Moore holds 42-minute lead as Quest nears end

"Well, it's worked so far," Moore said about having the No. 1 race bib. "Just keep the karma coming."

Moore left Braeburn Lodge at 3:32 p.m. AST Monday with 10 dogs, a light sled and a 42-minute lead over Hugh Neff of Tok.

From Braeburn, it's a long, wet, winding trail to the finish line 100 miles away. Generally it's a 10- to 12-hour run, but it may take longer this year because warm conditions have created a soft, slow trail.

When Moore reached Braeburn on Monday morning, he planned to spend part of his mandatory eight-hour layover sleeping. He said he has managed only about one hour of sleep at each checkpoint -- about three hours over four days.

"We should feel like Superman leaving here," he said.

Moore placed sixth in last year's Quest as a rookie and hopes to join his wife, Aliy Zirkle, as a Quest champion. Zirkle won the 2000 Quest.

The bulk of Moore's 42-minute margin over Neff is the result of a 30-minute penalty Neff was assessed Sunday.

Neff was penalized because he didn't have all of his mandatory gear when he reached Pelly Crossing on Sunday -- he had used his ax in Dawson and forgot to put it back in his sled bag -- and the mistake could be a costly one. Since the start, just minutes have separated the frontrunners in the 1,000-mile sled dog race.

Lance Mackey of Fairbanks was the third musher to leave Braeburn, departing at 6:46 p.m.

For the first few days of the race, Mackey jockeyed for the lead with Moore, but at this point, the four-time champion is just trying to maintain his third-place position.

With Moore and Neff in front and Jake Berkowitz catching up quickly, Mackey is trying to compete with the team he has. He has been running with just nine dogs since Dawson, the halfway point of the race.

"I don't have anything to work with; I have no ammunition," he said. "A few days ago I had a plan in my head that if I was set in the right position, with the dog team to be able to counter, I damn sure had a idea (to win)."

Above-freezing weather has zapped Mackey's dogs of their energy.

A lack of patience on his own part also played a role, Mackey said. He ran a race more focused on his competitors than on his team.

"It was a self-inflicted wound, I'm calling it. I can't be disappointed in the dogs, they didn't do anything wrong. They just pay the consequences of my actions," he said. "I'm going to praise them at the finish line if we come in third just like we would have won."

Lurking behind Mackey is Big Lake's Berkowitz, who was due to leave the Braeburn checkpoint Monday at 8:15 p.m.