ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Rachael Scdoris, the legally blind musher from Bend who was running the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, scratched over concerns for the health of her dog team.

KGW

Rachael Scdoris, from Bend, Ore., drives her dog team across a lake during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race near McGrath, Alaska.

Scdoris scratched Friday morning at the checkpoint at Koyuk. The 22-year-old musher had eight dogs in her team when she decided to pull out.

Mushers begin the race with 16 dogs and must finish with at least five.

Photos: Iditarod start in Anchorage

Joe Runyan, the 1989 Iditarod champion who was serving as Scdoris' visual interpreter, stayed in the race.

On Saturday, he was headed for Nome and expected to be the next racer to finish.

Runyan, 59, retired from racing years ago but got back on the trail to help Scdoris, who completed the race in 2006.

Also: Exploding stove halts Corvallis doctor's Iditarod quest