Iditarod veteran Aliy Zirkle was the second musher out of Ruby early this morning, but she overtook Brent Sass a short ways down the trail.
Both are on the move toward Galena – a 50-mile run down the Yukon River – with 15 dogs in harness.
Jeff King was the first musher to reach Ruby, but is in the midst of his mandatory 24-hour layover.
A handful of other mushers – led by Dallas Seavey, Nicolas Petit and Wade Marrs – also reached Ruby early Friday morning, but remain in the checkpoint as of 8:00 a.m.
Illinois musher and Iditarod veteran Charley Benja scratched yesterday in McGrath.
He made the call at 11:50 a.m. due to concern for his race team. He had 11 dogs on his team when he made the decision.
