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March 8, 2014 by

It’s 8.30am Alaska time.

Aliy and her 11 team-mates left Kaltag and are on their way to Unalakleet! The GPS tracker shows they are currently stopped so it looks like they could be camping for a while before continuing to the next checkpoint.

Since the last update they left Nulato after resting about three hours. The rumours about dropping two dogs there were correct and she left with 12 team mates. She’s left another in Kaltag. As much as it will be disappointing to leave her friends behind Aliy will be confident she’s doing the right thing by them and she knows they are in good hands with the vets and volunteers at the checkpoint.

In an interview at Galena with the Insider Bruce Lee asks Aliy about Buser’s lead and that she had narrowed the gap. She says she handn’t really thought about it and she’s still sticking to her plan. In other stories it sounds like a bunch of the top mushers are doing the same. It is easy for us to see the information; compare run times and know who’s leading who and by how much but the mushers don’t have access to the same information, and it appears that in the checkpoints when they can see it, a lot of them don’t even look at it. It shows tremendous patience and faith in their strategies that they are confident enough to carry on doing what they planned despite what is going on around them. I guess this will change in the closing stages but at this point there is still about one third of the race to go.

Allen and the Black Team have completed their eight hour layover in Ruby and are currently clipping along to Galena. Allen is running a very different schedule to Aliy and his focus will be to get as many of his 12 team mates to Nome as possible. Allen is great at this – obviously he is a tremendous competitor and has shown that with his Yukon Quest and Copper Basin 300 record but he’s also really good at coaching a less experienced team along the trail. It’s a different skill set and it’s important for the future of the kennel to introduce as many dogs to the trail as possible.

A dropped dog update is coming soon; we’re expecting a flight into Anchorage and hopefully some SP dogs are on it!

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16 Responses

  • Did I see that Aliy has dropped the caboose off her sled? Can you tell us what was in the caboose and if this was planned?

  • Thanks so much for this report!

    The dogs never bother with reading the posted material – they just keep on mushing – woof, woof, woof!!!

  • Thanks for the updates. It's great to hear about the race and how the Red & Black teams are doing. Good luck! We're cheering all the way over here in Mass.

  • I must admit, when I became SPK Dog Sponsor I didn't realize how much of a bond I would have with a dog I never met…but I have to admit….it's strong and palpable….at least for me. I was touched a few weeks back when the SPK Crew emailed me with the news Chemo had been dropped at Scroggie on the Yukon Quest. I was blown away with their sincere need to include me in the news before it was posted….I didn't expect them to take the time to do this….and it really touched me. So now when I see SPK team members being dropped in the stats, my heart first goes out to Aliy or Allen for the loss they must feel from having a friend…a true friend, being left behind on the adventure…but I also feel for the dog and for their sponsor, whomever that may be. In a strange kind of way, I feel like a family…albeit a cyber family but a strong family type connection to SPK….we as your fans and supporters deeply care about the dogs and the two legged folks at SPK…..and you reciprocate that caring….that is what makes you special. So yeah, like a family….a big cyber family…we care about everyone's well being. I think that is what Aliy, Allen and the rest of the SPK Crew wanted to build. And as corny as it may sound, that cyber family extends into the Dog Log too….because even though most of us are strangers….SPK brings us together and there is something really cool about that.

  • Go, Aliy and Team! I keep all my blog pals up to date thru the day on their progress. Hoping Quito is still the lead.
    TY for updates.

  • Cheering you all along from New Zealand. An awesome blog and what a team. Full respect! Go SPKennel

  • I´m still following the race. Good luck Aliy and Allen and your teams.
    Thanks for sharing the updates. In this way I get a lot of informations, here in Germany, near Hamburg.

  • I always enjoy Nessmuk's posts and can simply say DITTO! Being a RED/BLACK team member and dog fan is fantastic; I'm looking forward to the opportunity to sponsor one of these incredible 4 legged athletes one day.

  • I am rooting for Aliy from work here in Southern California.
    I so hope this is her year. I am so sorry that especially Bisquit had to be dropped. What a dog.

    Go Aliy, Go Red Team dogs!

  • I love these updates. For us arm chair mushers this is a true treat and I'm happy to be part of the SP Kennel family.

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