Top 5 Iditarod mushers take a break at race’s halfway point

By MARK THIESSEN
Associated Press

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The top five mushers in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race appear to be taking an extended break in the ghost town of Cripple, Alaska. All mushers in the nearly 1,000-mile race across Alaska must take a 24-hour layover and two eight-hour breaks along the way. The top five mushers, including the first to reach the checkpoint in a mining ghost town, arrived Wednesday and had not left as of Thursday morning. Video posted on the Iditarod website showed Dallas Seavey asking checkpoint officials where long-term parking was as he declared he was taking his 24-hour mandatory break. The race winner is expected in Nome sometime next week.