Outcome of 2012 Iditarod

Myron's Analysis

The departure times from White Mountain this morning leave little doubt about the outcome of the 2012 Iditarod. There might be some slight shifting of teams, but the top five should finish in the same order they arrived in White Mountain. That means Dallas Seavey should become the youngest racer ever to win the race. Aliy Zirkle will likely get her highest finish ever in second. Ramey Smyth will drop back one spot from his second place finish of last year. Aaron Burmeister will get his top finish in fourth and Pete Kaiser will also have a personal best fifth. 


That leaves Team Baker with a possible sixth place finish. For many of his supporters that would seem like a poor finish when in reality he has been a frequent top ten finisher in the past few years,  and of course has won once, and has two third place finishes. For John, driving a very strong team with less top end speed than some, things have to fall in just the right place in order to finish first. There are so many variables in each race that contribute to a team’s finish that it would be impossible to list them all. Suffice to say, this year they didn’t all fall in the place for John.

One thing is unusual about John’s finish this year. It is rare for Team Baker to drop back in the standings in the last couple days of the race as happened this year. That suggests things were not right once he hit the coast and his comparatively long rests there indicate that as well. John will be able to shed some light on that subject soon. Right now he is locked in a tight battle with Mitch Seavey for that sixth spot as they approach White Mountain.

There is another youngster Mike Williams Jr. making a bid for the top ten. At this point he is about five miles behind Baker and Seavey, and moving well. He has never cracked the top ten before.

Myron Angstman, lawyer, pilot, and dog musher, lives in Bethel, Alaska. Read more about dogs, law suits and rural Alaska gossip by checkinghttp://www.myronangstman.com/