SUBLETTE COUNTY, WYO – A weather-shortened race to Lander yesterday was a fast one as every musher but one finished in under three hours.
Lina Streeper stretched her overall lead with a quick 2:02:34, averaging a blistering 14.7 mph for the 30 mile-run. Dave Torgerson was less than three minutes behind her. Bruce Magnusson finished in 2:09:14 to hold on to second place, overall, 11 minutes, 27 seconds behind Streeper.
And how about 17-year-old Greta Thurston? The rookie musher has been steadily improving and is now pushing middle-of-the-pack racers Austin Forney and Dennis Laboda for eight spot in the standings.
Next up for mushers and pups today is a repeat of the Upper Green River run from a couple of days ago…only now in reverse. Insider Jerry Bath says it will be crucial to hook up a strong lead dog today that won’t be thrown by running a familiar course in the opposite direction.
“A strong team without a good leader may cost some teams a little to a lot today,” Bath said.
Jerry Bath’s take:
The mushers are amped to be coming back to the Upper this morning. The weather should be perfect for running dogs estimated to be 9-26 degrees with light winds 8-15 mph.
The first seven miles will be common trail then they will be running it in reverse from the last time we were here. This may be a challenge to some without competent leaders. It’s the perfect mix-up of running the old in a new way. Does it make a difference? Perhaps, but it does add another part of race strategy. The elevation gains and losses will be the same, just in reverse.
I would expect to see larger teams today as the Lander stage was shortened to 30 miles with a lot of 10-dog teams. It was a fast course, and more than 10 dogs proved to be too much.
I would expect to see the overall stay pretty much the same but Jeff [Conn] and Dennis [Laboda] may switch rolls with Austin [Forney] and 17-year-old Greta starting to make their move.
The wind can come out of nowhere causing poor visibility at key intersections. Going the wrong way with no place to turn around or set a strong hook could cost critical time at this stage in the race with only two more days of racing after this.
