IDITAROD (Your Alaska Link) - Quite a few mushers are now officially halfway to Nome. Wade Marrs and his dogs were the first to reach the Iditarod checkpoint -- the namesake of this race.

Marrs had quite the lead on a handful of teams. That's partly because many decided to take their mandatory 24-hour rest while Marrs mushed on.

Some just passed through McGrath, Takotna, and Ophir today on their way to Iditarod. Shageluk and Anvik are up next.

If you want to cheer on the mushers, call and leave them a Musher Gram. All you have to do is call 907-248-MUSH, or 907-248-6874, and someone with the Iditarod call center will write down your message and deliver it to your musher along the trail.

Visit https://iditarod.com/race/2023/standings/ for the latest standings.