Day three of the Yukon Quest is well underway and race leader Allen Moore is quickly closing in on Slaven’s Roadhouse.
Moore, the first musher out of Circle City, is just seven miles west of Slaven’s Roadhouse as of 2:30 p.m.
Paige Drobny and Matt Hall were the next mushers to leave Circle City, followed by Laura Neese, Ed Hopkins and Hugh Neff.
The remaining mushers are either resting in Circle City or still on the trail from Central to Circle City.
From Circle City, it’s approximately 60 miles to Slaven’s Roadhouse.
It is then another 100 miles to Eagle, where mushers will have a mandatory four-hour layover before pushing another 150 miles to Dawson City and a 36-hour layover.
Two mushers have withdrawn from the race so far.
Mike Ellis scratched at Mile 101 over concern about the well-being of his team.
Katherine Keith, who reached Circle City in sixth place, scratched due to a broken wrist.
The Yukon Quest kicked off Feb. 3 in Fairbanks and will cover 1,000 miles before finishing in Whitehorse.
In the Yukon Quest 300, Joanna Jagow is leading the race after 240 miles.
Ben Good is in second place, followed by Richie Beattie, Allen Dunn and Chase Tingle.
Out of a starting field of 15 mushers, only 10 remain in the race.
Mandy Nauman Austin, Ellen King, Sven Haltmann, Meredith Mapes and Jacob Heigers have all scratched.
Contact John Hopkins-Hill at john.hopkinshill@yukon-news.com