Baker’s arrival in Unalakleet at 5:04 a.m. with 11 dogs earned him the Wells Fargo Gold Coast Award of a gold cup and $2,500 in gold nuggets.
“The runs will start getting better and shorter from this point forward,” Baker said.
When asked how he would protect his lead, the 11-time Top 10 finisher said he wouldn’t change what he’s doing too much. “Everybody’s going to wind up with this kind of schedule. All the people close to us doing the same kind of schedule will be maxed out,” Baker said.
“It’s not just John, there’s people behind me,” Smyth said of the close competition. "It's just always that way. That's what this race is about – do whatever it takes to get into a competitive position, I guess.”
"When you work this hard to get into a front position, it's a very different story...you never know how things can go,” Smyth said.
There are only six more checkpoints between Unalakleet and the Burled Arch in Nome.
Channel 2 Sports Reporter Kevin Wells contributed to this story from the Iditarod Trail.
