Update: Lance Mackey and Jeff King pulled into Shaktoolik within 13 minutes of each other before 1:30 a.m. today. Behind them at 2:30 a.m. Hans Gatt left Unalakleet. By 3:40 a.m. four more were headed north to Shaktoolik. Ahead lay the approximately 48 miles across Norton Bay to Koyuk, a place where storms have changed the complexion of past races. Koyuk's forecast today was for snow flurries with daytime temperatures in the teens.

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UNALAKLEET -- The morning fog in the Kaltag Portage lifted just hours before the Iditarod unveiled a new leader Sunday afternoon.

Four-time champion Jeff King rolled into this Bering Sea village at the front of The Last Great Race for the first time.

The time was 2:02 p.m., and the 16 dogs King started the race with a week ago in Willow still appeared to be pulling strong.

Ninety minutes behind the Denali Park musher was defending champ Lance Mackey, who had led the race from the halfway point of Cripple though the checkpoints along the Yukon River.

A dozen villagers on snowmachines followed Mackey's team into the slough here, which painted a scene all-too familiar to this Iditarod and Yukon Quest champion.

A year ago, he pulled in 45 minutes behind King. On Sunday, Mackey arrived here at 3:32 p.m. with 14 dogs in harness.

"This is exactly the scenario from last year," Mackey said while dabbing pink ointment on his dogs' paws. "We all know how that story ends."

Three hours after he parked beside King, Mackey moved on down the trail. It was just enough time to speak to reporters and visit the new java house in town for coffee and sweets. At 6:15 p.m., he had 12 dogs booted and prepared for a fight to the finish in Nome.

"I've got to keep him guessing," Mackey explained. "It's hard to outrun a team (of) that caliber. So if it comes down to a foot race, I'm lazy. But come and get me."

King woke from a two-hour nap and was calm and collected at his planned departure time of 7 p.m. All 16 dogs were in harness -- two, he admitted, were more tired than the others.

"I'm not sure if perky is what I'll see," King said about his dogs' strength. "But I think we have more speed than he does."

Earlier, as the race moved down the river toward Kaltag, King said his team ran about 1 mph faster than Mackey's. King's team slowly but methodically reeled in Mackey, and by the time they crossed the Kaltag Portage on Saturday night, the chase was over.

King passed, and Mackey fell in behind. But Mackey's dogs seemed to make better time chasing than leading.

King, however, appeared satisfied to be at the front as the race turned for Nome.

After snacking his team and getting his dogs comfortably bedded down, he went to accept the trophy presented by Wells Fargo Bank and $2,500 in gold nuggets as the first Iditarod musher to the coast.

A bank representative informed King that his fifth Gold Coast trophy tied Martin Buser of Big Lake for the most in Iditarod history.

"There's another five-time winner I'm trying to tie," King said. "But that's another story. Just don't make me carry the trophy to Nome."

Rick Swenson, thus far the race's only five-time champion, was back with Buser in a chase pack of a half-dozen teams that has been trying to reel in King and Mackey for two days.

There were signs Sunday, however, as the unusually warm temperatures that followed the race north from Willow began to cool, that some teams might be able to pick up the pace.

As trails harden, teams that had been plodding along at 5 or 6 mph were suddenly picking the speed up to 8 mph or more.

"The trail (from Kaltag to Unalakleet) was beautiful, almost a dream," Mackey said. "Every team ups the pace when the temperature drops. These guys certainly did. Unfortunately, when it got to their liking, I had to shut them down and rest."

He led the race out of Kaltag late Saturday night six hours ahead of King. But he camped along the trail near Tripod, about 35 miles into the 90-mile run from Kaltag to this point, the first of checkpoint along the Bering Sea.

Ready to rest his dogs, Mackey passed the lead to King.

With a green display of northern lights dancing in the clear sky, Mackey crawled into his sleeping bag atop his sled. He expected King to pass him right away, but King stopped for about five hours in Kaltag.

Hours went by until Mackey woke to dog collars jingling in the distance. He poked his head out of the bag and saw King passing. Mackey went back to sleep.

"Eh, one more hour," Mackey told himself.

Next thing he knew, two more hours had gone by.

"It's a tough position to be out in front," Mackey said. "But we have neglected our rest, so that was a $2,500 nap. I definitely could have been here before he was, but that's not a priority."

On Saturday afternoon, Mackey said he made an error in judgment on the east side of Nulato. He rested on the Yukon River for four hours before he reached the village and rested even more in Nulato. He lost nearly two hours off his lead.

"Seems like every year is my first time, landmarks and all that," he said. "It just wasn't familiar, so I lost a few hours."

King's 90-mile run to Unalakleet was long and slow as his dogs broke trail on fresh snow. Occasionally, he dozed off and missed parts of it, he said. He claimed not to have gotten a good look when Mackey's team passed.

"To tell you the truth, I was sound asleep," King said. "I just barely saw one of (Mackey's) dogs."

Come morning, King was wide awake on his way into town.

But shortly thereafter, Mackey led a parade of snowmachines into town. The residents fed him well, something the 37-year-old often neglects along the 1,100-mile trail.

"Did you see the posse following me into town?" he asked reporters. "I felt like I was holding them up. I was starving to death, so I had coffee and pizza and cinnamon rolls.

"I don't know who the lady was with the coffee mocha, but man that was cool. I don't even drink coffee."

The multiple cups of joe kept him awake and ready for a bold move north.

With 260 miles left in the race, he wanted to catch King snoozing and retake the lead.

"I've been a commercial fisherman all my life, so I'm used to not getting sleep," Mackey said. "I'm pretty good at sleeping on the back of my sled."

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Find Daily News reporter Kevin Klott at adn.com/sports/kklott.

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When to expect the winner

At-a-glance look at when the front-runners of some recent Iditarods reached the Bering Sea coast -- and who eventually won the race:

2008 IDITAROD

INTO UNALAKLEET: Leader Jeff King arrives at 2:02 p.m. Sunday. Lance Mackey arrived 90 minutes later.

INTO NOME: ?????

2007 IDITAROD (LANCE MACKEY)

Into Unalakleet: Leader Jeff King arrives at 3:35 p.m. Sunday. Mackey arrives 45 minutes later but is the first to leave.

INTO NOME: Mackey wins at 8:08 p.m. Tuesday.

2006 IDITAROD (JEFF KING)

Into Unalakleet: Leader King arrives at 12:26 p.m. Sunday. Doug Swingley is 22 minutes behind.

INTO NOME: King wins at 1:11 a.m. Wednesday.

2004 IDITAROD (MITCH SEAVEY)

Into Unalakleet: Leader Kjetil Backen arrives at 11:25 a.m. Sunday, but he's devastated because his lead dog Takk died about a mile outside the checkpoint. Mitch Seavey arrives a minute behind Backen.

INTO NOME: Seavey wins at 10:20 p.m. Tuesday. When will winner reach Nome?