Koyuk, AK - Mushers drop onto the sea ice out of Shaktoolik. Their bright lights start to bob across the ice roughly halfway to Koyuk. Locals spent the wee hours of the morning watching teams creep closer. When they arrived, it was clear the race had intensified. KUAC’s Emily Schwing was in Koyuk to watch things play out as teams plan ahead for the last three stops into Nome.
When Mitch Seavey pulled into Koyuk first, veterinarians told him he should be proud of his team, but the former champion says he’d prefer they get more rest. "That's the problem with the end game right? Your priority switches from pace to position. I'd like to have a little more speed, because I think I'm gonna get run over."
Jeff King cut rest in Shaktoolik, in part to catch Seavey. The move didn’t appear to affect his dogs. King’s teamloped into the checkpoint and waited as the four-time champion sliced open his drop bags to grab some supplies. As King rounded the corner out of the checkpoint, his dogs caught sight of Seavey’s team, asleep in the straw. It took some coaxing, but eventually eleven dogs pulled the four-time champion out of Koyuk, a few bounding their way out of town.
Both Aily Zirkle and Ray Reddington, Jr. had also planned to blow through Koyuk. They pulled in within minutes of each other. When they stepped off their runners, the two shared some tense words. Reddington Junior’s dogs spent the night fighting with each other. "A few places out there, it was surprising to me how hard it was to control them."
Reddington Junior needed some help to break up a fight, but Zirkle didn’t stop. She may have misunderstood him, or she could have missed his request for help entirely. She’s wearing a thick seal skin hat. "He had a dog fight and he asked me for help and I didn't give it to him," she tries to explain. "But he never asked for help, so he's crazy. If the reason his dogs are in a fight is because of Aliy Zirkle didn't help... well; I'd help his dogs out of a fight any day. I won't ever help him out of a fight. I'll help his dogs, I'll help anyone's dogs."
The argument itself is likely the result of sleep deprivation, a long monotonous run over windy sea ice and the ever increasing intensity of the race. Reddington Junior says he’ll clear things up. "Well, me and Aliy are firends and even though there might be a little tension, I'm gonna keep it that way," says Reddington, Jr.
Competition will only get more intense as the top five teams eye each other and plan their runs into White Mountain, where they will take a mandatory eight hour rest before the final push to Nome.