Sebastian Schnuelle

  Residence: Whitehorse, Yukon Territory Age: 38 No. of Iditarods: 5 First Iditarod: 2005 Best Finish: 10th, 2008 Etc.: Won Yukon Quest on Feb. 24 Courtesy Jeff Schultz/ Iditarod...

by Channel 2 News staff and wire reports Tuesday, March 10, 2009 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Yukon Quest champion Sebastian Schnuelle  took back the lead in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race  Tuesday just before 11:30 p.m. Schnuelle was followed by the Quest's second place finisher, Hugh Neff, by just one minute. Musher Paul Gebhardt  led the race out of the Rohn checkpoint, but the Kasilof veteran was closely followed by Schnuelle. The 90-mile trail from Rohn to Nikolai was reported to be in excellent condition.

The final deadline to enter the 1,000 mile Yukon Quest sled dog race passed late last week, but not before a major eleventh-hour entry.  2009 champion Sebastian Schnuelle has signed up for the race despite indications that he would retire from the sport. Schnuelle, who has finished in the top 10 in each of his six Yukon Quest appearances and also has a runner-up finish in the Iditarod to his credt, will be running Gerry Willomitzer's dogs in the race.  Schnuelle came in second in last year's race, finishing less than an hour behind Dallas Seavey.

The baton in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is being passed Friday as the previous leaders take a mandatory 24-hour layover -- clearing the trail for mushers who have already taken one. As of 8:30 a.m. Friday Sebastian Schnuelle, one of the mushers with a completed layover, was leading the race out of Anvik. Several mushers reached the Yukon River checkpoint before him: Hugh Neff claimed a seven-course meal and $3,500 for being first into Anvik at 5:26 a.m., closely followed by a field of five others including four-time champions Lance Mackey and Martin Buser.

Four-time Iditarod champ Martin Buser still holds the lead in the Last Great Race, while other mushers rest in Nikolai. The Top seven mushers have left Nikolai, according to the Iditarod’s standings page, many after three or four hours of rest. Sebastian Schnuelle left a little more than 30 minutes after Buser. Defending champion Lance Mackey left the checkpoint in third place, after dropping three dogs in the checkpoint. He had dropped his famous lead-dog, Maple, who was not in the leader spot this time around, in Rohn.

Idaho musher Trent Herbst was the first musher to the halfway point of the Iditarod, the fittingly-named Iditarod checkpoint, but while he leads the race on the trail, he won't for long. Herbst, Kelley Griffin and Cim Smyth all surpassed the lead pack Wednesday, but while they continued on the trail, about 30 other mushers took their mandatory 24-hour layovers and are now back on the trail. Herbst and Griffin are in Iditarod, according to the Iditarod’s standings page, and Smyth is on the trail from Ophir to Iditarod.

Iditarod musher Robert Bundtzen took the lead on the Iditarod trail Monday as he passed race leaders who were stopped in Rainy Pass and was the first musher to Rohn. Bundtzen, who has run the race 12 times, checked in to Rohn at 5:17 p.m. Monday. Racers have not yet had their times adjusted due to the staggered start. Joining Bundtzen on the trail towards Rohn just under an hour later was Paul Gebhardt, who stopped in Rainy Pass for more than four hours. Lance Mackey, Ray Redington Jr., Sebastian Schnuelle and Hans Gatt all also stopped at the checkpoint for hours.

Most of the first 30 mushers into the Takotna checkpoint on the Iditarod trail have declared their 24-hour layovers. Just four mushers have gone beyond. Those that stayed had great things to say about the hospitality. "When I got here, they fed me a steak. When I got up, they fed me a breakfast burrito. I said, 'Do you do this for everybody?' (They said) 'We've been doing this for years.' I must have been a fool for the last 20 Iditarods not stopping here for the 24,” said four-time Iditarod champion Martin Buser, who was the first team to the check point.

Four-time Iditarod champion Martin Buser took the lead in the Last Great Race across Alaska Tuesday morning, after Mackey had left Rohn in the top position. Earlier in the morning, Buser wasn’t even in the Top 10 heading out of Rohn. Following Buser into Nikolai was Robert Bundtzen, Hugh Neff, Ray Redington Jr. and Lance Mackey, all within a half-hour of each other. The remaining of the Top 40 mushers in the Iditarod race have gone through Rohn towards Nikolai, 75 miles away.

