14 days into the race race leader Jay Petervary is 770 miles into the race, crossing the sea ice today.

This is the weather forecast for Koyuk:

This Afternoon

Mostly cloudy, with a high near 14. Calm wind.

Tonight

A 10 percent chance of snow after 5am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 6. North wind around 5 mph.

Monday
Snow, mainly after 2pm. Areas of freezing fog after 2pm. High near 22. North wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of around an inch possible.

Monday Night
Snow, mainly before 11pm. Areas of freezing fog before 11pm. Low around 13. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming west after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
 

Phil, Jay C and Kevin B are heading over the Kaltag portag towards the coast. Based on their speeds part of the trail is ridable other parts are a walk/push for the bikers.

After a long rest in Grayling, RD Kyle Durand and his trail companion Adam are tackling the long 120 mile Yukon River stretch towards Kaltag as well as Toni, Troy and Craig.

The runners Beat and Peter have left Grayling as well. They are making great time on foot. The Red Lantern runner is Klaus from Austria. He is on his way to Iditarod.

Jay P has reached the foothills cabin past Unalakleet. Phil is 9 miles from Kaltag. Kevin and Jay C. are moving at 4.6 miles an hour and they have made up time to Phil. Toni, Kyle, Adam, Troy, Craig are in Grayling. Beat and Peter are in Anvik and Klaus is on his way to Moose Creek Cabin.

Tim Hewitt is a scratch in Anvik. He was running out of time this year for work. Trails are still soft. Race leader Jay P has been resting in Unalakleet for over 9 hours. Phil H is still on the Yukon River on his way to Kaltag making slow progress. 12 racers remain on the trail to Nome on day 13 of the 2018 ITI.

Checking the trackers this morning, racers are still making slow progress on the trail. Race leader Jay P has been stopped at the Tripod Flats cabin on the Kaltag portag for 8 hours, it looks like he is moving again. Warm temps, soft trails make for slow travel on the Iditarod Trail at this time. Second biker Phil H is just beyond Eagle Island on the 120 mile Yukon River section. Kevin B and Jay C are in Grayling and RD Kyle D, Adam E are in Anvik this morning. Behind them are runner Tim H, Troy S and several other bikers and runners. The last racer on the trail is Klaus S, he is just out of Ophir.

Spoke with Adam E this morning in Anvik. He bivvied last night and got passed by a musher. He is resting and regaining some strength before continuing on up the Yukon River.

Spoke with Adam E this morning in Anvik. He bivvied last night and got passed by a musher. He is resting and regaining some strength before continuing on up the Yukon River.

These were Adam's words: "No easy miles." Slow but steady."

Jay P on the Yukon River, image from JayP's Instagram

Racers between Iditarod, Shageluk, Anvik, Grayling and beyond report slow going, soft and wind drifted trails. Temperatures have been on the warm side. Jay P, the race leader, is making slow progress out of Kaltag on his way to the coast. Even after the trail breakers of the Iditarod went through, trail conditions were still really slow for the bikers.  Once temperatures cool off at night, conditions should improve for the cyclists and runners. 13 athletes remain in the 1000 mile race. The first 2 mushers are out of Iditarod. 

The race leader Jay Petervary has been in Kaltag for over 14 hours now. He is reporting that many packages racers send "general delivery" to the village post offices a week ahead of the race start have not arrived at many of the villages from Shageluk to Kaltag. This morning he found his in Kaltag with patience it had arrived and he is ready to resupply and keep moving along. The next section is the Kaltag portage historically used between interior Athabascans and Inupiaq people on the coast. This stretch to the Bering sea coast village Unalakleet (means where the east wind blows) is 80 miles long. There are two BLM shelter cabins (Tipod Flats and Old Woman)

Jay is reporting pretty epic conditions out there according to his wife's FB post who he spoke with this morning:

"It was pretty epic out on the river, whiteout conditions, vertigo, 4-6 inches of snow fell, could barely see the trail, was following an old snowmachine track, if he stepped off the trail he was crotch deep. Didn't see anyone until 25 miles from Kaltag."

The closest racer behind Jay is Phil who is moving at 2 mph (pushing speed) towards Eagle Island, not a check point in the ITI but a check point for the mushers in the Iditarod dog race.

There are a total of 13 racers heading to Nome in the 2018 ITI and the last racer has just left McGrath, runner Klaus Schweingerber. Jay is 316 miles ahead of him at this point.

Jay P has put an amazing 91 mile gap on the next rider on the trail, who is Phil Hofstetter from Nome. Racers behind him have stalled out in fresh snow and wind blown, disappearing trails. They are waiting for the Iditarod Trail brakers to pass to break the trail out again. Once the mushers catch them, there will be a lot of traffic on the trail heading to Nome.

Image Andy Romang

I spoke with several racers between Shageluk and Grayling by calling the B&B's where they are holding up. Deep snow, drifted in trail is reported by Phil in Grayling and Kevin and Jay C in Shageluk.  

