From Kyle Hopkins in Ruby --

Dallas Seavey, who gained ground on his father Mitch when he pulled into Ruby behind a team of energetic huskies this morning, plans his move on the Yukon:

From Kyle Hopkins in Ruby --

The scene today in Ruby, where Zirkle stopped just long enough to drop a dog and hand out a hat before (temporarily) claiming the lead. She'll have to take an 8-hour break somewhere on the Yukon. Other frontrunners, including the Seaveys, are resting at this village checkpoint and are likely to catch up when Zirkle stops.

Aaron Burmeister arrives in Ruby.

Musher Aaron Burmeister, who trained this year in Nome, found himself in fifth place today in Ruby. Burmeister says he's pleasantly surprised at how well his team is doing so far.

Aliy Zirkle gets a hug as she passes through Ruby. Marc Lester / Anchorage Daily News.Beth Bragg in Anchorage and Kyle Hopkins in Ruby --

FRIDAY, 10 p.m. -- Here we go again.

We interrupt this race coverage to bring you a view of the Northern Lights over the Yukon River as seen from a hill in Ruby late Thursday.

Jim Lanier in Cripple. (Marc Lester / Anchorage Daily News)

From KYLE HOPKINS in Cripple --

Jim Lanier won a heaping tablespoonful of gold nuggets for arriving first at the halfway point of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Thursday by sleeping just three hours in four days.

That’s the nice thing about getting old, said Lanier, who is 71. You wake up earlier.

From Bob Hallinen in Anchorage --

Marshall comes home to hugs from Chelsea

Dallas Seavey in Cripple. (Marc Lester / Anchorage Daily News)

Kyle Hopkins in Ruby --

He’s near the front of the Iditarod, but Dallas Seavey says he isn’t even ready to race yet. The plan for now: Keep anyone who gets in front of him close enough to catch.

Then unleash the hounds.

Anna Berington walks Stormy at left and Kristy Berington walks Blue Thursday in Takotna. The mushers are identical twins and the first sisters to run the Iditarod. (Marc Lester / Anchorage Daily News)

Kyle Hopkins in Takotna --

Nevermind the mountains. The toughest part of the 2012 Iditarod would be resisting the temptation to race at her rookie sister's side, Kristy Berington predicted before the start.

Turns out she’s not even trying. The identical twins spotted each other in the Skwentna checkpoint, just 66 miles into the race, and have been running together ever since.

“I recognized (Kristy) and I pulled over right away,” Anna Berington said early this morning. “We’ve just been going back and forth, taking turns leading the way.”

Ryan Redington in Takotna this morning. (Marc Lester / Anchorage Daily News)

From Kyle Hopkins in Takotna --

UPDATE:

A cheerless Ryan Redington says he is indeed going to scratch here in Takotna.

Defending champ John Baker leaves Takotna early Thursday. (Photo / Marc Lester, Anchorage Daily News)Beth Bragg in Anchorage --

THURSDAY, 5:30 p.m. -- Someone in the Lanier family is going to be happy. We just don't know who yet.

Bill Pinkham collects hot water Wednesday night in Takotna. Check out many more pictures from Day 4 of the Iditarod here.

Want to know what an Iditarod checkpoint sounds like? Play this video by Marc Lester of Aliy Zirkle's team in Takotna today.

From Kyle Hopkins and Marc Lester in Takotna –

Musher: DeeDee Jonrowe, Willow

Genders: Trig and Track are male. Willow is a female.

Age: 3

Position: The Palins run a mix of lead and team dog.

“This litter was born in 2008. In June of 2008,” Jonrowe said as she fed the dogs a stew of brown salmon, ground beef and rice Wednesday in Takotna.

“It happened to be that that is when Sarah was tapped for McCain’s campaign,” she said. “So, I always use themes. And it seemed like, ‘Well, we’ll just name them after the Palin kids.’”

