Day 10: 2012 Iditarod

Matt Giblin checked into Elim last night at 2:02AM AKST with 11 dogs after running that leg in 6h10m averaging 7.71 mph.  My guess is he rests for roughly 4-6 hours before running to White Mountain where he must take an 8 hour rest (note:it's a rule).  The run to White Mountain is 46 miles (note:there is an unofficial checkpoint at Golovin Bay 28 miles into the leg, he won't stop here).

Trail description by Donald Bowers, Jr. :
This is one of the more interesting legs on the race, with quite a variety of trail and terrain in a very short distance. Moreover, there is always a possibility of two extremely different routes for the first ten miles. The race follows the main snowmachine “highway” from Elim to Golovin and it is usually well marked and packed.

The trail usually heads back out on the sea ice from Elim and runs a mile or two offshore to a cabin at Walla Walla, on the coast eight miles south of Elim. In some years, when there is open water just off shore, the traill will stay overland on the Old Elim Mail Trail.

At Walla Walla, the trail rurns inland and climbs over the Kwiktalik Mountains with a series of long, moderately hard grades. The final summit is 1,000 feet at Little McKinley, about eight miles past Walla Walla and ten miles from Golovin. This is considered the hardest climb on the last half of the race.

The trail then makes a fast descent to Golovin Bay, running northwest along the bay ice for the last five miles to Golovnin. (The bay was first explored by Captain Gloving of the Imperial Russian Navy in the early 1800′s. The bay and lagoon behind the town retain the original spelling; the town’s name ha been changed over the years.)

Plan on three to four hours for this leg. If the weather is bad, the trip over the mountain can be a long, hard one because it is almost all above timberline and exposed to the wind. The trail over Little McKinley can range from icy and windswept to soft and punchy."

Weather has warmed as it is 7F with a slight wind, visibility 10 miles. 

Matt is 123 miles from the finish line.  I anticipate Matt crossing the finish line Friday morning at roughly 6-7AM AKST.  He is in 36th place and looking very strong.  (Note: I can only imagine how tired he is as it is now day 10 in the race.)

GO MATT GO!