There is a weather advisory for the Yukon River area for the next 24 hours and a winter weather warning for the Bering Sea Coast. The pattern has been several system that are bringing in more snow and wind to the area. 

The first musher is out of Ophir and the Iditarod Trail brakers are always ahead of the first musher, within a day the bikers should have a trail. The temperatures have been warm, so trails should pack down well and firm up, especially once it cools off a night. 

The race leader Jay P is making pretty good progress and is only 36 miles from Kaltag this morning. The word is that he is traveling behind a crew of snowmachiners heading up the trail.

Several racers, including me, one of the race directors, have been stranded in McGrath due to the snow fall.  It's creating poor visibility so the planes are having issues flying out.   I've been told the Pen Air flight is getting out later this afternoon. 

The race leader in the 1000 mile race, Jay Petervary, is out of Eagle Island  (mile 574) this afternoon. The middle of the pack is pushing through soft slow trails towards the Iditarod check point. Temperatures are close to 30 degrees F which makes for soft and slow trail conditions. At the moment Kyle, Troy, and Adam are moving at under 2 mph.

Runner Tim Hewitt has passed them up. The runners are making better progress at the moment than the bikers on the section between Ophir and Iditarod. 

Austrian runner Klaus Schweinberger and Thomas Keene are on route to McGrath this afternoon. 

The front runners of the Iditarod Sled Dog race will be in McGrath tonight.

Race leader in the 1000 mile race Jay Petervary is on his way to Eagle Island on the Yukon River. Racers between Ophir and Iditarod report strong winds and blown in trails, slow going. Runner Tim Hewitt has passed bikers Kyle, Adam and Troy. It's snowing in McGrath. The twins Jen and Melissa pushed their bikes into this remote town of 300 at 8 am this morning. Congratulations! Behind them on the trail remain Klaus from Austria and Thomas Keene from Tennessee. They are expecting the first mushers to arrive in Nikolai this morning. 

Kathi Merchant
co race director

Race leader Jay Petervary is almost to Grayling.  Phil is currently resting in Shageluk.

Kyle Durand is reporting waist deep snow with gale force winds just past the Tolstoi cabin.  He is traveling with Adam and Troy.  With Beat and Craig leaving McGrath this morning, we now have 12 racers on the trail headed to Nome.

6 more racers remain on the trail in the 350 mile event. Carole and Jill are expected to finish this evening. The twins, Jen and Melissa, and Klaus are also on the way. 

Our Nikolai checker Janny Moser has stayed on longer to wait for Thomas Keene in the checkpoint at the community center.

Temperatures have warmed up into the 20's with ice dripping off the roof here in McGrath. It is supposed to get into the 30's later this week in the daytime.  The Iditarod sled dog race started yesterday and we expect the first musher to be in McGrath Tuesday night. 

Warm temperatures make for mushy soft trails in the daytime, but could freeze up if temperatures drop at night time making it easier to ride.

Day 7 in McGrath.  The weather has been mild for the Interior of Alaska with daytime temperatures in the balmy teens to 20 degrees.

David Frearson from New Zealand was the first racer to arrive today day on bike.  Grant Maughn finishes in third place in the running division with David and Gavin tying for first place.

A total of 12 racers arrived in McGrath today including the highlight of the day, Lindsey Cameron from Fairbanks.  She is the first woman since 2005 to complete the 350 mile trek by ski since Gail Koepf in 2005. 

Lindsay owns the new women's ski record in 7 days and 52 minutes shaving 5 hours off the previous record.

Several more racers departed McGrath this morning heading to Nome including Tim, Troy, Toni, Kyle, Adam. 

The race leader Jay P is out of Shageluk this evening.

Temperatures have warmed up into the 20's here in McGrath.  More racers have arrived and finished and many have departed back to Anchorage.

Jay Petervary, the leader in the 1000 mile race, arrived at the Iditarod check point today, 

Skier Lindsay Cameron is on her way to McGrath this morning. Several racers were resting in Nikolai as well as the Bear Creek cabin this morning.

RD Kyle Durand and Adam Erritzoe are heading out of McGrath towards Takotna, Ophir this morning. Troy Szcurkowski and Toni Lund departed McGrath earlier this morning.

Kathi Merchant

co race director

The weather forecast for McGrath:

Tonight
Mostly cloudy in the evening then becoming partly cloudy. Lows 9 to 14 above. Light winds.
Sunday
Mostly cloudy. A chance of snow in the afternoon. Highs in the mid to upper 20s. Light winds.
Sunday Night
Snow. Areas of freezing fog. Snow accumulation around 2 inches. Lows in the mid teens to lower 20s. Light winds.

It has been a slow day in McGrath with no additional arrivals since Scott.  Several finishers flew out this morning on Pen Air.  Kyle Durand, Adam Erritzoe, Toni Lund, Jim Ishman and Troy Szczurkowski are staying another night in McGrath before heading back out on the trail to Nome.  We are expecting Tim Hewitt and several more riders later tonight.

