King and Mackey race out of Ruby

Jeff King has left Ruby with Lance Mackey following an hour behind him. Both of the mushers have now taken both of the mandatory rest stops and have a clear shot to Nome.

They lead a pack of 12 mushers including the sport’s biggest names who have pulled away from the rest of the Iditarod Sled Dog race field and into the checkpoint at Ruby.

King arrived in Ruby at 3:08 a.m. this morning with 15 of the 16 dogs he started with.

Last year’s winner and defending three-time champ Mackey pulled into Ruby just an hour later with 13 of his 16 dogs. Hugh Neff came in 10 minutes after Mackey, and Mitch Seavey came in an hour after that. Hans Gatt pulled in fifth, but he posted the fastest time between Cripple and Ruby breaking the 12-miles-per-hour mark with just 12 dogs.

The mushers still have more than 400 miles to get to Nome. From Ruby, the trail turns down the Yukon River out to the coast. Light snow is forecast for the next checkpoint in Galena, and the temperatures are hanging around 20 degrees below zero.