SPK Dog Log

We’ve just got back to the kennel but first things first: I know you all so well that I’m certain the first thing you want to know about is who was dropped from the Black Team in Manley.

“Big O” (Olivia) rode in the truck with us from Manley back to the kennel. She has tweaked her left pectoral muscle and so cannot continue with the race. Coming into the checkpoint Allen noticed she was favoring her left leg so upon arrival he massaged her with Algyval and wrapped her leg in vet wrap and, as she seemed happy to stay for a while, he let her rest with the team in the sunshine. Shortly before the team left the checkpoint he completed the paperwork with the veterinarian staff, who were very attentive and kind, and left her with us. She enjoyed her sleep, stretched out in the sun and was a bit confused about leaving the team.

As she was being examined by the vet crew away from the team a group howl went up, which she joined in on. We think they were saying “See you later Big O!”

On a regular Iditarod year, handlers are not able to take dropped dogs from any checkpoint. They are normally all cared for by veternarian staff and volunteers within the checkpoint and transported back to Anchorage or forwards Nome, depending where on the race they are dropped. On this race we were able to take them from both the Nenana and Manley checkpoints. From Tanana onwards all the dogs will go to Anchorage or Nome as normal.

It is nice to have Olivia home already and back at her house starting her rehab. She was able to tell her near neighbour, and daughter Lydia, all about how her siblings are getting on. Allen was extremely sorry to have to leave her as she is such a superstar but, of course, she could not continue and it is best for both her and the team to drop her.

Thank you for your caring and concern.

Aliy and Nacho

Every year, the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is unique.  Each race has its own pace, face, trials, tribulations, joys and moments. The 2015 race is no different.  From the moment that the Fairbanks Restart was announced, this race took on a completely different feel! After SP Kennel’s blitz to Anchorage and back, it was a relief to load the dogs from their own houses (and Aliy and Allen from theirs!) into the trucks this morning.  We were quite a sight, dog trucks and cars making our way into Fairbanks at 6 am, snow falling from the sky. By 8:30, the temperature had dropped to a nice 0 degrees and should steadily fall over the night tonight to about -20.  Perfect dog mushing weather!

Red Team Start

At about 10:40 am AST, the Iditarod Officials started the Red Team on their trek up to the starting line.  It took us along the road that stretches from the Tanana Chief Riverboat to the boat launch at Pikes, more our summer haunts than our winter ones.  As we approached the starting line, the “Aliy” chants began.  The crowd welcomed their hometown racer and Yukon Quest Champion.  After about a minute and a half in the shoot, Aliy hopped on the runners and began her journey to Nome.  Aliy has done presentations at many of the schools around Fairbanks and most schools in the area were at the start today.  She had children cheering for her for over a mile after the start.

Black Team

The handlers quickly made their way back to the parking area and began preparing the Black Team. Our march to the starting line was a steady one, with only one quick stop at a hair pin turn and another brief one on deck.  The crowd greeted their 2 time Quest Champion with a loud cheer. Allen barely had time to make a last inspection before he and the Black Team were also off down the trail.



The first two checkpoints, Nenana and Manley, are like Quest checkpoints.  After grabbing something to eat, Moira, Spenser, Meghan and Doug took the dog truck to Nenana to meet the teams.  Moira reported that both teams looked great!

As always, the SPK DogLog will be the place to come for unashamedly SP Kennel focussed coverage of the race.

We will be following our team on the Iditarod Insider – that has both the GPS Trackers and videos. If you haven’t already, you may consider getting this package for yourself if you can, as it is the best way to follow the race. A bit of a disclaimer though – we are not responsible for any yelling at or throwing of computers as you watch the tracker!

Check out the Iditarod Trail Committee Website and Facebook page for updates also. They will have some great photos daily and update on the main stories and current standings.

We’ll also be keeping an eye on all the local media as they will have reporters and photographers following the trail and try to link you to their stories.

We appreciate in advance your patience as we get confirmation and details about any dogs that are dropped from either team. We’ll get that information to you as soon as possible but the teams are travelling through very remote parts of Alaska and sometimes it can take a while for it to get to us. Rest assured we will post the info as soon as we can so your patience is appreciated.

We hope you enjoy following along!

Note:Once we get the teams on their way from Fairbanks we will be going to the Nenana and Manley checkpoints to rendezvous with them again. It is unlikely I will be able to post anything from either of those places to the blog but do keep an eye on our Instagram and Facebook pages, I will post a few pictures I get along the way. Once we’re back at the kennel I will catch you up with videos and pictures on the blog.

Leading out Aliy and the Red Team this morning is Scout and Waylon, Quito and Nacho will be in swing, then Izzy and Scooter, Chica and Scruggs, Mismo and Nelson, Mac and Outlaw, Schmoe and Sissy then Clyde and Willie in wheel. Aliy has an age range from eight year old siblings: Quito, Nacho and Chica to a bunch of three year olds Izzy, Mismo, Nelson, Outlaw and Clyde. Nelson is the only Iditarod rookie on her team.

Nelson is running his first Iditarod while Chica will run her seventh!

Leading Allen and the Black Team is Kodiak and Junior with Boondocks and Beemer in swing, then Lester and Viper, Biscuit and Dutch, Felix and Chemo, Commando and Driver, Chipper and Pepe with Olivia and Sandy in wheel. Allen’s team has a bigger age spread with Biscuit at nine years old to yearling Commando! He has eight Iditarod rookies: Kodiak, Junior, Dutch, Commando, Driver, Chipper, Pepe and Sandy.

