Eureka Lodge Layover Two

4:00AM is an exciting time around Eureka Lodge Checkpoint—at least for the SP Kennel team! Aliy was expected any time between 4:30-5:00 AM, and the SP Kennel team was ready and waiting. To our delight, she pulled in at 4:26AM with a run time of 5.01. She is 21 minutes ahead of the now second place, Jeff King who pulled in at 4:47AM. Her out time is 9:26AM. She was happy with the run, the trail improved with less overflow in this stretch. However, a stiff wind came up, and running over the hills with blowing snow was a bit more challenging. The dogs look good, and Quito and Butterscotch led the team to first place on the second leg.

Ryne arrived at 5:34AM, with a run time of 6.02 on this second leg with Pud and Beemer in lead. She had already overtaken Bruce Linton to move into second place when she took a wrong turn on the trail. However, she righted herself and is currently 11th in the overall standings of the race. She is really happy with the way the team is running, and says she feels “quite spry” after the run. She is looking to make up for lost time on the third leg of the race and break into the top ten again. Her out time is at 10:34AM.

As mentioned, the weather is a bit uncooperative at the moment, with a wind kicking up, and really blowing over the hills. There is snowfall overnight, and with the wind drifting has occured. Aliy and Ryne are both resting up for the final leg of the race, and both teams are quietly sleeping in their straw despite the wind.