Hans into Paxon

SUNDAY JANUARY 11, 2009 10:25PM

Hans is in the next checkpoint with the fastest travel time. However, he is 2:47 behind Lance. Lance has to rest 2 hours longer than Hans at the last checkpoint so Hans could make up some time there. That extra two hours will do Lance's team some good though and will still leave him 47 minutes ahead of Hans unless Hans really makes better time over the next 60 miles than Lance does. So far Lance has been faster in each leg except for the most recent run, and even then he was only 1 minute slower! So from here it looks like the race will go to Lance Mackey. Now everybody who is a contender for the top spots is stuck in Paxon taking their 8 hour layovers. Some slower teams stopped for 8 hours earlier so they will be free to leave sooner but I can't see that it will help them enough to put them back at the front. Hans and Newton being bibs 4 and 1, will have to wait longer before being allowed to leave. That puts a number of other people ahead of Hans as follows: Sven Haltman 29 minutes ahead leaving Paxon, but he has to stop 1.5 hours longer at Sourdough, the last checkpoint Brent Sass 3 minutes ahead leaving Paxon. Has to stop 30 minutes longer at Sourdough.Braxton Peterson 4 minutes ahead leaving Paxon. Has to stop 2 hours longer at Sourdough. So these three are people Hans could fairly easily get ahead of again, assuming he does not stay longer than 2.5 hours in Sourdough, the next checkpoint. The big problem is that there is still a 60 mile run to Sourdough, then a 59 mile run to the finish line. That's 119 miles, much farther than any of our training runs. I'm not sure Hans will risk his dogs by running them through with only 2.5 hours in Sourdough to rest. Hans may have hooped himself by resting those extra 2 hours on the trail earlier in the game. That's how the strategy of these races goes! We'll see who's works best. Newton should be in Paxon right about now if he is on schedule. Not sure when they will be updating next. Susie