SPK Dog Log

Spencer tells us about his Red & Black team:

Lester – Not a super fast dog, but he’s a solid and efficient command leader with experience that made him a great “puppy team” leader. I knew that I could trust him to get the job done and I rarely took him out of lead. He’s self-contained, but very affectionate.

Viper – Another that spent much of the race in lead. His confidence in lead around other teams and obstacles in the trail was a great example for younger dogs and he did a great job of tolerating Commando. Older dogs have to show a lot of composure when they get stuck training the next generation. I think Viper actually enjoyed running with Commando.

Beemer – Anybody who knows Aliy Zirkle knows Beemer. He’s an honest, smart, sensitive dog who was another go-to leader and great example to run different yearlings with.

Commando – If it weren’t for the three above, I could easily say that Commando was the MVP on this team. Commando does everything that I ask him to and likes it. He’s the yearling that I am tightest with and he is always seeking to please me. I was so happy to have him on this race. He spent 300 miles in swing or in lead with Viper. Any time that I wanted to speed the team through some hills or perk them up on a boring stretch of trail, I put Commando up front. He is an enthusiastic, up-beat natural lead dog with an infectious attitude.

Torch – A yearling who had an exceptional attitude. He always wanted to go and even in the middle of the race was barking while charging up the hills and keeping everyone excited and in good spirits. He ate everything that I put in front of him, and was always the first to rise from the straw and show he’s readiness to hit the trail.

Chena – Right there with Torch most of the race. The two of them learned quickly the routine of running, eating, sleeping. Chena is a slightly picky eater, and was burning calories faster than she was taking them in, which made her tire a few miles before her teammates. She hitched a ride in the sled with me for the last 20 miles. I figured this would happen at some point along the race, but wanted to see how far I could get her. She did a phenomenal job. I particularly enjoy her personality – calm, confident, sassy little girl. Chena and Torch were always the ones who got the team howling before we hit the trail.

Puppet – I really enjoyed having her with us. She is a no-nonsense, honest dog who does her thing and doesn’t need anyone to hold her hand.. er.. paw.. whatever. She isn’t a super hard-driving dog on the flats, but when we came to any kind of hill, Puppet did her darnedest to haul the sled up by herself.

Tinder – It seems to me that he always works too hard. Early on in the race, I remember thinking.. Man, if he doesn’t chill out, he’ll never make the whole way. Then by the middle of the race, …Man, how is he still charging like that? Finally by the end, he started to get tired. About the last 30 miles or so, I was telling him what a good dog he was and making sure he and the team knew how happy I was with what they’d done. He needed a little help at the end, but that was a great learning experience for him – a taste of how to throttle back and just travel when you are genuinely tired. Lessons like that are exactly why you put young dogs in races. Get as many to the finish line as possible and have a positive experience. Tinder got it.

Nomex (right) – This guy is like the punk little brother that I never had. He’s always in a peeing contest with someone (sometimes me), and won’t turn the other cheek if someone shoots him a look. By the same token, he desperately wants my approval and to show what he can do. As a sled dog, this makes him extremely drivable. He worked through some mental stuff early on and came through to finish strong. He was one of the dogs who really held the team together at the end. I was very impressed with his performance – he’s got a bright future.

Driver (right) – This guy is a lumbering, lovable goof. He didn’t sleep the first night because he was so interesting in what was going on in the checkpoint. Which meant that he hit the straw as soon as I put it out on our next camp. He’s slightly slower because he doesn’t lope. But if you’re traveling at a comfortable speed for him, he’s a very hard-working dog. You can specifically feel him pulling on the towline. Another dog who held it together at the end. Also, he eats like a maniac.

Violet – Did an awesome job all the way to Sourdough. There was some rough, uneven trail going into that checkpoint and when we got there, she was a bit sore. I wrapped her wrist and massaged her shoulder as soon as we stopped to camp, then walked her around after her rest to see if I thought she should go on. The next checkpoint at Mendeltna Lodge wasn’t for another 85 miles and I knew that I’d be carrying her at some point if I kept her in the team. She’d had a great performance to that point, so I figured it was best to drop her and not risk anything.

