood, AK, works with his dog team at the Galena checkpoint during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Friday, March 7, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News Bob Hallinen)
Mushers come into the Unalakleet checkpoint and care for their dogs during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Sunday, March 9, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob Hallinen)
Martin Buser changes his drag brake onto his coast sled. Buser has his finger taped up because it keeps popping out of joint. Buser was second into the Unalakleet checkpoint during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Saturday, March 8, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob Hallinen)
Martin Buser is second into the Unalakleet checkpoint during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Saturday, March 8, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob Hallinen)
Iditarod musher Peter Kaiser, from Bethel, AK, comes into the Unalakleet checkpoint at sunrise during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Sunday, March 9, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob Hallinen)
Race fans wait for Aliy Zirkle to drive her dog team into the Unalakleet checkpoint. Zirkle is the first musher to reach the Bering Sea in Unalakleet during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Saturday, March 8, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob Hallinen)
Robert Sorlie’s dogs wait as the musher prepares to leave the Yukon River village of Kaltag during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Saturday, March 8, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob Hallinen)
Robert Sorlie leaves the Kaltag checkpoint during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Saturday, March 8, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob Hallinen)
Robert Sorlie prepares to leave the Yukon River village of Kaltag during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Saturday, March 8, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob Hallinen)
An Iditarod musher drives his team down the Yukon River after leaving the Ruby checkpoint and heading towards Galena during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Friday, March 7, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News Bob Hallinen)
Hugh Neff’s dog team sleeps in the sun at the Cripple checkpoint during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Thursday, March 6, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob Hallinen) LOCAL TV OUT (KTUU-TV, KTVA-TV) LOCAL PRINT OUT (THE ACHORAGE PRESS, THE ALASKA DISPATCH)
Aliy Zirkle drives her dog team into the Unalakleet Checkpoint. Zirkle is first musher to reach the Bering Sea in Unalakleet during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Saturday, March 8, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob Hallinen)
Mackenzie Tulloch and Aubrey Tulloch are selling treats at the Galena checkpoint to raise money for musher Lance Mackey’s medical expenses during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Friday, March 7, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News Bob Hallinen)
An Iditarod musher drives his team down the Yukon River after leaving the Ruby checkpoint and heading towards Galena during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Friday, March 7, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News Bob Hallinen)
Aliy Zirkle mushes her dog team between the checkpoints of Kaltag and Unalakleet during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Saturday, March 8, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob Hallinen)
Aliy Zirkle mushes her dog team between the checkpoints of Kaltag and Unalakleet during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Saturday, March 8, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob Hallinen)
Iditarod musher Wade Marrs, from Wasilla, AK, puts straw down for his dogs at the Unalakleet checkpoint at sunrise during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Sunday, March 9, 2014. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob Hallinen)