A few teams depart and a few teams arrive but compared to Wednesday at this time, the population of McGrath Checkpoint had macerated greatly.  Basically, the race is moving on up the trail.  McGrath awaits the arrival of Billy Snodgrass and Ellen Halverson who haven't departed Nikolai even so.

Cindy Gallea came into McGrath.  When asked if she was staying or going through, her reply was going through after change out sleds.  She was guided effectually to the dorsum corner of the checkpoint where her sled was waiting with a few dozen other sleds.  Cindy was in demand of the extra sled because her brake was busted.  The brake snagged upwardly on a stump somewhere merely out of Rohn.  She managed to jury rig it together and comprehend the distance to where her sled was waiting.

She'd done an admirable repair job thanks to a hose clamp and wire.  The hose clamps she had in her repair kit were on the big side and wouldn't clamp tight enough to agree the 2 overlapping pieces of metal.  She found a wider place and turned the clamp as tight as it would go then added a little wire for adept measure and the gear up held for the trip to McGrath.

Cindy made a speedy transfer of equipment and supplies to the new sled then headed off to Takotna.  Information technology's an absolute necessity to accept a repair kit on the trail.  Cindy has one more word of advice about hose clamps – don't go out home without them.

Cindy has finished thirteen Iditarod runs to Nome out of fifteen attempts.  Betting that she plans to take her 24-hour remainder in Takotna.

Kim Franklin is making her second endeavour at Iditarod.  She was greeted past a fan waiving a flag from the Great britain, her homeland.  Kim's been mushing since the early 90'southward.  While running her own Malamute team in the United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland, she became interested in Iditarod.  She entered the 2008 Iditarod and withdrew at Rohn.  She's back with a team of Dean Osmar dogs to finish what she started in 2008.  Kim hasn't taken her 24-hour rest but probably she has that figured for Takotna.

Kristin Knight Pace has departed McGrath after completing her 24-60 minutes layover.  Pace's dogs were resting on the river bank backside Trent Herbst's team.  The had an excellent view of the river and teams leaving for Takotna.  Canis familiaris blankets are certainly interesting.  Kristin had a nice set of Argyle patterned blankets.  Her dogs looked quite smart in them.  Kristin, like so many other mushers, looks for the best bargain on fleece when it comes to making blankets.  The colorful argyle fleece was on sale.  Not but was I pretty, information technology was cheap.  Tin can't inquire for much more than that.

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Footstep dogs sporting argyle fleece blankets as they rest on the bank of the Kuskokwim

Footstep is especially pleased with the performance of her dog team.  Information technology's basically the aforementioned team that her hubby Andrew ran in the Yukon Quest.  During the early stages of her Iditarod run, she was giving the dogs plenty of residuum.  That seemed like a keen thought until she left Rohn to run through the Buffalo Tunnels and beyond the Bye Burn down.  Loving to run on snowless ground, the dogs simply everything into the run which made it just that much harder on Kristin.  Adjacent Iditarod she plans to schedule residue quite differently for the early function of the race.  Betwixt Kristin and Andrew, it may well exist Andrew who will make the Iditarod run.  They switch off years for the long races.

Kristin is from Texas.  She came to Alaska in 2009 to have care of a cabin and recreational team for a friend.  She became a backcountry ranger for Denali.  She handled for Iditarod Champion Jeff Rex.  She and her hubby Andy decided to institute their own kennel.  They did breedings with dogs from Brent Sass, Jeff King and Mike Williams, Jr.  Five years afterwards, they accept 27 dogs and focus on long distance racing.  Kristin feels there is no improve manner to see and experience the back land than on the runners of a dog sled.