With most teams departing the Pelly Crossing checkpoint on Monday, the Yukon Quest is starting to enter unknown territory for most rookie mushers.Rookies qualify for the 1,000-mile race by completing mid-distance events that are usually 200 or 300 miles long. They’ll exceed those limits in the stretch between Pelly and Dawson City.Fairbanks musher Cody Strathe, who entered Pelly in a solid ninth place, is pondering how to manage a few injuries through the end of the race. That includes his own — he limped around the checkpoint Monday, still trying to shake off the effects of a training run wipeout in Whitehorse.Read more here: http://www.newsminer.com/sports/yukon_quest/article_81a6d874-6f73-11e2-b818-0019bb30f31a.html
