WEDNESDAY, 11 a.m. update -- The Buser boys made things interesting Wednesday morning in Takotna.
Four-time champion Martin and son Rohn, winner of January's Kusko 300, roared through the checkpoint, stopping only long enough to check in and check out.
Martin arrived at 8:31 a.m. and left one minute later, a move that gives him the Iditarod lead.
But it comes with a big fat asterisk.
Martin reached Takotna nine hours after Aliy Zirkle did. In fact, 30 mushers reached the checkpoint before Martin and Rohn did.
Rohn arrived at 9:45 a.m. Wednesday but like his dad, he was gone within a minute and on his way to Ophir.
Those who arrived in Takotna before the Busers appear to be taking their 24-hour layovers there; Zirkle has been there for almost 12 hours now.
The Busers still need to take their 24-hour layovers, so their status as race leaders doesn't mean much.
The father-son duo to keep an eye on is Mitch and Dallas Seavey, who are part of a four-man pack that will pursue Zirkle out of Takotna early Thursday morning when their layovers end.
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WEDNESDAY, 8 a.m. update -- Lance Mackey arrived in McGrath late Tuesday night with two dogs in his basket and put his race on pause there rather than chase the lead pack into Takotna.
The four-time champion told Iditarod Insider that he'd take his 24-hour layover at the checkpoint, a choice none of the other frontrunners made.
"I race my team first and my competition second," he said. "I've always said I'm not gonna win the Iditarod at the expense of my team."
Most everyone else who has made it to McGrath has kept going another 18 miles to Takotna, where everyone appears to be settling into their 24-hour breaks.
A group of 27 mushers is in Takotna. Aliy Zirkle got there first at 11:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wade Marrs is the most recent arrival, pulling in at 7:01 a.m. No one has left the checkpoint.
Mackey, who had been running with the pack pursuing Zirkle, reached McGrath at 11:19 p.m. Tuesday.
If Mackey and Zirkle both complete their mandatory 24-hour layovers now, they'd be free to resume racing at roughly the same time Wednesday night, with Zirkle 18 miles ahead of Mackey.
Zirkle had two dogs in her basket when she arrived in Takotna.
All 66 mushers remain in the race. Besides the 27 in Takotna, three on the trail to Takota, eight are in McGrath, 13 are on the trail to McGrath, seven are in Nikolai, five are on the trail to Nikolai and three remain in Rohn.
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WEDNESDAY 6:30 a.m. update -- With the frontrunners settling in for what appears to be 24 hours of rest in Takotna, Aliy Zirkle continues to lead the Iditarod despite impressive runs by two of the Seaveys.
Zirkle reached Takotna at 11:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Thirty-nine minutes later, at 12:09 a.m., John Baker and Mitch Seavey arrived. Jeff King pulled in at 12:14. Then Dallas Seavey showed up at 12:20.
Mushers no longer have to declare their intentions when beginning their mandatory 24-hour layover. But it's a good guess Zirkle and company are in Takotna for the day.
Lance Mackey, meanwhile, has been in Nikolai since 11:19 p.m. Tuesday, according to race standings. It could be that he's taking his layover there.
Zirkle, the leader since Monday, made the 18-mile run from Nikolai to Takotna in 2 hours, 54 minutes. Baker clocked 2:57.
Mitch Seavey, the 2004 champion, ran a swift 2:41 to catch Baker. King made it in 2:44.
But it was Dallas Seavey, son of Mitch and the 2011 Yukon Quest champion, who really motored. He made the run in 2:24, gaining a half-hour on Zirkle.
Of the five frontrunners, Zirkle and Mitch Seavey are the only ones running full teams of 16 dogs, although Zirkle arrived with one in her basket. King and Dallas Seavey have 15 and Baker 14.
