Iditarod

Jim Lanier and Trent Herbst were nearing Cripple about noon on Thursday and leading the field in this year's Iditarod. Mitch Seavey was moving up rapidly in third place and gaining on Lanier and Herbst. Aliy Zirkle, who had led early on, was in fourth position. Chasing those four leaders were defending champion John Baker and Aaron Burmeister. Ray Redington, Jr., Paul Gebhardt and past champion Lance Mackey were running together and chasing the leaders. Cripple marks the official halfway point in the race. The first team to reach Cripple wins a trophy and $3,000 in gold nuggets.

Veteran musher Jim Lanier took the lead in the Iditarod late Wednesday night leaving Ophir just before midnight. He was being trailed by Trent Herbst. Lanier was racing with 13 dogs, Herbst with 15. Neither musher had taken a 24-hour required stop. Mitch Seavey, Aliy Zirkle and Dallas Seavey took their 24-hour stop in Ophir and were following the leaders Thursday morning. Past champion Jeff King and defending champion John Baker also had taken their long stop in Ophir and were trailing Dallas Seavey. Fan favorite Lance Mackey was out of Ophir about 6:30 this morning and was racing to catch up with the leaders.

About 34 teams are taking their mandatory 24-hour break in Takotna during this year’s Iditarod sled dog race. The church and other buildings are filled with sleeping mushers. Two Rivers musher Aliy Zirkle was the first to reach the checkpoint late last night. She says so far, she hasn’t had any surprises.

I feel like it’s my first day really on the trail. Sure, I flew to Finger Lake for a 20-minute stop yesterday, but the hurried visit didn’t have the same feeling to it. We rushed out so we wouldn’t get stuck in a snow storm and only briefly experienced the lines of dogs sleeping on hay as the mushers rested. Here, it’s a whole town that’s experiencing the Iditarod, maybe for better or for worse.

Martin Buser and his son, Rohn, stopped for only a few minutes in Takotna and bolted into the Iditarod lead Wednesday morning. Martin Buser arrived in Takotna about 8:30 am, stopped a few minutes and then headed towards the ghost town of Ophir. Rohn, who won the Kusko 300 earlier this year, reached Takotna about 9:45 am and left almost immediately. As of 11:30 Wednesday morning, Aliy Zirkle, who had led much of the race, was still in Takotna.

Aliy Zirkle and John Baker are leading the Iditarod. The mushers left the Nikolai checkpoint at 1:50 this afternoon. Jeff King, Lance Mackey, Mitch Seavey and Hugh Neff followed out of Nikolai about an hour later.

• VIDEO: Junior Iditarod 2012

Aliy Zirkle was the first musher to ride into Nikolai at 9:14 a.m., followed by reigning champion John Baker at 9:36 a.m.. Lance Mackey isn't far behind, making it into the checkpoint just before 10:00 a.m.

Hugh Neff is leading the Iditarod. The winner of this year’s Yukon Quest left Rainy Pass at 2:58 this afternoon. Ray Redington, Jr. left the checkpoint at 3:09, followed closely by Aaron Burmeister and Lance Mackey.

Leaders in the 40th Iditarod were in Rainy Pass late Monday morning, including Ray Redington, Jr., Hugh Neff, Aliy Zirkle, Paul Gebhardt, Jim Lanier and Cim Smyth. The group also included past champions Lance Mackey and rival Jeff King. Defending champion John Baker was out of Finger Lake and not far behind the leaders.

This year's field features 66 mushers, with Ray Redington Jr. drawing the number two bib. Dave Olson is this year's honorary musher and will be wearing number one. Read more to see the full field.

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race gets underway this weekend. The race has had its share of unusual mushers over the years. There have been blind mushers, one legged mushers, a musher in kilts, even three generations of one family all running in the same race. But this year, race viewers may do a double take when identical twins Kristy and Anna Berington take to the runners.

The Iditarod restart in Willow is set to take place Sunday, March 4 at 2:00 p.m., and it tends to draw quite a crowd. Officials have said that since the state has received so much snow this winter, reportedly over 10 feet in Willow, there will be less parking available than normal. They are urging spectators to take advantage of the shuttle service they are providing from Anchorage, Wasilla, Houston and Talkeetna.