Push or pause? Near Iditarod’s mid-point, mushers decide when to rest

A team travels on the Iditarod trail to Tanana. (Photo: Ben Matheson, KNOM)It’s break time on the Iditarod trail, as teams hunker down for 24 hours of uninterrupted rest along the Yukon River or consider pushing down the trail to a later checkpoint. As the race approaches the halfway point mushers try to plan how to get the most from their tactical breaks.
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As Jason Mackey laid out beds for his team’s rest he bangs tug line clips against one another to break off frozen dog