March 7 Morning Update: Erin Altemus & Anna Hennessy Take 24 Hour Rest in Takotna
After racing for 329 miles, Erin Altemus and Anna Hennessy took a 24-hour rest at the Takotna checkpoint.
Each musher must take a required 8-hour and 24-hour rest during the nearly 1,000-mile Iditarod race. Some mushers take their 24-hour in McGrath, Takotna, while more veteran mushers continue farther to Ophir (mile 352) or Cripple (mile 425).
For the first time in the race, Anna Hennessy passed Erin Altemus between McGrath and Takotna.
Anna Hennessy arrived in Takotna about 30 minutes before Erin Altemus at 1:43 p.m. AKST. She is currently in 25th place.
Erin Altemus then arrived in Takotna at 2:13 p.m. AKST yesterday. She is currently in 26th place.
Upon arriving in Takotna, Anna Hennessy was greeted and officially checked in by her dad, Mark Hennessy. In an interview with Iditarod Inside officials, he said seeing her arrive tugged at his heartstrings. He said seeing her enjoying the Iditarod race was a proud dad moment.
Erin Altemus and Anna Hennessy are among the leading rookies in the Iditarod race as of March 7. The top five rookie standings at this time are:
#1 – Sean Williams – currently in Ophir (mile 352) running with 14 dogs
#2 – Gabe Dunham – currently in Takotna (mile 329) running with 16 dogs
#3 – Anna Hennessy – currently in Takotna running with 15 dogs
#4 – Erin Altemus – currently in Takotna running with 15 dogs
#5 – Will Rhodes – currently in Takotna running with 15 dogs
In other Iditarod news, five-time Iditarod winner Dallas Seavey was the first musher to arrive in Cripple, the halfway point of the Iditarod race. He won the GCI Dorothy G. Page Halfway Award, which included $3000 in gold nuggets.
Following the encounter and dispatch of a moose near Skwenta, Dallas Seavey was penalized for a Rule 34 infraction regarding the dispatch of the moose. Rule 34 states that if a big game animal is killed in self-defense, the musher must gut the animal and report the incident to a race official at the next checkpoint.
Iditarod Race Marshal Warren Palfrey convened a three-person panel comprised of race officials to examine the moose and discuss the incident. After further investigation, it was determined that, as per Rule 34, Dallas Seavey did not sufficiently gut the moose. Gutting or field dressing is when a musher removes the intestines and other internal organs.
Ultimately, the panel decided to penalize Dallas Seavey with a 2-hour time penalty, which will be added to his 24-hour rest.