Snowmachiners in the 2013 Iron Dog began roaring out of Nome Thursday in five-team groups arranged by current standings, headed for the Fairbanks finish line after taking a day of rest at the race’s midpoint.
According to an Iron Dog list of restart times, Team 17’s Marc McKenna and Dusty VanMeter -- 2012’s champions and the 2013 race’s leaders by three minutes of trail time -- were first out of the gate from Nome at 8 a.m., followed two minutes and 39 seconds later by their closest competitors for the lead, Brian Dick and Eric Quam in Team 23.
Third-place holders Aaron Bartel and Brad George in Team 25 left Nome at 8:14:50 a.m., with Team 11’s Scott Davis and Todd Palin departing at 8:28:49 a.m. and Team 8’s Tyler Aklestad and Tyson Johnson rounding out the top five. The next group of racers, headed by sixth-place Team 10 racers Mike Morgan and Chris Olds, began to hit the trail at 9:21:09 a.m.
The 2013 Iron Dog had also seen its 14th scratch as of Thursday morning, with Team 38 snowmachiners Jared Walker and Frank Ferreira ending their race just short of Nome due to mechanical issues.
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