Smyth leads Valley teams

NOME -- Ramey Smyth is just 27 years old, but he already has built quite a reputation among the Iditarod community.

Smyth is not just known as a strong musher, but one who boasts tremendously strong finishes. The five-time winner of the Nome Kennel Club fastest time from Safety to Nome Award, continued to impress as he passed two mushers in the final 22 miles of the race to claim fourth place in the 2004 Iditarod Sled Dog Race.

Smyth, of Big Lake, was the first Mat-Su Valley musher to pass under the Burled Arch on Front Street in Nome.

Smyth left Safety just after midnight Tuesday night, 10 minutes behind Charlie Boulding and 28 minutes shy of Ed Iten. He passed Boulding early in the final stretch from Safety to Nome and his team sprinted past Iten just a few miles outside of Nome.

Smyth, who finished just more than two minutes ahead of Iten, ran and kicked his way down Front Street and into the finish chute.

"I think it has to do partly with seeing the dogs working. I am in pretty good shape. It comes down to we have to do this right here, right now," Smyth said.

Smyth officially hit the finish line at 2:23 a.m. Wednesday, finishing the final two miles in 2 hours and 20 minutes.

Smyth fell back as far as ninth leaving Kaltag and 13th leaving Unalakleet. On the final two days of his race, Smyth worked his way into the top five. Leaping Boulding and Iten also means about an extra $10,000 to his award.

Smyth, son of Iditarod veteran Bud Smyth, finished behind Mitch Seavey, winner of the 2004 Iditarod, Jeff King and Kjetil Backen.

Iten, a Kotzebue contractor, arrived in Nome at 2:25 a.m. to finish fourth and Boulding, of Manley, finished fifth at 3:04 a.m. Rick Swenson and Ramy Brooks arrived in Nome at 4:59 a.m. and 5:58 a.m. to place seventh and eighth. John Baker and Vern Halter rounded out the top 10. Martin Buser, a four-time winner of the Iditarod, just missed his 17th top-10 finish, placing 11th.

As of 10 a.m. Thursday, these were the finishers -- 1. Seavey; 2. King; 3. Backen; 4. Smyth; 5. Iten; 6. Boulding; 7. Swenson; 8. Brooks; 9. Baker; 10. Halter; 11. Buser; 12. Jason Barron; 13. Aaron Burmeister; 14. Tim Osmar; 15. DeeDee Jonrowe; 16. Jerry Sousa; 17. Ken Anderson; 18. Jim Lanier; 19. Paul Gebhardt; 20. Ray Redington Jr.; 21. Jessica Royer; 22. Hugh Neff; 23. Melanie Gould; 24. Lance Mackey; 25. Shannon Brockman; 26. Jason Mackey; 27. John Barron; 28. Fabrizio Lovati; 29. Dennis Kananowicz.