Thomas Waerner left White Mountain at 1:35 p.m. on March 17, and is well on his way down the trail to Nome. He has all but won the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race because his nearest challenger, Mitch Seavey, mushed into the White Mountain checkpoint at 10:49 a.m. Seavey has a mandatory eight-hour layover, and will have to wait until 6:49 p.m. before he can head out on the 77 miles of trail leading to the finish line in Nome.