All night long, the leaders of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race plugged inch by inch along across the former Farewell Burn and by 9:14 a.m. the first musher had arrived in Nikolai. Former Yukon Quest champion Aliy Zirkle pulled in behind the same 16 dogs that left Willow on Sunday.The 75-mile journey had taken nearly 14 hours – longer than some years but about the same time it took Hugh Neff last year, when the Iditarod was run in record time. Zirkle had clearly camped somewhere along the way because she didn’t stop in the previous checkpoint of Rohn. Other top racers like Yukon Quest champion Neff, four-time Iditarod winner Lance Mackey and defending champ John Baker stopped in Rohn for more than four hoursRead more here: http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/zirkle-hangs-iditarod-lead-baker-close-behind
