Team 19 — Chad Moore of Sterling and partner Tim Gossett of Wasilla — continues to put together an impressive run in this year’s Iron Dog, navigating some of the most challenging conditions Moore has faced in his five races while remaining firmly in contention as the race pushes into its second half.
Moore and Gossett have hovered near the front of the field through the grueling western Alaska stretch, posting one of the fastest splits out of Kotzebue to Koyuk on Wednesday and sitting just outside the top three as of their arrival in Nome.
“Yesterday was pretty wild coming out of Kotzebue,” Moore said. “A lot of overflow right outside of Kotzebue kind of caught us off guard. It caught pretty much all the teams off guard. We took off in the dark, and all of a sudden, we were riding on water with no end in sight as far as our lights would shine. At that point, you just hold it to the bars and hope for the best.”…