TRAIL UPDATE

It’s been a busy night and day so far on the Trail.

FOOT RACERS

Foot racer Hendra Wijaya, from Indonesia has been going off course, following tracks to a cabin at Hells Gate but is warm and safe now. He is going to go back to Puntilla.

Leading the women foot race is Faye Norby, from St Paul, Minnesota, who has had a strong race so far and is currently 18 miles away from Nikolai.

ITI1000 athlete Jussi Karjalainen, from Oulu, Finland, has had a great race so far and he is currently moving to McGrath.

Christof Teuscher is currently arriving in Nikolai.

He is followed by Brit Steve Hayes and Jeff Leuwerke, another Minnesotan doing well this year.

ITI Veteran Beat Jegerlehner is moving towards Nikolai as well and racing alongside Kiwi bike racer George Adams (see below).

Austrian ITI1000 racer Klaus Schweinberger has left Rohn this morning.

Leader Gavan Hennigan is progressing fast towards a victory in McGrath.

ITI1000 foot athlete and true ITI Legend Loreen Hewitt is currently moving steadily 14 miles out of Rohn.

SKIERS

Larson Danner, who has several ITI McGrath finishes under his belt is skiing this year. Lars wants to race in the 3 different ITI disciplines. He’s currently on his way to Nikolai.

Asbjørn Skjøth Bruun, from Denmark, finished the 350 distance last year and is doing ITI1000 this year. His father is here to great him in Nome.

Mathieu Bonnier, from Corenc, France, is a multi-discipline athlete with amongst other achievements, a Solo Atlantic Crossing Row and a Northwest Passage Solo Row. Mathieu is currently progressing towards Nikolai.

Greg Mills, from Anchorage, Alaska, is currently heading to Bear Creek and onto Nikolai later.

BIKE RACERS

Casey Fagerquist, the leading ITI1000 racer is the next bike athlete arriving in McGrath today.

He is followed by Jim McDonough who will complete the ITI350 when reaching McGrath.

Behind them are Petr Ineman, who is the second athlete going to Nome and for whom McGrath will only be a checkpoint, and Jill Martindale, who is the leading female athlete in the ITI1000 bike race. Jill has been showing great tenacity and stamina all the way so far so she will be the one to watch beyond McGrath.

Rebecca Rusch, Greg Martin, Toni Lund and Troy Szczurkowski are currently resting in Nikolai.

New Zealand athletes Graham Muir and George Adams are on their way to Nikolai. George’s bike broke but he’s pushing it forward to the next checkpoint. Both athletes are going to Nome this year and shunning the Kiwi summer sunshine for Arctic wind gusts on the Trail.

Third bike athlete in the women’s ITI350 race, Beth Shaner is moving towards Nikolai as well where she is expected tonight. Beth has been consistently strong on the Trail, braving harsh conditions and difficult terrain.

Amber Bethe, from Anchorage, is following skier Greg Mills towards Bear Creek and onto Nikolai. Amber is an accomplished athlete with achievements outside ITI such as White Montains 100.

Another Kiwi and strong woman on the Trail is Nina Stupples who was an ITI rookie last year only. Nina is racing with fellow ITI350 bike athlete Cheryl Wallace and both women are arriving in Rohn.

FINISHERS - ITI350 BIKE