Yukon Quest is won!

The Yukon Quest is won! (Not over it won't be over for a couple of days when the final musher and his/her team crosses the line in Whitehorse.)

Hugh Neff out sprinted Allen Moore to the finish line. The time difference was less than a minute. Neff was officially clocked in at 5:14 AM and Moore at 5:15 AM.

Five plus hours later (10:39 AM) third place went to Lance Mackey. Jake Berkowitz took fourth, arriving at 12:31 PM.

There are still 15 mushers on the trail--or possibly only 13 since two seem to have skipped one of the check points at the McCabe Creek Dog Drop.

The Red Lantern (final musher) is Michael Turpin who left Dawson at 19:22 PM yesterday. He's currently somewhere around mile marker 585 meaning he's got a tad over 400 miles to go. Michael is a rookie to the Quest from Chukotka, Siberia, Russia.

I believe the rules say something about 60 hours after the first musher crosses the finish line the race is officially over. Turpin will not make it to Whitehorse in that time--nor will a couple of others just ahead of him. Checkpoints may be closed when they get to them and assistance may not be available as volunteers head for home.

Of course, nothing short of the RCMP will be able to get some of them off the trail. It's not always about being first. Sometimes just finishing is as important.

Many of these folks and their dogs will be setting off on another 1000 mile race in just over 17 days. The Iditarod, from Anchorage to Nome, starts on March 3rd.