Iditarod leader Lance Mackey headed for finish line
Iditarod leader Lance Mackey passed the last checkpoint and is heading for the finish line.
Lance Mackey leaves the Elim checkpoint after a brief stop yesterday during the 2010 Iditarod Sled Dog Race.
Bob Hallinen/ Anchorage Daily News/ AP
ANCHORAGE
Three-time defending champion Lance Mackey is headed first for the finish line in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
Mackey reached the last checkpoint at Safety at 11:37 a.m. on Tuesday.
He left just four minutes later, getting back on the trail for the 22-mile (35-kilometer) run to Front Street and the finish in the 1,100-mile (1,770-kilometer) race from Anchorage to Nome.
Mackey was expected to reach Nome sometime between 2:30 p.m. and 3 p.m.
Mackey has a 10-mile (16-kilometer) lead over his closest competitor, Hans Gatt. Four-time Iditarod champion Jeff King, who led part of the race, was in third place.