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 8

Nikolai:http://www.iditarod.com/raceupdates/racecheckpoint.php?id=33 Sørlie continues to set the pace by arriving first at Nikolai on March 8 at 11:16 AM, followed by Brooks and Jonrowe about an hour later. Sørlie is also the first to depart, at 5:09 PM. The 10 fastest mushers follow quickly, in just over 3 hours, but the top 30 now lag up to 11 hours behind. Sørlie has insomnia, just like he did when he won in 2003, though his dogs are resting well.http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/03/08/sports/s161242S12.DTL

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Nikolai - March 8 - Insomnia

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McGrath:http://www.iditarod.com/raceupdates/racecheckpoint.php?id=34. Sørlie wins the Spirit of Alaska Award when he arrives at the hub of the Interior first, on March 8 at 10:40 PM.(pdf)http://www.cabelasiditarod.com/coverage_2005/cov05_mar09_01.html He continued on just four minutes later. The top 10 are stretched over about 6-1/2 hours, and the top 30 over about 21 hours.

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Hub of the Interior - March 8

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On March 10 Rick Swenson, the only five-time winner of the race, scratched for the first time, citing concern for his dogs. He had left McGrath, arrived at Taknotna, and was on his way to Ophir when he returned all the way to McGrath, the central hub for dropped dogs in the Interior. (pdf)http://www.canada.com/sports/story.html?id=2592489a-ff8f-41e1-aba9-802140c2c376. Swenson reported he was down to 11 dogs, and needed to drop two, which would have left him with only 9 dogs in harnesshttp://www.cabelasiditarod.com/coverage_2005/cov05_mar10_02.html. Swenson was first "King of the Iditarod", with a string of three victories in five years in the 1970s, and wins in both the 1980s and the 1990s. From his first race, he has only missed two races in 31 years. Five dogs were injured when he arrived in McGrath before turning back.http://www.ktuu.com/CMS/templates/master.asp?articleid=12404&zoneid=8

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March 10 - 1970s - 1980s - 1990s

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Gary McKellar scratched at McGrath on March 12, after resting his team overnight. KcKellar cited concerns about his team's performance and their well being. McKellar was the Red Lantern in last place.(pdf)

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