Mitch Seavey returns to the trail after a rest, and the race is on

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Mitch Seavey leaves the Takotna checkpoint on Wednesday, March 7, 2018, four minutes after Nicolas Petit. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

The rest stop is behind him. Half an Iditarod to go.

Defending champ and three-time winner Mitch Seavey has returned to the trail after his mandatory 24-hour rest and is among a crowd of contenders marching toward the official halfway checkpoint of Iditarod.

[Ulsom's long run to Iditarod rewarded with $3,000 in gold nuggets]

Seavey spent his mandatory one-day layover in Takotna, departing at 11:35 p.m. Wednesday. By 2:12 a.m. Thursday, he'd made the 23-mile trip to Ophir (Mile 432). He's dueling with another well-rested top racer, Nicolas Petit, who left Ophir just a minute later.

At the ghost town Iditarod checkpoint, Norwegian musher Joar Leifseth Ulsom awaits, ticking away his own 24-hour break. See the full standings here.

Beyond Iditarod lies the punishing Bering Sea coast.

"I have a little bit of a lead, I think. I might even give that up a little bit and rest somewhere along here," the 58-year-old Seavey told ADN in Takotna. "When you get to the coast, if you're within striking range, he who has the best team wins."

[Video: Mitch Seavey tells us what he plans to do next]

While he's down to 13 of his starting 16 dogs, Seavey said the team is looking "crazy good."