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March 11, 2016 by

We just caught a very quick Iditarod Live feed snippet of Aliy and the Red Team coming in to Galena. She “declared” her mandatory eight hour stop here. When asked why Galena she said “It fits my schedule and I have to do eight hours somewhere”.

Even though she did “declare” (well, I do declare…) her rest it doesn’t mean she HAS to stop that long and is allowed to leave the checkpoint before the time is up. She would, however, then have to do eight hours somewhere else.

The dogs loped happily into the checkpoint and after checking in, Aliy asked if they were “ready?” to move to their parking spot and they all snapped to attention and looked as if they were just has happy to keep going!

The feed showed Aliy giving the dogs some medication – it would likely be an Omeprazole/Prilosec tablet. This is an approved medication for the prevention of gastric ulcers. Dr Mike Davis and his team, who have done several research projects at SP Kennel, have done extensive research into this and it is now very common, and strongly advised, that mushers give omeprazole or pepcid to their teams every day. The tablet must be given three hours after food and half an hour before food so by giving them the tablet immediately when they arrived, Aliy can then continue her checkpoint chores and give them their snacks and meals as normal.

Sebastian Schnuelle has two great posts full of pictures of the Red Team, one on the Yukon River on the way to the checkpoint, the other when they arrived.


Sebastian Schnuelle’s pic of the Red Team on the Yukon River before Galena

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24 Responses

  • Yippie, here we goooooo! Dogs look great, Aliy is chipper but I am sure tired!

    Exciting! I have such a hard time telling the dogs apart, they look so much alike to me … so glad you identify who is in what position.

  • Go Team!

    In a future post, I would love to hear Aliy and Allen's thoughts on the lastest trend to carry dogs.

  • WOOF, WOOF, WOOF!!!

    My, Mismo is a BIG BOY!!!

    Thanks so much for pulling all this info together in one spot!!!

    Best,

    Margaret

  • The link for the Yukon River pics by Sebastian,
    http://iditarod.com/musher/aliy-zirkle-on-the-yukon-river/

    Aliy's team is looking fantastic!!!
    Sebastian's pics are beautiful.
    It's wonderful she has so many strong team members with her at this point. She is clearly working hard to keep them all so healthy.
    Hopefully the entire team will get some much needed rest in Galena.
    🙂
    No sleeping on twisted paws guys! We want you all looking perky on the rest of that Yukon River.
    🙂

    Moira and team you are taking such excellent care of us SPK fans!!!

  • Tracker Break Trivia, Answer

    To date, which team of 10 dogs made it all the way to Nome in the fastest time?

    The team of 10 dogs who made it all the way to Nome the fastest was: the 2014 SPK Red team: Quito, Nacho, Willie, Waylon, Clyde, Pud, Olivia, Boondocks, Mac and Sissy.

    They were accompanied by their musher Aliy Zirkle, and assisted in the earlier portion of the race by their teammates, Scruggs, Scout, Chemo, Biscuit, Schmoe, and CHICA (who took a rest just short of the finish at Safety).

    Yes, CHICA was part of that amazing team!!!
    To date this finish, is the second fastest in the history of the Iditarod.
    Their time was 8 days, 13 hours six minutes and 41 seconds.
    WOOHOO!
    SPK!
    🙂

  • I saw pictures of Aliy and she looks great! Well rested! Love the video TOT got of her coming in and over the trail berm. Hey, the dogs know where to go.

  • Patricia Lewis,
    Teams have been carrying dogs for years, either to slow the team, preserve the energy of those carried, or because they have a special leader for a certain part of the trail.

    I am going to take a wild guess at how Aliy feels….
    Aliy has said in interview that she does not like to drop dogs because she and the dog do not get the full experience of the race.
    With that in mind, I doubt she would feel a dog carried in a trailer to benefit the speed of the team, would be getting the full experience of the race. Even though she might feel better not having to ride the brakes.

    If Aliy ever drops a dog or carries a dog, we can count on that being because it is best for the dog.

