ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A Norwegian musher has a commanding lead in this year's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
Thomas Waerner of Torpa, Norway, was the first musher to reach the checkpoint in White Mountain Tuesday.
GPS tracking shows the nearest musher to Waerner is three-time champion Mitch Seavey, but about 30 miles behind him.
White Mountain is the second-to-last checkpoint, and where mushers must take a mandatory eight-hour rest before navigating the icy Bering Sea coastline the last 77 miles to the finish line in Nome.
Waerner says the race is never over until it's over, but admitted “it looks pretty good.”
For more coverage of the race, visit here.
