Ryan Redington scratches from Iditarod in Takotna

IDITAROD TRAIL — Only two mushers have scratched in this year’s Iditarod, one local and one from way out of town.

Silvia Furlwangler, a rookie from Norway, bowed out first in Nikolai, citing concerns for her health.

And then Thursday, Ryan Redington, grandson of storied race co-founder Joe Redington Sr., decided to throw in the towel in Thursday morning in Takotna, 96 miles and two checkpoints short of the race’s halfway point of Cripple. He pulled into what would be his last checkpoint with 10 dogs, down significantly from his start in Willow. Some teams, including Redington’s brother, Ray Redington Jr., still have 16 dogs in harness. Most of the leaders have at least 13.

The front third of the teams have made it as far up the trail as Ophir and a group of five teams already has arrived at the Cripple checkpoint.

Lanier of Chugiak was the first into Cripple Thursday, mushing 13 dogs and picking up the GCI Dorothy Page Halfway Award of $3,500 in gold placer nuggets.

Among the top 12 front runners — which includes 2004 champ Mitch Seavey running second to Lanier, Trent Herbst in third, Dallas Seavey in fourth and 2011 champ and current race time record holder John Baker’s team was fifth — all but Lanier and Herbst already have completed their mandatory 24-hour layover.

Nipping at their heels in sixth is Aliy Zirkle, seventh is four-time champ Jeff King, eighth is Sonny Linder, ninth is Aaron Burmeister, 10^th is Paul Gebhardt, 11^th is four-time champ Lance Mackey and in 12^th is 2012 Yukon Quest Hugh Neff.

Ryan Redington, 27, was the last to start during this his fifth Iditarod. Combine, his father and grandfather ran the race 33 times.

His wife, Erin Redington, said she has talked to him a couple of times since he called it quits.

“He sounds good. He’s bummed out,” she said. “You never want to have to stop something partway through. It’s not in anybody’s nature to want to give up part way through.”

She said that a lot of her husband’s team’s training this year was in Montana. They actually ran a race this year in Wyoming.

“We were training on nice groomed trails with nothing deep or too hard to go through,” Erin Redington said. “From what he’s saying, it’s a totally different animal out there on the Iditarod.”

The dogs just weren’t used to that kind of racing, and she said nobody — neither dogs nor musher — were seriously injured leading up to the scratch. They were just sore.

“They all pull muscles from time to time and sometimes you have to sit out,” Erin Redington said. “Dogs will recover and the musher’s pride will recover.”

Redington’s mother, Barb Redington, said her heart went out to her son.

“I feel bad for anyone who has to scratch from a race for one reason or another,” she said. “From what it sounds like, his concern was the dogs, so I’m glad to see that the dogs come first.”

Barb Redington is on the board of directors for the Junior Iditarod. She said it’s been inspiring to watch this year’s race.

“We only had 11 kids in the (junior) race this year, but what’s neat for me to see is all these former Junior Iditarod mushers who are now in the big Iditarod,” she said before listing off a half dozen or more mushers — including Ryan and his brother, Ray Redington Jr. — who first raced in the Junior Iditarod.

Ray Redington Jr. is still in the race and doing very well. He was first out of Willow and hasn’t dropped below 20th for very long, if it all, since the race began.

The race almost didn’t happen for Ryan Redington. At the re-start in Willow, he said that he’d been down with the flu and not sure he would compete in the lead up to the re-start. His musher bio on the race’s website declares he’s been mushing since he “could hold onto the sled” and lists his hometown as Wasilla. The Redingtons hail from the Knik area.

Contact reporter Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.