CB300 – Sourdough Checkpoint

The run from Meiers Lake to Sourdough was fast! As handlers we start the race with an estimate from our mushers of their run times. Of course so much of this depends on trail conditions, number of teams to pass, snack breaks, tangles etc but Aliy and Allen are pretty good at estimating their times. Allen nearly caught us out, he and his team mates ran fast! Reports are there were sections of open water and overflow but it was generally a fast trail. This trail is hilly with some narrow, windy and technical downhill sections.

The BLACK team rest

They settled in for a four hour rest and Allen stayed with the team the entire time rather than go to musher accommodation for a rest. Check out this very quick video and see if you can spot dog #13 curled up and napping in the straw.

Allen was keen to get back on the trail and get on with this race!

Aliy was parked in a different part of the checkpoint so I didn’t get to see much of her but Christine and Lidia report that her team is still looking good and raced that section of the trail well. Aliy arrived with frozen boots again due to the overflow but after some time spent in the musher cabin drying out while her team mates slept, she left the checkpoint with her game face on. Anything can happen, there is still a long way to go in this race!

We have just caught up with the news the Meghan has arrived in Sourdough. She was looking forward to getting the technical down-hill section behind her so she will be enjoying her rest there. The very different schedules of the BLACK and RED teams versus Meghan’s RnBs now means I most likely won’t see her until the finish line. She is being well looked after by her handlers Wes and Josh but it will be strange for me to watch her progress through tracker and stats only.

Right now I am going to get some sleep. Catch you soon.