Iditarod

Musher in 1st will get fancy dinner at checkpoint

By MARK THIESSEN
Associated Press
   ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- There's a new leader in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog
 Race.
   Four-time champion Martin Buser was the first musher to leave the checkpoint
in the ghost town of Iditarod on Thursday.
   Buser has already taken his mandatory 24-hour layover and left the checkpoint at
2 p.m. Thursday after resting there five hours.
   There are three other mushers apparently taking their 24-hour rest period in
Iditarod, including Lance Mackey, Sonny Lindner and Jeff King.
   Mackey and King are also four-time champions of the race across the Alaska
wilderness. The winner is expected to arrive in Nome sometime early next week.
   AP-WF-03-08-13 0005GMT