Jeff King crossed the finish line on Front Street in Nome at 4:11am CST (1:11am local time) with a winning time of 9 days, 11 hours, 11 minutes, and 36 seconds. As of this posting Doug Swingley has already come in with a second place finish. Paul Gebhardt, DeeDee Jonrowe, and John Baker aren’t far behind and I expect there will be multiple finishers today and over the next several days.
My wife pulled an all-nighter so she could watch the winner cross the finish line via our Internet connection. She’s ecstatic.
You can watch the finishers come in yourself on your Internet connection on the Nome-Cam set up at the finish line. Go to the Iditarod home page and there’s a link for the finish line camera over on the right side of the page.
Let’s hear it for guys in their early 50s that still win racing events. Or maybe it’s the dogs that get credit…. hopefully they were older too.
One of the greatest things about the Iditarod, kreiz, is the remarkable variety of the competitors. Ages ranged from 20 to 64. Men and women competing against each other. Entries from U. S., Canada, Norway, Germany, Italy, France, Switzerland, Netherlands. Inupiats maintaining the traditions of their ancestors.
One of the competitors is legally blind (she’s also the youngest entrant). She’s got a trail interpreter mushing next to her.
Incredible- didn’t realize there was such an array of competitors. I can’t imagine the endurance required. Marathons and the Tour de France come to mind- but plowing through snow with a pack of dogs over that kind of distance boggles the mind. Thanks for the coverage.