IN BRIEF : Susan Butcher Wins Midpoint Prize in Sled Dog Race by Two Minutes
Susan Butcher won $3,000 for being the first musher to reach the halfway point of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, but Martin Buser moved into the lead hours later.
Butcher won the money by reaching the ghost town of Iditarod, from which the trail and race derive their names, at 9:45 p.m. Thursday night, two minutes ahead of Joe Runyan.
Buser didn’t arrive until two hours later, but he rested only 2 1/2 hours before pushing on for Shageluk, 540 miles from the finish. Butcher, the defending champion, hung around almost eight hours, and by the time she left she had fallen into a tie for fourth with DeeDee Jonrowe, three hours behind Buser.
Four-time winner Rick Swenson moved up to second, about a half-hour behind Buser. And 1976 champion Jerry Riley was third. Runyan was sixth.
The silver ingots awarded the first musher to reach the halfway point have become something of a jinx. Only once before has the winner of the halfway prize held on to win the race.
The race began Saturday with 49 mushers. The number of dropouts rose to five Thursday when rookie Mike Ross of Anchorage quit. His last checkpoint was Nikolai.
