Iditarod field mushes into Rohn checkpoint

Aliy Zirkle took the lead in the Iditarod dog sled race across Alaska late Monday nearly 200 miles into the 975-mile epic. Zirkle mushed her way from Rainy Pass into the town of Rohn in 3 hours, 49 minutes and overtook Hugh Neff, who was the first competitor to check into Rohn 4:08 after starting off. The Anchorage Daily News said the current pace was about 2 hours slower than last year when John Baker finished in record time. Baker was last reported in sixth place Monday night. The Iditarod field next enters the 75-mile leg to Nikolai. Sixty-six mushers and their dog teams began the 40th annual, 10-day race from Willow, near Anchorage, to Nome Sunday afternoon.