The King and the Pauper

With the Alaska Range behind them, the mushers turn their attention to a rest strategy. Missing his leader and with an exhausted team, Lance Mackey decides to take his mandatory 24 hour rest earlier than scheduled. Keen to the champ's strategy, musher Jeff King follows suit — also taking his 24 in the village checkpoint of Takotna. These mushers must stay focused on their dogs as the other competitors, Martin Buser and DeeDee Jonrowe, pass by. DeeDee, who is nursing a virus from her own team, makes it first to the halfway mark at Checkpoint: Cripple, winning the Yukon Gold. But she is left to wonder if this push for the gold cost her team some vital rest.