Ak Ultra sport

[Eric]

Congrats to Pete, Jeff and Jay who just took 1,2,3.
Super impressive efforts as always.

[Marshal]

Wife & I have been following along as best we can(to bad no Spot's allowed), now the post reports start--can't wait for more info

Congrats to all finishers so far and shout out for Tracey Petervary, come from behind effort for a new female record! And shes going to Nome with Jay!

[phil_rad]

I have also been watching, truly an amazing feat to go so far so fast in the snow with all that gear!
My hat goes off to starters and of course for the finishers. You are all winners!

[ScottM]

Strong work by so many.  Pete seems to be bulletproof on the iditarod trail, and Tracey's new record is super impressive.

This race is always inspiring to follow.

[Shaggy]

Congratulations all! It looks to have been a tough year out there so I'm even more impressed by the speeds!

[J-No]

How do they find their way on the trail?  Is it marked?  I read of snow machines forging a trail, but what if it is snow covered by the time people arrive?

[sean salach]

I don't know if I would say it was a particularly tough year. It does seem like there was a pretty experienced and capable group of riders out there this year, hence the high number of finishers. It was definitely better trail than last year, and the impression I got from multi-year race vets I spoke to was that it was maybe a little tougher than average, but not by much. To my eyes/wheels/legs, the first "90" were rideable, but tough. From Skwentna to Shell was half on half off. Most of the way from Shell to Finger Lake was bomber for me, but apparently a little soft for those in front of me. We got a bunch of fresh snow while we slept at Finger Lake, which made most of the trek from there to Puntilla a slog. Puntilla to Rohn was blown in and difficult, the people who crossed in daylight definitely had a bit of an advantage. Rohn to McGrath was hardpacked and fast. The tussocks were a blast. They were like riding a furry rock garden, and really only accounted for about 10-15 miles at the most. Nikolai to McGrath seemed to me to be like a paved bike path, with occasional wind drifts in some of the swamps.

J-No, there is no marked route the racers need to follow, just checkpoints. The opportunity to get lost does exist, but very few people actually do. The official Iditarod Trail is marked fairly well most of the way, with a few gaps here and there. There are other markers people can follow to keep from getting lost too, put out by other races(dog sled) that use the same trail. 

[sean salach]

Big congrats to Tracey Petervary! Set the all time woman's record to McGrath, and then kept on cruising to set the all time woman's record to Nome by over 7 days!! Her new record stands at 18 days 6hrs. Well done to Jay who finished by her side, and Phil Hoffstetter who cruised to the overall victory in his hometown in 17 days, 9 hrs and 30 minutes, the fastest finishing time since Curiak's win in 2002.

[T-Race]

Just wanted to say thanks for all the cheers and support!  What a blast it was this year!  Really awesome to meet new people.