SPK Dog Log

Here they are – the team rosters for the race to Nome.

With Aliy on the Red Team will be Scout, Chemo, Chipper, Clyde, Commando, Dutch, Felix, Izzy, Kodiak, Mac, Mismo, Sandy, Schmoe, Scruggs, Waylon and Willie.

Sandy and Chemo join the Quest dogs on the trail to Nome

Everyone going with Aliy has run the Iditarod before and 14 of the team have just come off a third place finish in the Yukon Quest trail so are ready to keep going to Nome.

With Allen on the Black Team will be Quito, Chica, Lester, Nacho, Amber, Champ, Chena, Driver, Iron, Junior, Lydia, Nomex, Sissy, Spark, Tinder and Violet.

He has nine Iditarod rookies with him, Sissy will run her fourth, Driver and Junior will run their second, then there are 24 races between the ‘big four’ of Quito, Chica, Nacho and Lester so it is a real mix of youth and experience!

Chica and Nacho have 15 Iditarods between them under their harness

Find out more about each athlete by clicking here!

Biscuit and Boondocks are just fine, they were brought to Anchorage as ‘alternates’ but because Allen’s focus is on the two and three year olds this year, and because he had a large bench to choose from, they will both come home with us in the trucks and sit this one out. We wanted them to run in the Ceremonial Start yesterday so they were part of the festivities and they deserve some kudos for a fine season.

There is a bunch of great dogs at home also and it is always so hard to make these decisions but Aliy and Allen are happy and excited about their teams and are looking forward to getting them out on the trail. Everyone at home will be well looked after and will continue to go on some spring-time fun runs and may even get to come inside now and again to check out the tracker!

Note: As soon as the teams leave Willow we jump in the dog trucks and head back up to the kennel so I will be unable to post until late tonight. Keep an eye on our Facebook and Instagram page in the meantime as I may get a chance to share some pics there!

As promised, here are the videos from the Ceremonial starts this morning. As the route was only three miles long you will get to see almost the whole thing!! The videos are quite long so you might want to make a cuppa and put your feet up to really enjoy them!

First is Allen and Chris with the Black Team.

Thanks to Verizon Wireless for the GoPro!

Then it is Aliy and Moira with the Red Team.

For those wondering about the leis – Matson, SP Kennels biggest sponsor and also a major race sponsor, has been associated with shipping in Hawaii since 1882. To celebrate this association our teams, along with the teams Matson bought an Iditarider seat with, were presented with beautiful leis to wear today. Thanks team!

Allen is interviewed, the sleds are ready

Allen with all his Grandkids (pics: Jennifer Moore-Smith)

Boonie and her Matson lei, Bridgett and Jennifer (Allen’s daughters) leading the team to the line

Off they go!

Quito and Junior leading them all down Cordova Street (Pic: Lee Fisher)

Waylon is urine tested; “Sorry Scout, not today”

Thanks Fisher (and Kyle)! With Iditarider Robin

With Doug (Aliy’s Dad) at the start line

Almost ready

GO!

Heading down 4th Avenue

Selfie fun; Good Luck Aliy

Down Cordova Street (pic: Lee Fisher)

Cordova Street (pic: Lee Fisher)

This morning we take 12 dogs out on a three mile ceremonial run through downtown Anchorage! We are so pleased that we get to go through town, even though it is only three miles! We hope you see you there!!

Any dog from the musher’s short list of 20 may run in the ceremonial run but once they have run it with one musher they may not start in Willow for another musher. As we brought 34 possibles (to cover for any injuries or last minute issues) there may be a couple of dogs on the ceremonial run that won’t start on Sunday, but we will confirm the final rosters later tonight or tomorrow.

Allen’s Black Team for today is Quito and Junior, Lydia and Boonie, Tinder and Nomex, Lester and Champ, Sissy and Spark, Biscuit and Violet. Tracey Lauer is Allen’s Idia-rider and Chris will ride the tag sled.

Aliy’s Red Team is: Waylon and Scruggs, Kodiak and Schmoe, Mismo and Izzy, Commando and Chipper, Willie and Dutch, Chemo and Clyde. Aliy’s Idita-rider is Robin Bauer and Moira will ride the tag sled.

Check out the roster page for more details on each athlete.

