Speeds; Number of Dogs

See the main Iditarod results page to make sense out of speeds , www.iditarod.com,
but just for a look; speed of team does not mean placing of the team in the rankings, but gives a look at who is keeping up/could move out faster.

Into Kaltag: Gebhardt ran at 8:38mph; King (in 1st place), ran at 8:27 mph; Buser, (in 2nd), ran at 7:57 mph, and Mackey ran at 8:37.

Into Eagle Island: Baker ran at 7:23 (9th place); Steer (6th place) , ran at 7:10, Monson ran at 7:07; rookie, Sigrid Ekran ran at 6:88. Aliy with only 9 dogs ran in at 6:61 mph (currently in 16th place).

Speeds are an indicator , but since mushers stop along the trail to camp/rest/snack dogs, trail condtions vary,it is not always the straight ahead speed. However, since most mushers do some of the above ,the speeds are a helpful indicator.

Also, of course, number of dogs in a team can make a difference in speed. Aliy has the lowest number of dogs (9) in the top 20 right now and she is not pushing them. Her dogs , as have many dogs, had some muscle injuries on the tough trails. Allen is into Shageluk with 15 dogs with a speed of 6.82 mph... he's doing great with the 2 year olds. He dropped Peterbuilt early on.

Checkpoint rests allow the mushers to treat the muscle injuries with oils/massage/wraps , etc. Dogs are not allowed medications to mask their injuries. As a musher might take an Advil, this is not allowed for the dogs.

Baker and Barron have ten dogs out, right now. Mackey shows 14.

Re: Buser's dogs fighting and having to drop one, we noticed in Finger Lake that a number of teams had females in season... that can create tension in teams that does not always exist.