What a relief! Laura has made it from Rohn to Nikolai in one piece. It took her just under 17hrs to complete perhaps the toughest leg of the race. That's not to say that weather condtions won't crop up and cause other areas to be treacherous or difficult but the worst terrain is behind her. There are reports coming back of heavy, wet snow which will slow the teams down but is perfered to rain any day. For the most part I'm seeing less "dropped" dogs and I think the slower runs have a lot to do with those numbers. There are vets at every checkpoint to moniter the dogs and be the final say on whether a dog can continue the race. The dogs are checked when they come into the checkpoint and then any that are "red flagged" are checked again before the mushers leave. If a dog shouldn't continue running or the musher believes that it would be more benificial for dog and team if the dog didn't continue the race they can "drop" a dog into the vets care. The dogs are then flown out to the teams handler. Many dogs are dropped for sore wrists or shoulders (like our sore muscles after a hard workout). These aren't considered injuries and would be fine within 24hrs but if the teams schedule does not allow for a 24hr stop at that point then the musher will opt for a drop. That is why most dogs aren't dropped until right before a musher leaves a checkpoint. While the dogs are in the checkpoint they are receiving massages, wraps, stretches and more massages. I know this part really well because I can't tell you how many massages I given my sisters dogs. After all of that the musher will check the team to make sure everyone is at 100%. If anyone is anything less than 100% the musher won't run them. It could cause true injuries and slow the whole team. All that to say, there are not many dropped dogs as of yet. That means that even though the terrain may be tough the dogs and mushers are balancing it well with slower run times. Laura did drop 1 dog in Nikolai but I won't know why until tomorrow. I'll be able to find out from her handler Laura B. Laura has already rested 7hrs and has left for McGrath. She has 54 miles on this leg and it a great stretch for night running. The average run time for this leg is 4.5-7hrs. It is still a little warm for day running at 34 degrees but there is no reported wind which will be a nice break. Running at night will alow Laura to escape the higher temps and then she and the team can rest during the warmer hours. Just a little inside scoop, Laura is now running beyond any race length she has raced thus far. Nikolai is 347 miles from the start and she has been gone from there for 3hrs. You Go Girl!! She is a third of the way there and still going strong.