What an exciting race that ended up to be! We’re so proud and excited about the result and they way all our teams performed!
We understand the trackers were misbehaving so it must have been agonising for you all. I can tell you it was a nervous wait for Ray and I at the finish. Little whispers and murmurs could be heard amongst the crowd that gathered, speculating on what was happening and who would get there first. It was a feeling of relief followed by excitement as we recognised the team coming our way first.
As soon as they crossed the line and all the paperwork had been finished Allen was whisked away to the Old Paths Baptist Church for an interview with KCAM, one of the local ratio stations for an interview, and a couple of plates of chilli.
The dogs looked great; I know I say that a lot but the really did! They ate several snacks right there in the finish cute then we took them to the truck where they had a kibble meal before getting into their straw beds. What a team eh?
Aliy came into Glennallen upbeat and excited, as did her team. She was proud of all of them and she came over the line with Scruggs and Waylon in lead. If you check the CB300 race stats you will see that Aliy went over her mandatory 18 hours of rest. She was at Tolsona Lake Resort checkpoint around about the time Allen and Nic Petit were about to cross the finish line so she decided to stick around for a while, enjoy a tasty burger and embark her final run with the knowledge Allen and his team were the 2014 CB champions.
We have just returned from seeing Meghan and her Red and Black team cross the line. She really went for it from Tolsona hoping to make up a place which they managed to pull off in the last two miles. Her team finished looking strong and was lead by Ranger all the way! Apparently she was channelling Allen at the second Tolsona pass through: she stopped for two minutes, the minimum allowed as mushers have to sign in and out if they are “blowing through” a checkpoint, and started throwing out all unnecessary items in her sled to make it lighter! We’ve seen the strategy work so why not try it? I look forward to talking to Meghan about her race and I’m sure she will write a post to tell you all about her team of stars.
Thanks to the team at the Old Paths church who hosted the finish and had crock-pots of soup, chilli and home baking for whoever wanted to enjoy it. It was much appreciated!
Finally all dogs, mushers and handlers are either fast asleep or just about to… just as soon as I finish this sentence… Goodnight. You will hear from me again during the coming week when I get videos edited and uploaded and hear more of the stories from the trail but in the meantime: thank you for following along! It’s been fun; tiring but fun.
Great final race report….a big thanks to the entire SPK Crew for keeping us all informed as the race progressed! Congrats to all 3 Teams….you did us fans proud! Now onto the Yukon Quest!
What a treat this has been! I enjoyed cheering for red, black, and red & black mushers, dogs AND handlers… individually and collectively. Enjoy your time for the three "r's"… rejoice, reflect, and recharge.
Frances
Really enjoyed following this race…tracker crashes and all…Allen is in front, no Nicholas is, no that was 17 minutes ago, Allen track was 23 minutes ago! Haha…great racing SP Kennels!
That is so awesome that Aliy got to "watch" Allen's finish. Like Allen taking time to watch Aliy's 2013 Iditarod finish.
SPK is so impressive! Thirty six dogs that performed great, three mushers, and twenty eight dogs that made it all the way to the finish on a tough course with a sprint at the end.
And Meghan…
Meghan takes her team out for a "training race", takes five extra official hours of rest at check points, camps between, keeps ten of her four legged teammates for the entire trek, and out performs almost two thirds of the field.
Wow
Wow
Wow!
Yes, a magnificent effort to report to all of us and it has been so satisfying!!! Thanks so much, so very, very much!!!
And thanks for the explanation about the Red Team – after all, Red, Black and R&B are really…all on the same team! A family!!!
–Margaret
Thank you for such a great race report. SP Kennel did themselves proud. All mushers-handlers-support -video & reporting crew PLUS the fantastic Dogs. What a race.
Thanks for all posts – the DogLog coverage team is number 1! Just like Allen's Black Team. Congrats to all the dogs and mushers for their successful races. Onward to YQ – go SPK!
Many congratulations to Alyi and Meghan!!! And DOGS!!!
A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU to the SP Kennel crew and handlers. Moira, you have done a completely flawless job! Many congratulations!!! Mac, you were great!!! Handlers, kudos to all of you!
WOW! yeah for all the Doggies and mushers, it was an awesome race and yes the trackers did confuse and mislead us. experience reminds me to keep watching and expecting the best! I watched Meghan and even did the math late midnight and knew she could do it! She is a bonefied SP Kennel musher extraordinaire. Meghan was a team member. Know your dogs, keep them well and the team will do their best!! BIG thanks to team coverage, you ROCK! Woof, Woof to all!
Padee Santa Rosa CA
So much fun to follow this race. Thanks to you and Mac for all the extras. Great job mushers, handlers and, of course, all the SP Kennel superstars!