TR200: First Leg Completed, Second Underway

We got both teams away safely from Chatanika Lodge and they headed into the hills for a 45-ish mile run to Two Rivers Lodge. This leg runs right by the Fort Knox goldmine, heading south and winding through a mountainous area. There are plenty of ups and downs, through Heritage Hills then on to Two Rivers Lodge. This part of the race is not over our local trails so is new to a lot of the dogs.

Red Team Update

Aliy and the Red Team arrived into the Lodge at 4:48pm with a run time of 4 hours, 48 minutes (that calculation was easy, I didn’t even need a calculator or to count on my fingers for that one!). Everyone snacked, slept and ate well. They stayed for three hours before heading off towards the Pleasant Valley Store. She was really pleased with the team, especially her youngsters.

Aliy left Chevie with the handler crew – she had appeared to be over her soreness from the CB and she completed a good stretch-out run in the days in between. This first leg with it’s hills, fresh snow and hard trail underneath seemed to aggravate it. She is back to the kennel and is getting some TLC and time off.

R&B Update

Jeff and his R&Bs had a great run over unfamiliar trails to arrive at the Lodge at 5:51pm for runtime of 5 hours, 41 minutes. With so many youngsters, Jeff will be taking a very conservative approach to his race plan with a slower pace, plenty of rest and maybe even a camp on the final leg.

The whole team slept really well at Two Rivers; when we arrived after seeing Aliy off even Decaf was asleep! Jeri said that as soon as the team arrived M “assumed the position” and she didn’t move, even to eat her dinner and have her booties put on.

Jeff said Gold and Bronze were rockstars and he was really happy with how everyone in the team had run.

Olivia is back at the kennel with us. Her right rear leg is sore, perhaps from stepping in a moose hole or such. She rested and ate with her team and now is back at her house telling Nacho that she is the shizzle.

As you can see, Willie is doing just fine! He spent some time inside this evening hanging with brother Scout, Quito and Tig.

Keep right up to date on the TRDMA website where the checkpoint times are being updated regularly. Make sure you also check out their Facebook page for pics, videos and news. Thanks to the volunteers keeping those pages current, we appreciate you!

Thanks also to the road crossing volunteers. Friday evening is a busy time for traffic to and from Fairbanks and crossing Chena Hot Springs Road can be tricky, so we appreciate them all for keeping our teams safe.