NOME -- On Tuesday, Kotzebue's John Baker and Willow's Ramey Smyth didn't just beat the previous record for the fastest-ever finish to an Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

They shredded it.

In a race where minutes can separate winner and loser, these two mushers put hours between the old record and this year's break-neck pace. That feat, though, was less than sweet for Smyth, who threw everything he had at Baker and still came up short.

"I didn't realize I would have to do more than beat the record on the southern route to be the winner," Smyth said after crossing the finish line in second place.

"I had no plans of beating the record," Baker added in an interview Wednesday. "(But) I was aware that with the type of dogs I had I was capable of that. If I finished the race in the time I planned, I knew that would happen."

Smyth, who turned 36 the same day he helped set the Iditarod's new record pace, beat four-time former Iditarod champion Martin Buser's old record of eight days, 22 hours and 46 minutes by more than three hours. The musher he ferociously chased to Nome, Baker, did even more damage, pulling off a win more than four hours faster than record Buser set back in 2002.

Hans Gatt, from Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada, the third place finisher in the 2011 Iditarod, said he'd expected all along that the old record would fall this year.

"It was an extremely fast trail from the start of the race," Gatt said from beneath the race's burled arch, which marks the Nome finish line.

Gatt is a well-conditioned tri-athlete known for his fast team. He is generally a top contender who would go on to describe this year's pace as "blistering fast."

Last year, Gatt delivered what had at the time been the best run of his career -- nine days, one hour and four minutes. It still wasn't enough to defeat 2010 Iditarod champion Lance Mackey, though, and Gatt was forced to settle for second place.

This year, Gatt beat his 2010 time by 40 minutes, but, like Smyth, it wasn't enough for a win.

Now, heading into retirement and contemplating driving his motorcycle instead of dogs (he claims this race really was his last), Gatt believes forces outside the mushers' control helped rocket them on their way to a history-making run.

"To set the record everything has to be perfect, and it was," he said.

"Perfect" largely refers to good, hard trail and astonishingly good weather over the course of nine days -- clear skies, relatively warm temperatures, little wind.

But adding to the mix, he believes, is the way more top-tier mushers are racing; namely, their willingness to push themselves and their teams as hard as they can possibly go.

"I didn't like that development," Gatt confessed as race officials inventoried the contents of his sled and veterinarians examined his dogs during the post-race check-in process. "Sooner or later it's going to take a toll on the dogs."

"I absolutely agree with that," Baker later told reporters. "In this case, I was fortunate to run a team that could even have done it with less rest."

Iditarod offense and defense

Early in the race, Buser was the man to beat. His team dominated the first half of the trail, but soon thereafter fell apart. What had been remarkably quick runs began to drag. Before long, his lead and hope for another Iditarod victory were over.

But the Big Lake musher's early intensity may have forced teams to shift their strategy in response. Some gave chase on Buser's heals, but others opted for a somewhat more conservative approach, choosing to try to rest their dogs more and conserve energy in hopes those who made early fast breaks would fizzle.

It worked.

By the time the lead pack hit Unalakleet, Baker was in front with a handful of mushers, including Gatt and Smyth close behind. There, he started cutting rest, a move that would ultimately put him hours ahead.

Checkpoint by checkpoint, Baker started accumulating momentum that can only be measured in mileage and time. Relatively well-rested up until that point, he had energy to spare. Whether a fast quartet looking to close the gap behind could catch him would depend on whether their teams could pick up the pace, or gamble with resting even less.