Biscuit runs his eighth Iditarod and Commando his first!

Note: check out the Team Roster page for more information about each of the canine athletes in the team!

Worried about the trail? Concerned at the snow conditions yesterday in Anchorage? DON’T PANIC!

While we were down in Anchorage it snowed 6-8 inches in Two Rivers; we drove through a winter storm on the Parks Highway (dodging snow drifts, snow ploughs and temporarily abandoned trucks that didn’t quite make it through the worst of it), and the temperatures in the Fairbanks / Nenana / Manley area are forecast to get to 10 to 20F below on Monday night. And, as I write this it is snowing even more!

Ernie is excited about some fresh snow; Rambler slept in the dog barn while we were in Anchorage – this is his house today

It’s still winter in the north!

We’re excited about the fresh snow and the cooler temperatures. Our dogs know how to run in that!

Make a cup of coffee (or tea), sit back and enjoy 7 1/2 minutes behind Aliy and the SP Kennel Red team as they mush through the streets of Anchorage for the Ceremonial Start.

Thank you to everyone there who cheered, clapped and wished her well, including those of you watching from home! We appreciate it.

Photo: Barbara Swenson

You can see at some points it was almost like the pictures from the mountain stages of the Tour de France where they have spectators lining the route leaving just enough space for the rider. Everyone was pretty attentive though to get out of the way of the dogs if they came a little too close.

Having returned to the hotel around 8.30pm on Friday evening and seeing 4th Avenue sans snow we were amazed at the fantastic effort the City of Anchorage workers had made over night to truck in snow and put in a mushable trail! It truly was an impressive feat so, first of all, we want to that all those people who worked so hard to make it so!

The atmosphere at the Ceremonial Start is much more relaxed than the actual race start. There are lots of people milling around gathering pictures, autographs and news stories and it is a great celebration of the race. Dog trucks and trailers of all shapes and sizes lined 4th Avenue and the streets adjoining and spectators can get up close and personal with their favorite mushers and dogs.

Media and supporters speak to Aliy

Meghan harnesses Outlaw ready to run, long time kennel friend and sponsor Tom Eckhoff on poop duty

We hooked 12 eager dogs to the Red Team line and made our way with help from friends, family and supporters, to the start line underneath the famous Iditarod banner. For around 11 miles the trail was lined with people enjoying their day: cheering, waving and even barbecuing, with one guy playing a horn as we went by. There were lots of banners and signs, many wishing Aliy well! We stopped briefly at the Horizon Lines courtesy point for hotdogs and a quick “howdy”. Although it was well above freezing the dogs didn’t get too hot as they could splash through puddles and dip to drink whenever they pleased.

The Red team, and Waylon and Scruggs in particular, did a great job navigating the many obstacles. Scooter barked at some ornamental moose in someone’s garden, Izzy got a little too close to a spectating Jack Russell and Lydia and Wedgy took it all in readily. Willie and Clyde in wheel proudly wore the “I Did it by Two” jackets in an Iditarod program promoting vaccinating children by the time they are two years old to protect from preventable diseases. Nacho was Mr Experience, having done this run many times. Schmoe and Outlaw let the spectators further down the trail know we were coming – barking to gain their attention and Sissy was interested in the photographers on the trailside.

The trail itself was a little “mushy”, with some puddles perhaps 8-10 inches deep. The course had been rerouted the slightly from previous years so there were some “interesting” corners along with a flat bridge placed on a bend, over a flowing stream… Yikes. We stayed dry there but at the end of the run we did have wet feet, but it really was amazing there was a trail at all! Remember the Red Team was number 32 and there were 47 teams to come behind. Spencer and Allen report the trail was quite wet by the time they ran on it and it started hailing as they were almost finished their run.

Aliy’s Iditarider was Randy McCain from Alaska. Each year Horizon Lines purchases Aliy and Allen’s sleds in the Iditarider auction and the money goes directly to the Iditarod. The program raises a great deal of money for the organisation and it goes into staging the race.

Bib#32, Iditarider Randy MaCain

Thank you to everyone that turned out to support the race and SP Kennel yesterday. It was a fun day!

Video of the run and pics of the Black Team coming soon! Watch this space.

Twelve dogs will run on each team for the Ceremonial Start through downtown Anchorage. The teams are as follows:

The Red Team will be led out by Waylon and Scruggs, Nacho and Izzy in swing, Scooter and Schmoe, Outlaw and Sissy, Lydia and Wedgy with Clyde and Willie in wheel.

The Black Team will have Beemer and Junior in lead, Kodiak and Boondocks in swing, Lester and Viper, Dutch and Commando, Nomex and Tinder with Sandy and Chipper in wheel.

Check out the team roster page for more information about each athlete.

After the ceremonial run we all jump in the trucks and head for 300 miles to Fairbanks so you won’t hear from us for a while. Watch out for pics and (hopefully) video once we are back.

NOTE: Not all these dogs will be in the Re-Start teams to start the Iditarod on Monday. Although the teams have been chosen from the 37 we had vet checked last week you, you will see there are some notable omissions. We have included a few youngsters to give them some experience with the fun and the crowds and left a few of the old-hands, and those that don’t travel so well, behind in Fairbanks. Check back on Monday morning for the Re-Start team roster!