Jonrowe gave one of the puppies to the family of her mother’s friend, who had died of pancreatic cancer that year. “They chose Piper,” she said.

Trig and Track finished the Iditarod as 2-year-olds with Jonrowe in 2011. The brothers join Willow on the trail this year.

“This is Willow’s first race. Not only is she a pretty girl, but she’s given me a nice bit of leadership too,” Jonrowe said. “Trig will lead as well. Track has shown himself to be more of the workhorse. He’s not necessarily interested in being the decision maker.”

Not all of the Palin clan are named for a Jonrowe dog. The musher finished second in the Iditarod with a leader named “Bristol” – named for Bristol Bay, like the Palin daughter – that later died of old age. Jonrowe retired the name.

The 58-year-old musher began racing the Iditarod more than 30 years ago, naming litter after litter by various themes. Some litters all have names that start with a D. Some are named after cheeses.

“In our yard we’ll say, OK, who is going on our team? We say, 'Well, we’ll take the Palins,'” Jonrowe said. “’You go get the Palins and I’ll get the Pokemons.’”

More Meet the Sled Dogs

From Kyle Hopkins in Takotna --

Iditarod champ and speed-record holder John Baker is cooling his heels in the snowy Takotna checkpoint today, sharing a table with a slew of other Iditarod contenders. Check out the scene, and listen to this short Q&A as Baker talks about whether Aliy Zirkle could win the race, what fans should make of the pace and how you might catch him dancing to 80s music on the dog sled.

Could Aliy Zirkle win this Iditarod?
Somebody’s got to win, so everybody here is a contender, yeah. I don’t mean just here in Takotna. Because I know Martin is out there somewhere, and I have all the respect in the world for him. I just saw Rick Swenson is here.

I look down the table and I see Ramey Smyth is over there. So There’s a lot of peole that are capable of winning the race.

Are you listening to music on the dog sled this year?
I did listen to music the other day coming into Nikolai.

What do you like?
I enjoy rock. Some country. Older country. But I enjoy rock and roll from the '80s and late '70s.
I love dancing and I dance a lot on the sled when listening to music. And I probably use up a lot of energy.

How much can you dance on a dog sled?
Oh, you’d be surprised.

Kinzer arrives in Nikolai.

Iditarod rookie Jaimee Kinzer says new, drifted snow made for a tiring trip across the Farewell Burn into Nikolai.

Travis Cooper opens an energy drink in Nikolai. (Marc Lester / Anchorage Daily News )
From Kyle Hopkins in Nikolai --

Before the race, we asked readers if there are particular mushers they’d like to hear from. Among the requests was a note from an elementary school class that’s following the progress of 25-year-old rookie Travis Cooper .

Beth Bragg in Anchorage --

WEDNESDAY, 5:45 p.m. update -- We started crunching the numbers to figure out who truly will be the Iditarod leader tonight when the lead pack pours out of Takotna.

Got halfway through the arithmetic when we discovered Josh Rogers at iditablog.com already had the problem solved.

Scott Janssen puts down straw for his team in Nikolai. (Marc Lester / Anchorage Daily News photo)From Kyle Hopkins in Nikolai --

Iditarod sophomore Scott Janssen was making his way down a steep section of the Dalzell Gorge when the dog collapsed.

One moment, 9-year-old Marshall was pulling hard at the sled, the tug line taut as a guitar string. The next, the husky was on the ground.

“Boom! Laid right down. It was like a guy my age having a heart attack,” said Janssen, who owns an Anchorage funeral home and calls himself “The Mushing Mortician.”

Janssen raced to the dog. Marshall did not appear to be breathing, he said.

“I know what death looks like, and he was gone. Nobody home,” Janssen said.

Rohn Buser, left, talks with his dad Martin in Nikolai.

In Nikolai, Martin Buser said his high start position was a disadvantage this year for himself and his son, Rohn. He says there's plenty of time to improve his position, however.