    But if she wanted to experiment with the, look at me I'm riding in the tag sled and I'm a DOG, I would support her.

  • I had a hard time finding the TOT video on the ID website that Dawn mentioned, but I found it through a Facebook post. So if any of you are like me and couldn't find it, or if you are not on Facebook, I copied the link below. Aiky said Gee and they went right over the berm, even though it looked like the trail went the other way. Sled dogs are awesome, and SPK dogs are much more than awesome.

    http://itcteacheronthetrail.com/2016/03/11/a-galena-welcome-for-aliy/

    Thanks Dawn!

  • My favorite picture of Sebastians photo shoot is Sandy….is that dog having fun or what!!!!! I said this before, and I'll say it again….I think the SPK Dogs look to be the happiest on the trail….after all, thats what it is all about…fun on the trail with your best buddies!

    I love the fact both Brent and Aliy are holding to their set schedules and not experimenting with this dog hauling trend….perhaps their approach will be considered "old school" by the end of this race, but its a true and tried technique!!!

    I think I can speak for all the Dog Log Fans out there….we are loving this SPK "transition" year! Kodiak and Commando and Izzy and Felix and Dutch and Sandy and Chipper and Mismo…you all are making us smile ear to ear!!!

    Rest up….Iditarod 2016 "Part Two" coming up!

  • Why don't they count the times she camps on the trail as part of her lay over mandatory time. Do the other mushers do this too? She and the the team seems to enjoy and rest better than at checkpoints. With GPS and timing and monitoring available today this should be possible. I do think this does show her respect for her dogs and I use her as an example to my lower 48 friends who think this is cruel

  • Yo Ken, I know the rules allow it but that carrying dogs bothers me. I do not see a good, valid reason to carry a dog unless it has been hurt or given out and you need to get it to the next check point to drop it. PERIOD!! I'm not a musher or even a semi-expert fan but I do not like this trend!! I would almost feel like proposing a rule change next year to ban it!!

    More mushers are camping away from checkpoints–better rest and more of the old trail feel, I think. That mandatory time rule could be reviewed but I don't expect that any time soon. I guess people are afraid of cheating even with GPS?? And stops at a checkpoint give access to press more and fans and stuff which helps financial support for the race. Lots of pros and cons. Just MHO as a dedicated and intense fan who is deep into research on the long distnce race phenomenon.
    Feel free to write me at email addy to rebut, question or whatever! Ken, no email addy came up for you; did you check that??

  • There are a couple of videos of Aliy and team coming into Galena. One is on teacher on the trail, the other is on you tube. For both search wit Aliy, Galena. The you tube one is really good, shows them coming off the river.

    Go Aliy and team! Woohoo!

    Sandy H.

  • Cindy,
    Thanks for the link!
    Aliy did say Gee, her leaders were listening. She said over the berm, OK, over the berm. lol
    Good Dawgs!!!
    🙂
    Either she knew the road would be better, or she really needed the 8 hours.
    🙂

  • I would like more information on the studies performed at the kennel regarding stomach ulcers. I have a Tamaskan which is a rare breed composed of Husky, Malamute, German Shepherd, Northern Inuit. Many Tamaskans have sensitive tummies and I wonder if Pepcid might be a good idea for the breed.

  • Thanks, Anonymous, for schooling me. I honestly hadn't heard of it before. Wow.

  • I may be speaking out of turn however by having some of your team riding its no longer distance racing its sprint type racing for some of the dogs on the team I am totally against carrying dogs unless for health reasons . just mho

  • Aliy & team , did the 8hrs. in Galena @ 10:46 pm they left.
    They all look GOOD..
    Follow You Aliy, Go, Go.
    Hi, from Florida, Brita

  • I am also opposed to carry dogs unless they are injured. What is the point of the race if it is not to have your dogs perform. Thanks to both Aliy & Allen that they do not carry dogs, but let them perform to the best of their abilities(as do many other mushers). Okay rant over. Go Aliy and Allen.

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