Setting up for a photo finish

The closest Iditarod finish ever was in 1979 when Dick Mackey outlasted Rick Swenson by 1 second. The 2008 race has Dick's son Lance pitted against Jeff King in perhaps the tightest race for the lead since that legendary finish. With the teams working their way up the Bering Sea coast to the mandatory 8 hour layover at White Mountain, the leaders have arrived at checkpoints within 1/2 hour of each other since the Koyuk checkpoint on the Yukon River.

Mackey admits that his team is traveling slower then King's team. In order to keep pace with King he has chosen to cut his rest periods shorter. King appears a bit tired in some videos at the checkpoints, but obviously he is alert enough to calculate his rest period length so that his faster paced team catches up to Mackey's by the next checkpoint. Look for both teams to make a push all the way to White Mountain after there rest at Koyuk. Mackey knows he will have to leave the Koyuk checkpoint first to maintain his chances. A key point will be at the Elim checkpoint where a new mandatory vet check will require additional time for King's 16 dog team. Both teams have GPS trackers, so race fans will certainly be watching closely if the race remains tight.

Meanwhile, an increasingly large pack of teams are now battling it out for the 3rd place finish assuming the gap to Mackey and King is top large to overcome at this point. Ken Anderson, Ramey Smyth, Martin Buser, Hans Gatt, Paul Gebhardt, Mitch Seavey, and Kjetil Backen all are in contention having departed the Shaktoolik checkpoint. Each will need to take at least one significant rest on the way into White Mountain.