CARMACKS - In a moment of camaraderie among the tight competition, Yukon Quest front runners Lance Mackey and Ken Anderson agreed to rest together at Carmacks following a 160-kilometre run.

Mackey said he is still playing catchup after getting lost Sunday, although he arrived three minutes after Anderson at the Carmacks checkstop, at 10:43 a.m. The two had last rested at Stepping Stone.

Mackey said the long run in warm weather was causing him some concern.

"I'm a little worried about weight," he said. He had been running his dog in new coats designed to wick away sweat and insulate when cold. He said he would not be using the coats when his team left Carmacks.

"I'm trying to be a little cautious."

He sat in front of a plate of empty food and drink containers, saying he too needed to refuel and rest, but he was not worried about the physical difficulty.

"Mentally, I can block out any pain or setback," he said. The dogs are holding up their end of the deal as well, he said, but continuing to eat well.

"They just love to please me. They love their jobs. It's a mutual agreement."

Mackey said the tight neck-in-neck race between he and rookie runner Anderson has resparked a love for racing he said he hasn't felt in a while.

"This is a good change from the last couple of years," he said, before settling down for a rest.

He said when the two teams arrived in Carmacks, they agreed to sleep six hours, with eight not being out of the question.

"I will sleep next to him, I will curl up around him if I have to," he said. He's following Anderson's lead, saying that if his opponent up and left right now, he would not hesitate to do the same.

"I can go 24 hours right now if I need to," he said.

It's not his ideal to be so neck-in-neck with Anderson, because it doesn't allow him the rest schedule he would prefer, but he did say his team is ready for anything, including a race to the finish after the mandatory eight-hour stop in Braeburn.

At the last mandatory rest stop in Dawson City, last-place musher Cor Guimond scratched this morning, for reasons unknown. With 15 mushers left in the race, all stand to win a prize at the finish.

Mackey said his goal is to cross this year's finish line first and next as well.

"My ultimate goal is to win five in a row," he said. Anderson's team is not going to stop him, he said.

"I'm not going to give it away, I'm gonna fight to the end," he said. "If he's gonna win, he's gonna damn well earn it."