SHAKTOOLIK, Alaska (AP) - Former champion Mitch Seavey is maintaining his lead in Alaska's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

The 2004 champion left the checkpoint at Shaktoolik at 1:15 a.m. Monday after resting his team for nearly four hours.

However, Aaron Burmeister was not going to allow Seavey to get much of a lead. He followed Seavey out less than an hour later. And, four-time champion Jeff King is in fourth place, just three minutes behind Burmeister.

The finish in Nome now is just a little more than 200 miles away. From Shaktoolik, teams travel across the frozen sea ice and toward Koyuk. This section of trail can be dicey, especially if a blizzard kicks up. Coastal storms have ended more than one musher's dream of arriving first to Nome.

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