Jessie Royer, a 46-year-old musher from Seeley Lake and winner of last year’s race, was first to arrive at midway around 4:17 a.m. and first to depart around 8:48 a.m.
The 38th running of Race to the Sky is underway as 17 mushers and 152 dogs took off on 300- and 100-mile-long journeys over Montana wilderness from the starting line
Baihly Warfield/WDIO
The mushers are seeing slower times this year due to warmer conditions and less snow on the trail compared to recent years.
Erin Letzring, Erin Altemus, Blake Freking, and Ero Wallin, a first time marathon racer and at 18 years old the race s youngest competitor, round out the top six mushers in the 300-mile race up Minnesota s North Shore.
They are all heading to the final checkpoint in Mineral Center, where they will all have a mandatory four-hour rest period. The final stretch takes them up to Grand Portage and back down to Mineral Center s finish line. The winner is expected to cross the finish line after sunset.