soft slow trail conditions for the racers heading north

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.