One of my long time good buddies, Tim Kelley, won a uniquely Alaskan race - the Susitna 100 (formally known as the Iditasport). Tim skied the 100 miles in 12 hours and 44 minutes. That is unbelievably fast. What power!
Skiers, bikers, runners, and snowshoers all compete against each other - straight up. If the snow is extremely hard packed, cyclists have an advantage. If the snow conditions are like this year, a light crust on top of a soft snow pack, skiers have the advantage because they can stay on top of the crust. This year, the race conditions were very very warm: above 40 degrees. There have been years, when it has been 40 below.
I've worked with Tim in the IT biz off and on for the past 15 years. Tim is a former member of the US Ski Team and is just a fanatastic skier and a great guy. He and I used to compare skijoring notes all the time. He also got me hooked on roller skiing in the summer.
One year, Tim and friend of his, skied the Iditarod trail from Wasilla to Nome. They started right after the dogs left Wasilla and arrived in Nome just a a few weeks after the dogs. Pretty amazing for 1040 miles.
8:46:18 PM 
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