TRAIL UPDATE
Athletes are all progressing well on the Trail.
ITI1000 athletes Petr Ineman and Jill Martindale have reached McGrath Checkpoint.
Gavan Hennigan is expected to cross the ITI350 finish line very soon now. A victory in sight for the man who also counts a solo rowing crossing of the Atlantic in 49 days to his sporting achievements.
He is closely followed by ITI1000 bike racer Jussi Karjalainen, from Oulu, Finland.
Other ITI1000 bike athlete to be expected in McGrath late in the night/dawn is ITI Veteran Toni Lund, Paimio, Finland.
Also on the way to McGrath tonight are Rebecca Rusch and Greg Martin who are expected to cross the finish line of ITI350 together in the early hours.
NIKOLAI UPDATE
Another cosy night in Nikolai where a few more athletes are expected to arrive for a well-deserved break.
ITI350 foot racer Steve Hayes has joined Christof Teuscher, Roberto Gazzoli, Troy Szczurkowski at the checkpoint.
Next is ITI350 bike racer Beth Shaner, from Crested Butte, Colorado, followed by another strong female athlete on the Trail, Faye Norby, the leader of the ITI350 women’s foot race and Jeff Leuwerke.
Behind them, and approximately an hour from Nikolai are ITI1000 foot racer Beat Jegerlehner, ITI350 skier Mathieu Bonnier and ITI1000 bike racer Graham Muir, from New Zealand.
Another racer who swapped hot summer days for Alaskan winter is Daniel Cooper, from Ashgrove, Australia. He is competing in the ITI350 foot race and moving along the Trail with fellow ITI350 foot athlete Chris Moroch from Statesville, North Carolina as well as Ryan Wanless, from Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
The racers are expected to arrive in the night in Nikolai.
Next are Italian brothers Tiziano and Willy Mulonia. Tizanio is competing in the ITI350 and Willy is going all the way to Nome. Willy Mulonia and Roberto Gazzoli are the respected race director and director of the tough Mongolia Bike Challenge, which takes place in August in Mongolia.
Behind the Mulonia brothers are Moose Hero and ITI350 skier Greg Mills, ITI350 foot athlete Robert Youngren, from Gurley, Alabama. They’ve stopped to bivy in Bear Creek with ITI Veteran and 1000 foot racer Jill Homer, and ITI1000 skier Asbjørn Skjøth Bruun, from Holsted, Denmark.
They are joined by ITI350 foot racer Amber Bethe, a strong athlete from Anchorage.
Behind them are ITI1000 foot athlete Mark Hines, from London, UK, ITI350 skier Lars Danner and ITI350 foot racer Frode Lein, from Hakadal, Norway. The trio is progressing well towards the checkpoint.
Further back on their way to Nikolai are ITI1000 foot racers Donald Kane, from Australia ( even if the Scottish accent may say otherwise) and Klaus Schweinberger, from Austria. Both athletes are currently heading towards Bear Creek.
They closely follow the tracks of a strong female athlete from Minnesota (yes, another one!), Kari Gibbons, who is competing in the ITI350 foot race.
All other athletes are now stationed in Rohn apart from ITI350 foot racer Hendra Wijaya who has been resting in the warmth of a cabin at Hells Gate before returning to Puntilla.
Thank you everyone for your support in the past week.
