Trio sprints to finish in Nome

March 15, 2005

CASEY RESSLER/Valley Life editor

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is coming down to a three-team battle for the championship, and the biggest question is simple - can 2003 champion Robert Sorlie hold off Ramy Brooks and Martin Buser?

Sorlie's lead has been shrinking since the end of last week, and as of Monday morning at press time, Brooks was one hour and 27 minutes behind, while Buser was exactly two hours behind.

That is hardly an insurmountable lead. Consider that Brooks was 44 minutes faster than Sorlie from Unalakleet to Shaktoolik, a 42-mile stretch. Buser was 25 minutes faster over the same stretch of trail. With 219 miles from Shaktoolik to Nome, there was definitely enough trail for both Brooks and Buser to catch Sorlie.

Sorlie built his lead by running long periods of time, and then resting shorter periods. While that may have built a seemingly large lead, it may not have led to having the fastest team at the end. Following a 12-hour run into Unalakleet, Sorlie rested for only three hours before heading out on the trail. If his dogs respond to that, nobody will be able to catch him. If his dogs need more rest, however, they will run much more slowly, giving ample opportunity for Brooks and Buser to catch Sorlie.

Brooks and Buser, on the other hand, have been sticking to a somewhat even rest-run schedule, and their teams have responded by consistently being faster than Sorlie's, starting last weekend. From Unalakleet to Shaktoolik - a straight shot, with little or no rest typically - Sorlie averaged 5.9 mph, while Brooks and Buser averaged 6.6 and 6.3 mph respectively.

Following Buser was a strong contingent led by John Baker and Norwegian Bjorner Andersen. Jeff King, Ed Iten, Mitch Seavey, DeeDee Jonrowe and Paul Gebhardt were all out of Shaktoolik as of 10 a.m. Monday.

Reports from snowmachiners on the trail indicate the conditions aren't the greatest - the trail is very soft and powdery, which is far from ideal for mushers and their dogs. The race is several hours slower than last year's pace.

A winner should pull into Nome late tonight, or very early tomorrow. Last year, Mitch Seavey won the race by finishing at 10:20 p.m. Tuesday. With the race running a bit slower this year, a winner can be expected sometime after midnight, but probably before 8 a.m. tomorrow.

Among the notable scratches are Charlie Boulding and Bill Cotter, who joined five-time champion Rick Swenson as race watchers, rather than participants. The three mushers are among the most popular and most respected mushers in Iditarod history. Boulding had previously announced that this would be his last Iditarod, while Swenson scratched for the first time in his 29-year race career.