CB300: Final Leg to Glennallen

After three hours (and two minutes) of rest Aliy and nine team mates left Chistochina for the final leg back into Glennallen. Evidently they looked great leaving and were enthusiastic to get back onto the trail.

Returned Dog Update

Aliy left both Razz and Sanka with the handler crew in Chisto to finish the race in the truck. Razz developed some soreness in her back left leg while Sanka has is sore in her front right. They are both best not to continue running today. Both will receive lots of massage, rest and some anti-inflam meds and will take some time off to heal. We expect they will recover quickly. We are so proud of these two young ladies, they have been rockstars this weekend. Aliy was sorry to have to leave them.

The team had a great rest at the checkpoint and ate a good meal. Aliy managed a quick nap herself so all 10 athletes were keen to get moving again.

Immediately after the checkpoint the teams had to cross the road and take a sharp left behind the snow bank to get onto the trail. The handler crews were allowed and encouraged to help teams navigate this as it could be a little confusing. It was easier and more appealing for dogs to go straight down the road so Karolyn ran ahead of the team to indicate the way and they had no issues at all, Aliy even pulling off a beautifully controlled skid around the turn.

Some of this final leg parallels the road so spectators are able to watch for a while. The crew were able to find a spot where they could hide the dog truck and watch as they went by (nothing worse that getting 250 miles into the race and the dogs see their own truck and make a bee line for it). Aliy was ski-poling to both help keep the speed up and to keep herself warm. They were looking great as you will see from the video Lisa caught of the team as they went by.

The team is currently running in 4th position. They were about one hour behind Ryne and 1.5 hours ahead of Matt when they left the checkpoint as Matt had to take at least four hours stop at Chisto. This final leg is about 50 miles.

CB300 website describes this leg as follows: “Within one-half mile after leaving the Chistochina checkpoint, the race trail crosses over the second manned road crossing at MP 33 of the Tok Cut-Off Highway. From the road crossing, the race trail parallels the Tok Cut-Off Highway for ~ 30 miles southward toward the small community of Gakona along the historic Valdez to Eagle Trail. The race trail then spills out onto the Gakona River and follows it ~ 1 mile until passing under the Gakona River bridge, then up onto a riverside trail which parallels the Copper River for ~1 mile. The race trail then turns right and climbs uphill toward the highway and then turns left and parallels the road for ~1 mile toward the junction of the Tok Cut-Off Highway and the Richardson Highway. Once at the Gulkana River, the race trail crosses under the Richardson Highway bridge from east to west, and then out, paralleling the Richardson Highway while heading south towards the finish line in Glennallen. Total distance from the junction of the Tok Cut-Off Highway and Richardson Highway to the finish line in Glennallen at Old Paths Baptist Church is ~ 14 miles”.

GO TEAM!

The handler crew will now head back to Glennallen, thaw some meat and prepare a meal for the dogs to enjoy at the finish line then partake of the superb hospitality at Old Paths as they wait for the team to arrive home. Karolyn, Ryan and Lisa have worked hard over the weekend so hope they can enjoy a few hours of relative calm as they wait.