From Beth Bragg in Anchorage --

Two mushers scratched this morning in Rainy Pass.

Nome musher Melissa Owens, suffering from an injured leg, decided to scratch at 2 a.m. Four hours later, at 6 a.m., Gakona musher Zoya DeNure called it quits too.

Owens, 21, injured her leg befor the race and re-injured it during the race, officials said. She spent 13 hours at the Rainy Pass checkpoint before deciding to pull out of the race. She was running 14 dogs.

In 2008 Owens became the youngest woman to start the Iditarod and the first woman from Nome to finish it. She was cheered by a big hometown crowd that year when she crossed under the burled arch in 30th place.

Race officials gave no details on why DeNure, 34, scratched, other than saying she believed it was the right decision for her 15-dog team.

DeNure and her husband, former Yukon Quest champion John Schandelmeier, run a rescue kennel for unwanted sled dogs.