2005 Iditarod

The ceremonial start of the 33rd annual Iditarod dog sled race across the U.S. state of Alaska began in Anchorage on March 5, 2005 at 10 AM AKST (19:00 UTC), and restarted in Willow the next day at 2 PM (23:00 UTC). After covering 1,161 miles (1,868 km)http://www.iditarod.com/trailinfo/racemileage.php?id=3 of wilderness, musher Robert Sørlie, an airport firefighter from Norway, crossed the finish line under the "burled arch" in Nome on March 16 at 8:39 AM AKST (17:39 UTC). After taking care of his dogs, and an inspection to make sure all the mandatory equipment was in his sled, Sørlie was declared the winner by Race Marshal Mark Norman, with a time of 9 days, 18 hours, 39 minutes, and 31 seconds and won USD $72,066.67 and a new truck. When asked how it felt to win a second time, Sørlie said "it feels good, I'm ready for breakfast"http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=sportsNews&storyID=7924830, live on the Alaska superstation. His team of dogs averaged 4.65 mi/h (7.58 km/h). The Red Lantern in last was Phil Morgan, an Alaska Airlines pilot, and when he crossed the finish line on March 21 at 8:02 PM AKST (March 22, 5:02 UTC), the Widow's Lantern hanging on the burled arch was extinguished, which signalled the end of the race.

March 14

Shaktoolik:http://www.iditarod.com/raceupdates/racecheckpoint.php?id=44 Sørlie was the first to arrive on March 14 at 7 AM, followed by Brooks an hour and a half later. Sørlie remained in the lead as he left Shaktoolik on March 14 at 12:05 PM (UTC 21:05), but his lead diminished to less than a hour as he was followed by Mitch Seavey, then Buser, and a strong pack including Brooks, Lance Mackey, King, Ed, Jonrowe, and Baker, who are consistently averaging 1 to 1.5 mi/hr (1.5 to 2.5 km/h) faster between checkpoints. The top 10 departed within 5-1/2 hours, and the top 30 in about 29 hours. Sørlie's teammate Andersen is now trailing Swingley by 26 minutes and has slipped from the top 10, but he is still more than a checkpoint ahead Louis Nelson, Sr., the next rookie.

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March 14 - Shaktoolik

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The teams are getting smaller as fatigued and poorly performing dogs are left behind. The top 10 are running with between 9 to 12 dogs, down from 16, and the majority have either 10 or 11. A fair number of dogs have been dropped with fatigue or sprains caused by the poor conditions of the trail. Teams with less than 9 dogs lack power. There has been a fair amount of rain, which helps keep the dogs cool in the high temperatures. The winds as the teams cross the exposed ice of the Norton Sound on the way to Koyuk may reach 40 mi/h (65 km/h). This is the stretched covered by Leonhard Seppala and his lead dog Togo during the 1925 serum run.http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=580640 Teams may press through to Koyuk to catch Sørlie.http://www.cabelasiditarod.com/coverage_2005/cov05_mar14_04.html http://www.adn.com/iditarod/news/story/6268913p-6145916c.html

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Leonhard Seppala - Togo

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Koyuk:http://www.iditarod.com/raceupdates/racecheckpoint.php?id=45 Sørlie arrived first on March 14 at 5:57 PM, and was the first to depart three minutes later. The top 10 departed within 8-1/2 hours, and the top 30 spread out 38 hours.

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