Day 9

A personal note: my mom and niece flew out last night. May God see them safely home again - and a BIG thank you to my sister for keeping the home fires bright while they were away.

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The Iditarod is now in its final day, as the winning time will be in the ballpark of previous finishes of 8 days and 20 hours.

This year's time could be affected by the alternate route, as the eastern half of the trail was over unfamiliar ground. That might be offset by the fact that they ran along the Yukon River for a long way, thereby speeding up the trip.

Either way, the talking heads are predicting a winner in the wee hours, tomorrow morning.

So who's in the lead now? I'm glad you asked:

Race Standings – Top 5 Mushers

1	Dallas Seavey Bib 46	OUT OF Elim AT 03-17 02:51
2	Mitch Seavey Bib 18	OUT OF Elim AT 03-17 06:10
3	Aaron Burmeister Bib 63	OUT OF Elim AT 03-17 06:26
4	Jessie Royer Bib 3	IN TO Elim AT 03-17 05:39
5	Aliy Zirkle Bib 32	IN TO Elim AT 03-17 06:10

This year's route. Note: Elim is near the upper right-hand corner of the text box at the left center, above. As always, click to enlarge.