Editor’s note: Richland Source is posting daily updates on Mansfield native Matthew Failor’s efforts at the 2024 Iditarod Sled Dog Race. Updates post daily at 8 a.m.
(UPDATE: Matthew Failor reached the Ophir checkpoint Wednesday around 1:38 p.m. EST and is now resting his team, which has traveled 352 miles since Sunday afternoon. He is currently running in third place having passed several teams resting at Takotna. Failor will likely begin his mandatory 24-hour break. Each team is required to take a 24-hour break during the Iditarod.)
ON THE IDITAROD TRAIL, Alaska — Saturdays at The Masters golf tournament are called “Moving Day,” a pressure-packed round when champions begin to emerge from the field.
That’s because there is a perception players seeking the title have the opportunity to close the gap on the leaders if they deliver an impressive outcome, especially if the leaders produce just an average round of golf.
Consider the next 48 hours or so “Moving Day” at the 52nd Iditarod Dog Sled Race across Alaska, with Mansfield native Matthew Failor right in the mix, covering 312 miles since Sunday afternoon.
Keep in mind, there are still more than 600 miles left in the event, dubbed “The Last Great Race.”
The 2000 Mansfield St. Peter’s graduate and his 17th-Dog team representing Alaskan Husky Adventures pulled into the McGrath checkpoint just before midnight in Alaska (four hour time difference from Ohio).
McGrath is located at the confluence of the Takotna and Kuskoswim rivers and features two stores, a bar and and a restaurant — a thriving community along the Iditarod trail.
Failor completed the 48-mile leg from Nikolai to McGrath in six hours and 52 minutes.
That followed a 13-hour, 21-minute trip from Rohn into Nikolai, a 75-mile journey that included a three-hour, 44-minute rest period.
Failor, who dropped off one of his dogs during the trip to McGrath, still had 15 runners on his team and was in 13th place as of Wednesday at 7 a.m.
Two and a half days into the nearly 1,000-mile journey from Anchorage to Nome have begun to spread the field with nearly 100 miles now separating the leader from the 38th-place musher.
In addition to the physical and mental stress on the mushers and their dogs, different strategies will begin to unfold. Mushers must decide when to take their 24-hour mandatory break.
There is also an 8-hour mandatory break required at White Mountain when there is just under 100 miles left in the race.
“The race is just getting good, guys. The strategies are just starting to unfold,” an Iditarod Insider said Wednesday during the live feed at the Takotna checkpoint just before 7 a.m.
As mushers consider strategies, weather also plays a factor. It’s been relatively warm since Sunday with fresh snow providing a slow trail early in the race. High temperatures have been around 30 and lows only in the teens.
Next up for Failor, once he resumes Wednesday morning from McGrath, will be the Takotna checkpoint, just 18 miles away. After that, it’s 23 miles to Ophir. That’s 352 miles into the race and where some suspect many mushers will declare for their 24-hour mandatory stop.
Beyond Ophir, it’s 73 miles to the next checkpoint at Cripple, which is 425 miles into the event.
Iditarod Insiders agreed this is where the race gets interesting with three previous champions in the field (Ryan Redington, Dallas Seavey and Pete Kaiser) all in the top five as of Wednesday morning.
The leader on Wednesday morning, already through Takotna, was Jessie Holmes.
A fifth-place finisher in 2023, Holmes is also known for his work on the the Discovery TV series, “Life Below Zero,” which explores lives of some of the residents of Alaska, including how they survive in the sub-zero-degree environment.
Iditarod Insiders opined late Tuesday on the pressure of the next couple of days.
“(Some) mushers arriving at McGrath or Takotna will declare 24-hour rests. Some will arrive at Ophir and declare rest there. Will anyone go on to the half-way checkpoint of Cripple? Mother Nature promises to deliver warm temperatures. Will that persuade any mushers to sit down a day early? Will soft slow trail early in the race influence the choice? Again, only time will tell,” the Iditarod Insider website said late Tuesday.
(Below are images taken from live video “screen grabs” as Matthew Failor arrived at the Nikolai checkpoint on Tuesday. The top image shows Failor bending over and beginning to feed members of his 16-dog team. He and his team took a 3 hour and 44-minute break at Nikolai, which comes 263 miles into the nearly 1,000-mile race. Images are courtesy of the Iditarod Insider team.)
