Several Iron Dog racers are back on the trail, jetting out upon completing layovers in McGrath. Still leading the way in first position are Mike Morgan and Chris Olds, who hopped back on their machines and checked out of McGrath at 9:58 this morning (Monday). Morgan, who was born and raised in Nome, and Olds have been Iron Dog teammates for the past 8 years — last year taking home a first-place win.
Morgan/Olds decided to take a fourteen-hour layover in McGrath, as did 21 out of the 23 pro-class teams this year. An exception is current second-position team Scott Faeo and Robby Schachle, who decided to split their rest time with a 6-hour layover in Skwentna and only 8 hours in McGrath. Faeo/Schachle’s mandatory 8 hours was up at 9:15, but they didn’t check out until 10 am — just two minutes behind Morgan/Olds.
So far, there is not an update on Wasilla-based team Todd Minnick/Nick Olstad’s decision to scratch last night (Sunday) at 10:37 in McGrath. They’re the only reported scratch so far in the race.
Representing Nome is Amos Cruise/Jarvis Miller, who currently hold 11th position, checking out of McGrath just about an hour ago at 10:58. In 20th position is Michael Oliver/Jerrod Vaughn, followed in 21st by Dietrich Nikolai/Nicholas Reader.
So far, 15 teams have checked out of McGrath and now make their way to Ruby, the next layover option. The GPS tracker shows Robby Schachle, Chris Olds, and Adam Drinkhouse leading the way to Poorman Road, about 60 miles out, all going around 30 mph.
Tune into KNOM (780 AM, 96.1 FM) at 5 pm for your next detailed Iron Dog race update.
Image at top: file photo: Mike Morgan and Chris Olds depart the arrival chute in Nome, the half-way point of the race, during the 2014 Iron Dog. Photo: KNOM.
