Wasilla duo leads Iron Dog at Galena

GALENA — The top three teams running the 2009 Tesoro Iron Dog are into the Galena South checkpoint separated by just minutes in the 1,971-mile snowmachine endurance race.

The team of Wasilla residents Todd Minnick and Nick Olstad hold the overall lead so far with a time of 30:09:18, nearly 15 minutes ahead of second-place runners Tyler Aklestad of Palmer and Tyson Johnson of Eagle River (30:23:53) and more than 45 minutes in front of Anchorage’s Marc McKenna and Dusty VanMeter of Kasilof (30:54:55).

Holding on to win the Tesoro Iron Dog would be a first for Minnick, although both are veterans of the race. Minnick’s best finish was sixth in the 2005 race. In that same year, Olstad won the Iron Dog, but has failed to finish the past three years.