The lead woman in the running division is Canadian Jessie Thompson-Gladish,  who is on her way to Nikolai this afternoon.

The lone female skier is rookie Lindsay Cameron from Fairbanks.  The last woman to finish the 350 mile event on ski was Gail Koepf in 7 days 6 hrs 18 min in 2005.

The last racer on the trail is runner Thomas Keene, who is 61 miles from Nikolai.

1000 mile event:

Jay Petervary is 8 miles from the Moose Creek shelter cabin and Phil Hofstetter is not far behind him.

Scott Hoberg, the athlete who led the ITI 350 foot division for most of the race, has scratched approximately 20 miles short of McGrath after developing a mild case of hypothermia. He was transported to the McGrath medical clinic and was released after a short evaluation and minor treatment. 

Scott is now at the McGrath checkpoint enjoying a warm breakfast and the company of his fellow ITI athletes.

Temp is 18 degrees in McGrath this evening. 

Scott Hoberg, the athlete who led the foot division for most of the race has finally run out of steam was passed by Dave Johnston and rookie Gavin Woody about 24 miles from McGrath. Chet, the first skier to finish this year, reported that they traveled together quite a bit and that they pushed from Puntilla to Nikolai, 135 miles, without rest or sleep.  After wondering up and down the trail, he ended up stopping to sleep. Defending champ and record holder, David Johnston, from Willow, Alaska, and rookie Gavin Woody, from Washington, passed him up and they are only 8 miles from the finish now. We expect them to finish tonight. 

We had another scratch today, Jason Boon.

New arrivals in McGrath tonight are rookie Steve Cannon and Tab Ballantine finishing in McGrath and RD Kyle Durand and Adam Erritzoe heading to Nome this year.

We are waiting for Troy Szcurkowski to arrive and for the first runners David and Gavin.

Jay Petervary and Phil Hofstetter, both thousand mile competitors were in Ophir 41 miles north of McGrath this evening.

-5 here in McGrath this morning.
Bob Ostrom and Martin Renner finished at 5:30 this morning. 

Scott Hoberg is the leading runner. He is on route from Nikolai and currently 31 miles from the finish line.He is ahead of defending champ (5 time winner) David Johnston who is traveling with rookie Gavin Woody. They were still resting at the Nikolai CP this morning, 

OE Kevin Robbins reporting on Twitter from Rohn this morning
Oscar Echo‏ @AlaskaOE 10m10 minutes ago
Wind died down at Rohn early this morning, temp is mild at 18deg

Today is day 4 of this year's race. All racers are beyond the Winterlake Lodge check point.

5 finishers in McGrath so far as well as 4 racers that are signed up for the 1000 mile event. 

Conditions are calm here in McGrath, temperature is 0 degrees F here. It is supposed to warm up and snow again. 

OE was in McGrath briefly to fuel his airplane and heading back to Rohn to get more images of racers on the trail. He is reporting 40 mph gusts on the South Fork near Rohn.

There was a good trail into the Moose Creek cabin, the second cabin on the South Route on the way to the Iditarod check point. Since then 8 inches of fresh snow have covered the trail and the wind blew for 2 days. Currently there is no trail to Iditarod and beyond until  there is more traffic by local trappers or the Iditarod trail breakers come through on Monday.

5 more racers are on route to the finish line in McGrath tonight. We expect them before midnight.

We had another scratch today, Stefan Chmel from Norway. He had been sick leading up to the race back home and pulled the plug at Rainy Pass Lodge.

Casey Fagerquist finished the 350 mile race in McGrath early this morning in third place. He is the first rookie to finish. 

The first woman, Nina Gaessler from Norway, is on her way into McGrath this morning.

Leading runner Scott Hoberg is ahead of defending champ David Johnston and Gavin Woody by about 2miles.  The first place skier Chet Fehrman is just ahead of Scott on their way to Nikolai.

RD Kyle Durand is traveling with Danish racer Adam Erritzoe are out of Rohn.

All the 130 mile racers have finished at Winterlake Lodge, congratulations!!

There is a four day time limit to reach the Winterlake Checkpoint and 350 mile runners Lars Danner and Thomas Keene have made it and are currently resting. 

It's currently -15F in McGrath this morning and Jay is still here enjoying the infamous mancakes made by Peter Schneiderheinze.

I spoke with Dick Newton from Takotna last night.  He said there was a trail to the second shelter cabin out of Ophir, but then 8 inches of snow fell and covered the trail from Takotna to Iditarod.  Iditarod Trail breakers will be through McGrath Monday, just ahead of the lead mushers who are expected to arrive Tuesday night.

Kathi Merchant
co race director

Omelets and mancakes for breakfast in McGrath.

All 2018 ITI 130 participants have finished!