ITI Day Two!

Welcome to day two of the Iditarod Trail Invitational! For many racers, it was a cloudy, mild day with temperatures in the teens. While overnight temperatures on the Yentna River reportedly dipped to 15 below with a stiff breeze, racers were prepared and there have only been three scratches so far. Tonight’s forecast calls for 1-2 inches of snow and lows around 5.
In the women’s bike race, Lael Wilcox is charging hard and is in second position overall after leaving Finger Lake, mile 126. Lael’s tracker seemed to be having problems, and there was some confusion about her position. She checked into Instagram on Monday morning and reported she had ridden 114 miles in 18 hours and was dealing with a stripped bolt in her seat post that caused her saddle to slip down. The smallest issues with a bike can cause big problems, and in this case, the broken clamp is forcing her to “ride low” — which is hard on the knees — or stand while riding. Hopefully, Lael can find a solution, but it doesn’t appear to be slowing her down.
Tazlina Mannix and Anchorage and Nikki Potter of Fairbanks aren’t far behind, as Tazlina just left Finger Lake and Nikki is resting there with Lael about 10 miles ahead. The trail beyond Finger Lake appears to be much slower going than the first 125 miles of the course. This is often the case — this section features a seemingly endless ripple of direct climbs and descents in and out of steep drainages as racers approach the Alaska Range. But with even the strongest riders moving at walking speeds, trail conditions must be worse than before.
Leading the women’s bike race to Nome is Missy Schwartz of Fairbanks, Alaska. Missy has been riding a conservative, well-paced race with an eight-hour rest at Yentna Station, breakfast in the cozy confines of Bentalit Lodge, and lunch at Skwentna. Leah Gruhn of Minnesota is a few hours back, followed closely by Kinsey Loan of Eagle River, Alaska. Both women have been taking similarly civil breaks. As of this report, Amber was about to arrive at Bentalit Lodge. From Yentna Station, Amber reported “great trail conditions, -10 on the river with a decent breeze. Moving slow but feeling decent!”
Leading the women’s foot race is Faye Norby of Minnesota, who currently has a solid lead on her fellow 1,000-mile racer Magdalena Paschke of Germany. Magdalena appears to be traveling with 350-mile racers Carole Holley and Stacy Fisk. Faye Norby is a strong runner, having come into McGrath just an hour shy of the women’s foot record in 2022. The 6-day, 12-hour record belongs to Anne Ver Hoef and has stood since 2013.
Our women skiers — Sunny Stroeer of Utah and Laura Rushfeldt of Massachusett — are close together on their way to Yentna Station. Sunny is aiming to not only be the first woman skier to Nome in the Iditarod Trail Invitational, but the first skier period. Why has this not been done before? In a recent Instagram video, Sunny admitted that the skis aren’t the most practical mode of transport on the Iditarod Trail. It’s rough, narrow, often riddled with bumps, and sometimes scoured down to ice or dirt. Unless a skier is exceptionally skilled, it’s difficult to make the kick-and-glide work in their favor. Instead, Sunny compared the endeavor to walking a thousand miles in less comfortable footwear. So why choose skis? I hope Sunny will have her answer under the burled arch.
Thank you to Linda Bulawa Klim for the photo of Sunny skiing out of Knik on Sunday afternoon. - Jill Homer