Gebhardt grabs Iditarod lead

With the Iditarod sled dog race approaching the halfway point at the Cripple checkpoint, some of the lead teams are choosing to take their 24 hour layover which is mandated by race rules to be taken at some point during the race. Paul Gebhardt has chosen to keep moving on however, and this strategy has put him in the lead for now, as all the teams who were ahead of him on the trail have apparently pulled over to take their 24s. This is not a new strategy for Gebhardt given that he took late layovers in the 2006 and 2007 races and that strategy was leveraged for high finishes of 3rd and 2nd respectively in those races.

How far will Gebhardt go before he takes his 24 and will that strategy work? With the warm weather along the trail, and more warm weather predicted for tomorrow, the river portions of the trail promise to be a slow go with heavy snow and plenty of overflow. The trail from Ophir through Cripple on to Ruby is light on river travel, so the trail could be firmer especially for the first teams through. If he chooses to 24 at Ruby, there is a chance that he will have a better trail on the Yukon River out of that checkpoint for his well rested team if the weather turns cooler. Gebhardt reported to is wife Evy this morning that the team was gobbling up everything in sight, so he will certainly require a large drop of dog food where ever he choose to stop.

Other teams are following Gebhardt's lead of delaying the layover although Gebhardt has a good lead on them and a high bib number which lessens his delay tacked on to the 24. These teams include Hugh Neff, Zack Steer, and the surprising Sylvia Willis. Meanwhile, back at Takotna taking their 24s are former front runners of the race Lance Mackey, Jeff King, and Kjetil Backen. These 3 will come charging down the trail with refreshed teams in the early morning hours with Backen leaving first courtesy of his higher bib number. Only time will tell if they can recapture the lead before Gebhardt finishes his 24.