Photos: Iditarod 2014 reaches Cripple and Ruby

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A musher and their team makes their way from Ophir to Cripple. March 6, 2014

In a race that in the beginning was more about surviving treacherous conditions to Nikolai than predicting front runners, now those who have survived are starting to make their moves. But whether those moves -- some of which are proving to be nontraditional -- will pay off remains to be seen.

Take, for example, Jeff King of Denali and Sonny Lindner of Two Rivers. Both mushers raced all the way to Ruby, the first checkpoint on the Yukon River, with only a handful of short breaks. Or take Kelly Maixner, the Big Lake dentist who "pulled a Buser" and took his 24-hour rest after running nonstop to Rohn.

Or the "Buser" namesake himself, Martin, who mixed things up by taking one four-hour break in Rainy Pass before moving ahead to take his 24-hour rest in Nikolai.

READ MORE: Leaders into Ruby, but Iditarod 2014 is still anyone's race

See all of our slideshows from the trail and more on our Iditarod page. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, for more great images from The Last Great Race. Contact Alaska Dispatch photojournalist Loren Holmes at loren(at)alaskadispatch.com.