Chris will be wearing a GoPro and Moira will have the video camera so we’ll get some footage to you as soon as we can after the run!

Matson, formerly Horizon Lines, has been a sponsor of SP Kennel since 2006 and we are celebrating the 10th year with them. We truly appreciate their support through thick and thin, and think of them more like family than a corporate sponsor-to-sponsoree relationship.

Wednesday evening Aliy, Allen, Mickey, Doug and Moira joined the Alaska team for dinner. Aliy and Allen told some fun (and some wild) stories from the trail and we showed a few videos and slideshows. It was a lovely, relaxed evening shared with good friends.

Friday morning we took Junior, Chica and Scruggs to visit the offices down at the Port of Anchorage and say hello!

Junior was full of energy, Chica was (as normal) pretty relaxed and lay down for a bit of a rest and Scruggs was charming!

THANK YOU MATSON!

Congratulations to Leona Norman who has won this week’s draw. Leona is a fan of Lester.

Lester is an extremely important dog at SP Kennel. He’s had a great season and was a main player in Aliy’s Yukon Quest 300 team. He is in Anchorage ready for his 5th Iditarod and will be one of the big men on Allen’s Black Team helping teach and support the youngsters on their way to Nome.

Lester with Aliy and the YQ300 Start Line in Fairbanks

As we are now in Anchorage for the Iditarod our prizes for the next few draws will be Iditarod themed! Leona wins a 2016 Iditarod poster signed by both Aliy and Allen, along with some other kennel goodies.

We will be having a number of other bonus and random draws over the next three weeks to win some great prizes such as signed food drop bags, posters and race guides.

The next draw will be for a copy of ‘Alaska” magazine and will be drawn on Tuesday! A familiar face graces the cover: those that have been with us for a while will remember Honda – part of the car litter (brother Scout will be running in Aliy’s team this year).

We’ll have draws throughout the race including when Aliy leaves McGrath checkpoint we will draw for the food drop bag pictured below. When Allen leaves Shaktoolik there will be another draw for the Shaktoolik bag.

The prizes for the next three Dog Fan Club draws

Also, to celebrate our ‘big three’ lead kennel sponsors we will do a bonus draw for a prize of a set of four Matson branded dog booties, a full set of signed Verizon signature cards and a sample of Eagle Pack dog food. Keep an eye out for other draws along the way…

If you haven’t already won this season or if you are a new member your name will be in the next draw. NOTE: you can win more than once if you are a fan of more than one dog!

Click the button below for instructions on how to join:

Click this button below to take you directly to the Dog Fan Page.

Also, remember everyone that joined before March 1st will receive a collectors SP Kennel Iditarod postcard posted from Nome at the conclusion of the race. Anyone who joined after that will have theirs posted from Pleasant Valley Store/Trailside Mail.

A packed house enjoyed entertainment, speeches and great food at the Denai’na Centre in downtown Anchorage this evening at the Mushers’ Banquet and Bib Draw. It’s always a great evening with many supporters and fans lined up to see Aliy and Allen and get their posters, programs and T-shirts signed and to take a selfie or two!

Awesome table centrepiece from “RES” in grade 3 from Raymond ME; breathtaking print from Zane Giles taken at Nenana during last year’s race

Some fans and supporters line up for Aliy’s picture and autograph; best hat of the night??

Mike Williams Snr blessed the race, the mushers and the dogs, and Hobo Jim was there to sing his famous “I did, I did, I did the Iditarod Trail” as well as the National Anthem and the Alaska Flag Song. The live and silent auctions raised a lot of money for the race and this year’s honorary musher Joanne Potts was honored for her many years of hard work for the Iditarod organisation.

Each musher then got to cross the stage, draw their bib number out of the mukluk and say a few words of thanks. Allen was first up and he drew number 5 for his team. He thanked major sponsors Matson, Eagle Pack and Verizon and all our dog and website sponsors and fans. The Black Team will leave the starting chute on Saturday at 10.06am.

Aliy thanked Alaska for being “her sweetheart” and also her team of 16 four legged family members. She thanked sponsors, friends, family and fans of not just her but of the dogs. The Red Team will be wearing number 13 for their journey to Nome. This means they will take off at 10.24am on Saturday morning for the Ceremonial Start.