After a 6 a.m. restart of the Iron Dog 2023 race in Nome Wednesday morning, Tyler Aklestad and Nick Olstad of Team 7, and Casey Boylan and Bryan Leslie of Team 14 were neck-and-neck and trading leads on the way to the first checkpoint.

Boylan and Leslie first took a lead at just after 8:15 a.m., though Aklestad and Olstad regained the front position as the race entered the nine o’clock hour. At about 9:30 a.m., Aklestad and Olstad — still in the lead — passed the checkpoint at Koyuk.

Once at Koyuk, the 15 teams still in the hunt turned south along Norton Bay. At just after 11:30 a.m., Aklestad and Olstad reached Unalakleet.

As of the airing of this story, that latest update is currently unofficial. Team 39 — Cody Barber and Brett Lapham — have also been competitive in third position, staying close behind the two leading teams.

Nome’s team of the Miller brothers, Jarvis and Jordan began Wednesday in 4th position. The Nome-based team of Cody Moen and his partner Chad Gueco began in 12th position.

Image at top: Iron Dog racers check out of Koyuk for a third time. Photo by Iron Dog, used with permission (2023).