Martin Buser's decision to take an early 24-hour layover in the 2013 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race apparently paid off as he took the race's lead Thursday, leaving one question on observers' minds: Can he keep it? As of 2:45 p.m. Thursday, race standings showed Buser as the first musher out of Iditarod at exactly 2 p.m. Lance Mackey claimed a $3,000 prize and a seven-course meal for reaching the race's midpoint at 8:36 p.m. Wednesday, making the 80-mile run from Ophir to Iditarod in 14 hours, 51 minutes.

From Bear Creek Cabin we went to Nikolai. The Bear Creek Cabin is aptly named. Walking around it, there is no doubt that some bear uses it as a scratch post, with claw marks all over the place. Kevin, which I have seen many times on the trail over the years and he works with the Iditarod Historical Trail Committee, and of whom I still do not know the last name was at Bear Creek with his friend Dave. Both had some pretty interesting stories of the Iditarod Invitational Running and biking race.

Hugh Neff has won the 2012 Yukon Quest crossing the finish line in Whitehorse at 5:14 a.m. Tuesday and winning by 26 seconds, the closest finish in race history and the only time the first two teams have come in less than one minute apart.   Neff captured victory in the 1,000 mile sled dog race by beating Allen Moore in a wild sprint to the finish.  At one point, Moore had a 42-minute lead out of Braeburn.  Neff, traveling...

The final deadline to enter the 1,000 mile Yukon Quest sled dog race passed late last week, but not before a major eleventh-hour entry.  2009 champion Sebastian Schnuelle has signed up for the race despite indications that he would retire from the sport. Schnuelle, who has finished in the top 10 in each of his six Yukon Quest appearances and also has a runner-up finish in the Iditarod to his credt, will be running Gerry Willomitzer's dogs in the race.  Schnuelle came in second in last year's race, finishing less than an hour behind Dallas Seavey.

Although only 23 years old, Dallas Seavey entered the 2011 Yukon Quest already owning an impressive track record in sled dog racing. A veteran of two career Iditarod top-10 finishes, the third-generation musher came into his first Yukon Quest surrounded by talent. The race featured several Iditarod teams, but at the tail end of the 1,000 mile race, teams began being adversely affected by the conditions. Hans Gatt, Dan Kaduce, and Hugh Neff, who led most of the race, all scratched after fighting stormy weather.

The baton in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is being passed Friday as the previous leaders take a mandatory 24-hour layover -- clearing the trail for mushers who have already taken one. As of 8:30 a.m. Friday Sebastian Schnuelle, one of the mushers with a completed layover, was leading the race out of Anvik. Several mushers reached the Yukon River checkpoint before him: Hugh Neff claimed a seven-course meal and $3,500 for being first into Anvik at 5:26 a.m., closely followed by a field of five others including four-time champions Lance Mackey and Martin Buser.

Idaho musher Trent Herbst was the first musher to the halfway point of the Iditarod, the fittingly-named Iditarod checkpoint, but while he leads the race on the trail, he won't for long. Herbst, Kelley Griffin and Cim Smyth all surpassed the lead pack Wednesday, but while they continued on the trail, about 30 other mushers took their mandatory 24-hour layovers and are now back on the trail. Herbst and Griffin are in Iditarod, according to the Iditarod’s standings page, and Smyth is on the trail from Ophir to Iditarod.

Most of the first 30 mushers into the Takotna checkpoint on the Iditarod trail have declared their 24-hour layovers. Just four mushers have gone beyond. Those that stayed had great things to say about the hospitality. "When I got here, they fed me a steak. When I got up, they fed me a breakfast burrito. I said, 'Do you do this for everybody?' (They said) 'We've been doing this for years.' I must have been a fool for the last 20 Iditarods not stopping here for the 24,” said four-time Iditarod champion Martin Buser, who was the first team to the check point.

Four-time Iditarod champion Martin Buser took the lead in the Last Great Race across Alaska Tuesday morning, after Mackey had left Rohn in the top position. Earlier in the morning, Buser wasn’t even in the Top 10 heading out of Rohn. Following Buser into Nikolai was Robert Bundtzen, Hugh Neff, Ray Redington Jr. and Lance Mackey, all within a half-hour of each other. The remaining of the Top 40 mushers in the Iditarod race have gone through Rohn towards Nikolai, 75 miles away.

Four-time Iditarod champ Martin Buser still holds the lead in the Last Great Race, while other mushers rest in Nikolai. The Top seven mushers have left Nikolai, according to the Iditarod’s standings page, many after three or four hours of rest. Sebastian Schnuelle left a little more than 30 minutes after Buser. Defending champion Lance Mackey left the checkpoint in third place, after dropping three dogs in the checkpoint. He had dropped his famous lead-dog, Maple, who was not in the leader spot this time around, in Rohn.