March 10, 1998

An early charge by Martin all the way from his 37th start position to 2nd behind DeeDee Jonrowe quickly fell away on the 9th. Martin halfway through the day was listed at thirteenth with no obvious reason as he remained the one top competitor still with his full team of 16 dogs. Martin fans became quite considered with the position drop. In 1996 Martin had experienced a similar position change during a mixup on the trail close to the end of that year's race. In that Iditarod he ended up second.

Associated Press race report for March 10th

Happy Trails Kennel Report

It's a mystery to me! I really have no idea what is going on out on the trail. I think today will sort some things out as the teams get close to the 24 hr. layover, which I suspect will be taken at Takotna or Cripple.

Race strategy seems to be changing from a checkpoint to checkpoint race to a rest where it's best for you and your team. Martin rested outside several checkpoints in the past two years and now it seems to be catching on. It makes racing a little more of a campout, more like the old races, only now the teams travel much faster.

I'm sure many of you have noticed how closely correlated Martin and Doug's times are. I wonder what's cooking!!

I'm happy to see that Martin left Rohn with all 16 dogs. They must be all healthy! The plan was to get lots of rest to maintain the team as long as possible. Don't be concerned, though, that DeeDee has 13. Teams go only as fast as their slowest dog so it can be an advantage to leave behind the weaker dogs. DeeDee weighs less (as does Jeff King) than most of the other mushers so she certainly is not under powered. Last year, she left Takotna with 10 dogs!

I haven't heard much directly from the trail. Only that it's been very warm during the day. Should hear more now that the team is on the other side of the Alaska range and almost in telephone contact. Of course, Martin won't call but maybe someone will let us know how things are going.

Matt and the yearlings are running extremely well. He is traveling fast and resting longer!!!! That's his mission!!!! A friend saw him in Finger Lake yesterday and he was having fun!

Happy trails,
Kathy