Two mandatory 8 hours rest periods, and one 24 hour rest period. Why can't
RAAM incorporate these rules in their race? Is our compassion for dogs,
more than for people?
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The Official Site of the Iditarod
It's Not a Question of "If," it's a Question of "When"
Mushers Begin Taking Their 24-Hour Layovers
by Andy Moderow
Just when you thought the race statistics were beginning to make sense, the
mushers send another curve ball your way… Its 24-hour layover time! There
are three mandatory rests that each team must take during the Iditarod: One
24-hour layover, to be taken at any checkpoint, one 8 hour layover, taken at
any checkpoint on the Yukon River, and an 8 hour stop at White Mountain, 77
miles from Nome. Strategy plays a large role determining where a musher
chooses to take their layover, and in the past few years, the general school
of thought has evolved.
There are many different factors that mushers consider when choosing where
to take their 24-hour layovers. For top competitors, the main concern is to
stop at a point where the team needs it the most: This can help mushers
maintain speed, and provide them with an opportunity to complete one longer
than normal run (typically 7-9 hours) before stopping. Another concern for
mushers, particularly in the back of the pack, is which checkpoint offers
the best hospitality. Takotna and McGrath are known for being very musher
friendly: Race supporters provide everything from homemade pies to hot
showers. Cripple, on the other hand, has fewer resources available, because
it is a ghost town. Hospitality is more likely to influence the decision for
those in the back of the pack because they aren’t basing their entire
decision on what helps them competitively: Homemade pie can enter the
equation! Weather may also influence where mushers stop: If a big storm
system is moving in, it may be smartest to run on the good trail while it
lasts, and stop when it begins to snow. Similarly, however, an argument can
be made to stop sooner rather than later, allowing teams pushing on before
their layover to pack down the trail, making it faster for the teams
following them.
Statistics show that there has been a major shift in thought, but no
specific consensus, about the ideal layover checkpoint. Iditarod 2001 saw
three quarters of the top 20 taking their 24-hour layovers in Takotna or a
checkpoint before. Last year, on the same route, half the field chose to ‘24
’ at the checkpoint Iditarod (the halfway point on the southern route) or
beyond. During the early years of the race, a majority of competitors took
their layovers in Nikolai, just after crossing the Alaska Range, believing
that their dogs could most use the break after the difficult trail. Over the
years, top competitors have decided that taking their 24 later in the race
is best strategically. It is extremely likely that, this year, more than
half of the top 20 will choose to take their break at Cripple or beyond.
So what are the symptoms of a 24-hour layover? Once a musher stops in a
checkpoint for longer than 10 hours, it is likely that they have stopped for
their 24. If history is any indication, most mushers will 24 in the
checkpoints Cripple, Takotna or McGrath. Be particularly wary of the leader
board as teams stop for their break: As an example, Jeff King appears to be
'24ing' in Takotna, and has already fallen to 16th place, halfway into his
break: More teams are bound to pass him as he stops. As one of the first
teams into Takotna, expect him to catch up with the teams that stop further
down the trail, being almost neck and neck with them as they complete their
stops.
Once everyone completes their break, we’ll have a much clearer picture of
which team is in the lead, particularly because differences in start times
will be made up. Because the start in Willow was staggered, with one musher
leaving every two minutes, the first team to start left nearly 3 hours
before the last team. To make up for this ‘jumpstart’, 24-hour layover times
are adjusted, holding teams that left earlier in the day longer than those
who left later. Thus, the first team out of the chute in Willow will stop
for nearly 27 hours on their '24' – the second team will stop two minutes
less than them. The last team to start the race, #84 Paul Gebhardt, will
stop for exactly 24 hours.
Once everyone completes their layovers and start traveling down the Yukon
River, the statistics will become much less convoluted… I promise!