At 9.11pm the Red Team left Koyuk in fourth position heading towards Elim some 48 miles away. She is currently about 30 miles behind Dallas Seavey, about 15 miles behind Aaron Burmeister and 5 or so miles behind Mitch Seavey. They are all breaking the trail in front of her. Jessie Royer left one minute after her.
Aliy left with all 13 team mates.
I want to point you in the direction of this story by Emily Schwing and a quote by Aliy “You can only race as hard as your dog team can go and then you can’t race any harder, so that is a pill that everyone has to swallow and swallow with a smile on your face.” She knows each member of her team well; she’s known them since the day they were born and has personally raised and trained them all. She knows how hard she can push and what the limit is. Rest assured, she will be racing as hard as she can to catch these three guys in front of her and to stay in front of Jessie, Joar, Jeff and the others behind her.
In an interview with the Insider in Koyuk, Mitch Seavey spoke about how he and Aliy got caught in some weather coming into Shaktoolik that blew them off the trail and maybe lost them both about half an hour. It’s a good interview, check it out if you can. He talks about the importance of having a rested team if weather becomes a factor and what a difficult call it is to make; whether to let other teams get ahead or to rest and make up time on them during the runs if their dogs tire.
To find out more about the leg she has just embarked on click here for Donald Bowers Jnr’s write-up.
Here is a screen shot (sorry for poor quality) from the Insider video of the Red Team coming into Koyuk. Look at all those happy faces!
Allen plus 14 Black Team have left Kaltag at 8.58pm after just under eight hours break. They are heading for the coast and Unalakleet checkpoint and seem to be travelling with Chuck Schaeffer, Yvonne Dabakk and Rick Casillo at the moment.
As stressed out as we are in Texas hitting the GPS refresh button, we know Aliy knows best and have full confidence and adoration for her! Hoping for a great run after the rest! Go red team, go!
Beautiful screen shot. It looks like everyone, on the Red team, is trying to get his or her happy face on camera.
Black team with 14 dogs out of Kaltag, great!
Yep the doggies welfare is most important and Aliy and Allen are tremendous examples of that. From watching and reading everything on the iditarod insider it is a wonderful trait all the current day mushers have in common that's why you see so many happy dogs on the trail . But the Red and Black are extra special 👏😍 woof woof from Melbourne , Australia .
What a cute picture.
I think Aliy, Allen and the entire SP Team are such great athletes, and I am proud to be a fan. You teach others by your dedication to the sport. You gain fans because of your commitment to your dogs, not because of how you finish.
Full faith that Aliy knows what is best for her team and that's exactly what she will do. Wonderful example for my students who are cheering her on.
Red and Black Teams safe and happy trails for the rest of the run. I think you're incredible ★★★★★Go SPkennel
Aliys statement is about as true and honest as you can get! Knowing your dogs….never putting them into the position of failing and keeping them healthy and happy puts a smile on everyone's face….including ours!
Amazing journey…..appreciate all the updates and pics. Keeping paws crossed for the Red and Black Teams.
The Red and Black teams are the very best in the world. And whatever position they arrive in Nome is, they are winners nevertheless!!! Aliy is running a great race with the team's well being first and foremost on her mind.
Let's just think that 99.99% of the mushing teams in the world could not even attempt to run in a race like the Iditarod!!! And, she and her pups are among the front runners anyway!!!
Aliy and pups, you are the very best (truck, golden harness or not). We love you!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Ditto to Nikki. Well said.
Couldn't have said it better!!!
Best, woof, woof. and wof,
Margaret
Thanks for putting things into perspective! Sometimes we get caught up in -win.
Thanks for the timely link to the trail overview page (sometimes we forget to check for these things…speaking for myself).
As well as the link to the excellent, once again, Emily Schwing article.
Best,
Margaret
This is such a beautiful screen grab and really catches how adorable, beautiful and powerful these awesome 4-legged team member are!
Perhaps these dogs are saying "We want a Chevie (Truck)" the one named after SP Kennel family" – just a thought.
Aliy is a champion regardless of her ultimate placement. We fans admire her care for her dogs and her recognition of the reality that the team can go only as fast as the slowest and most tired dog. Love the screen shot…those are not stressed dogs, but dogs having the time of their life. This is what these dogs are born to do!
Aliy is giving her best shot for sure, but it appears that four of them are now racing for second place.
Thanks, Aliy for your steadfast love and care of all your dogs. The fabulous dogs of SPK are the key part of any race. Aliy you are respected & admired by all your fans. The picture of the Red team coming into Koyuk says it all. What happy faces & what a great looking team of dogs. Go Aliy & Red team. Thanks for update on Allen and Black team.
These are the reasons we all love Aliy and SP Kennel…so proud to be a fan!
I'd like to see Aliy and Jesse be in the top five. I appreciate Aliy's attitude.
Tell her to GO GIRL ANYWAY & talk to the GIRLS on her team. We still miss Kipper. From former volunteers
I have to agree wholehearted with all of the posts so far. I, too, like Texas, have kept hitting the tracker button–feeling a little frustrated. But then, I, too, began to put things in perspective after reading Emily Schwing's article. thank you for the link.
I think we all who are fans of Aliy, Allen and the dogs of SP kennels have one thing in common: we all believe that the safety and care of the dogs, their limitations and their health trump winning a race.
Sorry if if this post is longer than it should be. I am the ONLY Iditarod follower in my area, and it is such a treat for me to read, learn and share with others. Thank you.