As he crossed under the burled arch at the end of the 27th annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Wednesday night, his wobbly legs gave out and King tipped over, knocking the sled on its side and dumping his body like a sack of potatoes on the hard snow of the finish chute.

When he stood up, he staggered against an arch support post.

"I didn't know I had any race left in me, but this is kind of fun," said King.

Meet Jeff King, long-distance runner. Stalking through the night without a headlamp, urging his dogs on and pushing his body to run in the subzero temperatures, the defending champion stole seventh place from John Baker by 22 seconds with a hard pursuit over the race's final miles.

King, 43, of Denali Park, caught and passed Baker, 36, of Kotzebue, with a determined charge over the race's final miles. Ducking past Baker on Front Street meant the difference between a payoff of $29,326 and $27,280.

King, a three-time champion, had a rough trip to Nome this time. Long ago, he'd fallen out of first-place contention.

But he jump-started his enthusiasm in Safety, the final checkpoint, by reading the checker's time sheet. He thought Baker was only 40 minutes ahead, though actually he was 51 minutes in front.

"I eyeballed the time sheet," said King, who did not use a headlamp on his stretch run.

The chase was on. Baker, who had the lead, didn't even have to glance over his shoulder to try to find King on the trail.

"I knew all the time," said Baker.

King has often said that if he's not racing for first he doesn't care where he finishes, but his actions belied that sentiment.

"This could have been 50th and 51st," said King, his mustache encrusted with ice. "That was just too much fun."

King was given a time of 10 days, 10 hours, 10 minutes and 32 seconds - 22 seconds faster than Baker, whose team was slow coming into the chute.

The finish was just another disappointment that Baker faced on the 1,100-mile race he hoped to win.

"Nothing went right," said Baker of his race.

King covered the distance from Safety in 2:36, Baker in 3:27. Most of King's running came in the last four miles, though he said he doesn't plan to make a habit of doing the Iditarod on foot.

"I shouldn't be doing this kind of thing," he said.