SPK Dog Log

WOOHOO! How good was that?!

We’re so proud of Allen and his Black Team of Junior, Chipper, Mismo, Tinder, Nelson, Kodiak, Schmoe, Scooter, Outlaw, Commando, Clyde and Felix finishing in 3rd position. And of Aliy and her Red Team of Waylon, Dutch, Scout, Lydia, Willie, Boonie, Chemo, Spark, Scruggs, Nomex, Driver and Sandy finishing closely behind in 4th place.

With the “changing of the guard” that has happened this season, this is a FANTASTIC result for the kennel and we are delighted with how well the younger and more inexperienced team members fared this weekend. They had a steep learning curve and did so well! It bodes very well for the future (and, indeed, the present) of SP Kennel.

We are also over the moon that our “more mature” athletes Scout, Scruggs, Willie, Waylon and Boonie showed they still have it, and can still keep pace with the youngsters!

Congrats also to Matt Hall and Ryne Olson on very well executed races. Two Rivers was certainly well represented in the results. It truly is home to the best mushing in the world – well, we think so anyway.

Thanks to you all for following along with us – what a ride huh? It really makes it special when we know so many of you are right there with us even though we are scattered all around the globe! We appreciate your support.

More details and a wrap-ups to follow but now everyone – dogs, mushers and handlers will be getting some hard earned rest.

Nelson was left with the handler team in Mendentna as he had developed a sore shoulder in the run from Sourdough.

As Allen will be hoping for a very fast final leg he didn’t want to risk turning Nelson’s shoulder into a major injury so he reluctantly left him with Wes, Mark and Chris. Nelson is a hard charging and pulling dog and Allen will notice his absence.

Nelson had been doing such a great job up until that point but he will be back with his team mates in a few short hours. He will get some rest and extra attention for the next little while to recuperate.

Our teams are on the final sprint for the finish! Let’s go!

Matt Hall (2) was first out of the checkpoint at 2.53am followed by Allen (25) 29 minutes later at 3.22am, Ryne (40) six minutes behind him with Aliy (9) three minutes later. You call follow on the GPS tracker here!

The leaderboard is showing Allen left with 10 dogs; at this point we are not sure who he left with the handler team and will let you know as soon as we find out. Aliy left with all 12 of her Red Team team mates.

Right now the handler team will be cleaning up the straw and equipment from the parking spots then will head down the road back to Glennallen where they will set up the trucks to welcome the teams home with a warm meal, some thawed fish and meat snacks (for the dogs!) as well as food and water for the mushers. The finish line is at the Old Path’s Church and I have very fond memories of the slow-cookers full of great chilli as well as cookies and brownie…

Chris, Wes and Mark have done an amazing job to keep up with both teams. Having them running so close together can make for some logistical issues when greeting the teams at checkpoints and getting them out again safely. Well done lads!! They will be looking forward to some rest themselves as I doubt any of them have had much sleep over the last three days.

Now is when we need to unleash the full force of our “distance support team”! Yell as loud and long as you can – if we are loud enough they might just hear us! Let us know in the comments where you are yelling from! Can you hear me from New Zealand?

GO! GO! GO!

With the top teams all in the last checkpoint at Mendeltna, we finally know exactly where they stand:

Matt will leave the checkpoint in just a few minutes, then Allen and Aliy will follow him 29 and 38 minutes later. Their dogs have had an extra hour of rest at the checkpoint, and that may help their improve their speed over the final 50+ miles to the finish line. It’s been a very close race all along, and it should be a nail-biter to the last minute!

Our good friend Ryne will leave the checkpoint in between Allen and Aliy, with an hour’s more rest on her dogs in the checkpoint. She is in excellent position to sprint to victory as well. Nic has saved the most rest time in the final checkpoint (6 hours) and we will have to see how that strategy works out for him. His run time into Mendeltna was about 30-minutes slower than the other four teams, so his dogs will really have to rebound after their longer rest to make up the difference.

Let’s get ready to rumble!

Both teams have just pulled into the last checkpoint at Mendeltna Creek Lodge for their final rest before heading for the finish line in Glennallen. We are excited! But first they must rest…

Here, all teams must see out their remaining rest to finish with a total of 18 hours + time differential.

We’ve seen a number of different rest strategies throughout the race, and as a result leading pack have varying remaining rest requirements from three hours to six hours so it is still anyone’s race.

Allen and the Black Team pulled in at 11.22pm and have a runtime over the 74-ish miles of 7 hours, 54 minutes. The Red Team with Aliy pulled in behind them at 11.31pm with THE EXACT SAME RUN TIME of 7 hours, 54 minutes. We are excited and delighted at how well both teams are tracking at this point especially considering some the relative inexperience on both teams.

During their rest breaks both Allen and Aliy will be ensuring the teams get as much rest as possible and get well hydrated and fed ready for the sprint home. They’ll be massaging muscles and giving their canine team mates lots of loving! Both mushers will be shedding any extra gear in their sleds to travel as lightly as possible. They will carry only the mandatory gear, some canine and human snacks and contingency gear in case of breakdown or other issues.

NOTE: Mandatory items for this race include a cold weather sleeping bag, a 22 inch hand axe, a pair of snowshoes, a three gallon cooker and cooking gear, adequate food for dogs and mushers and at least eight booties for each dog. Mandatory items are checked when teams arrive at a checkpoint and also when they cross the finish line.

Once teams leave this checkpoint it is the only time in the race when the GPS tells the actual story of who is leading. At that point we’ll be calling on you to holler as hard as you can so get ready!

We just heard from the handler team that they have JUNIOR with them in the truck.

Allen decided to leave her behind at Sourdough as she had a sore tricep, and as the leg to Mendenltna is a long one he didn’t want to aggravate it further. With some rest and massage she should be just fine.

Up until that point she had been doing a stellar job and Allen was disappointed she couldn’t continue.

Getting exciting now huh?

Both teams are now on the trail heading towards Mendeltna Creek Lodge checkpoint after six hours rest. This is the longest leg of the race and, as Macgellan said, this is where the fitness and motivation of the dogs and mushers becomes the critical factor.

We understand Allen has dropped one dog but this stage we don’t know who that is. As soon as we find out we’ll let you know. Thanks for your patience as we try to get this information.

This leg skips across a number of lakes including Middle Lake, Fish Lake, Crosswind and Lake Louise before it starts to climb up again, following Lake Louise Road for a time. After that it is down hill to the final checkpoint at the Lodge.

We will hopefully hear from the handler team soon as they drive back through Glennallen to get to the checkpoint. We got a quick text from them saying that the pace of the race is such that they are not getting much rest themselves!

Keep hitting refresh, keep sending good vibes and maybe we could all start yelling now!

With the top teams now in Sourdough, here’s an update on their total run times.

As you can see, Matt Hall has continued his strong run and now has a 22 minute lead on Allen. Ryne Olson has poured on the speed to take third spot, with Aliy and Nic rounding out the top five. They are all within about 30 minutes of the top speed!

Teams are at about the half-way mark of the race, so now is when training, stamina and determination really start to come into play. Although all the top teams have taken their mandatory 6-hour plus start differential rest, they have taken slightly varied amounts of total rest so far. We’re getting closer to the point where position on the GPS tells the true story, but not quite yet… Stay tuned!