Sandy – She’s what some mushers call an “invisible dog”. That is, a dog who puts their head down, keeps their line tight and generally, does everything right. She’s a Biscuit pup which I’ve come to realize, means among other things, that she has a GREAT appetite. Another solid dog who very much helped get us to the finish line.

One of the best parts of this race was getting to know the dogs. When they realize that you’re not running back to the truck or the kennel, they come to depend on you, just as you do them. You all fall into a rhythm as a team. That’s a pretty cool thing to be a part of and really, the essence of dog mushing. I had the pleasure of seeing them begin to realize their potential and they gained confidence from getting to know me all the better.

This was a total success and I’m excited to who takes it to the next level this season.

Thanks to the handler team of Mark and Joanna, supported by Ray and Moira.

To celebrate the Black Team’s fantastic win in the Copper Basin 300 we did a bonus draw for all the Fan Club members that are fans each individual Black Team member. Congratulations to Teresa Clark from California who is a fan of Schmoe!

Teresa wins a Copper Basin 300 poster signed by Aliy and Allen along with a few other goodies.

Thanks to all our Dog Fan Club members! The next Dog Fan Club winner will be announced on January 23th and everyone who hasn’t already won and all new members will be in the draw to win.

Click the button below for instructions on how to join:

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

On Wednesday evening, Aliy learned she was one of four recipients for the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame’s Directors’ Awards.

Aliy was awarded the Trajan Langdon Award for Leadership, Sportsmanship and Inspiration.

This award is for a person or group of people who have demonstrated leadership, integrity and sportsmanship during the past year in such a way as to positively influence and inspire others to be better sportsmen or sportswomen.

The citation reads: Nobody has made second-place look so good. Known for her trademark smile, this 45-year-old Iditarod musher is as gracious as she is good. She puts her dogs first, always praises the competition and never makes excuses. Zirkle showed tremendous character when she finished the 1,100-mile race in second for the third consecutive year. And she did it with a smile. After being caught in the eye of a brutal storm, Zirkle nearly chased down eventual winner Dallas Seavey, losing by a mere 2½ minutes in one of the most dramatic finishes in the race’s 40-year history.

Aliy said she is honored and humbled to receive the award and very grateful to the Hall of Fame for recognising her and her team in such a way.

Here is a link to the Fairbanks Daily Newsminer story.

Verizon Wireless has come to Alaska!

And we are pleased to announce that they have become a new “Lead” sponsor for SP Kennel!

That’s right – SP Kennel, Aliy and Allen are now partnering with Verizon in Alaska. Verizon was recently launched in the last Frontier and now provides 4G LTE coverage to Fairbanks, Anchorage, the Mat-Su Valley, Ketchikan, Juneau, Copper River Valley, and much of Prince William Sound.

During Phase 2, Verizon is looking to expand into other areas of the state.

Aliy and Allen met with the Verizon team at SP Kennel in late December. Kennel visitors were: Chris Fitzgerald, District Manager of Verizon Alaska, Demian Voiles, Vice President of Verizon Alaska,‏ Ciji Clark, Business-to-Business Outreach for Verizon Alaska; Charles Fedullo, Director of Public Relations for Northwest Strategies and Amanda Combs, Northwest Strategies Account Supervisor.
(ABOVE RIGHT: Allen takes Chris for a sled ride with Quito and Junior in lead.)

Chris Fitzgerald and Demian Voiles sporting their ‘Red Team’ beanies with Aliy and Allen at the Kennel.

The following week Aliy and Allen met the entire Alaska Verizon Sales Team at their brand new store in Takatnu Commons in Anchorage. That was fabulous since the two teams will now be partnering for the rest of the season. As well, both mushers got some much needed and ~ up to date ~ education in communication technology from the very knowledgeable staff. Since both Aliy and Allen will be receiving brand new Smartphones (with super protective cases) this was very necessary. NOTE: Allen has promised not to drop his Smartphone in the Chena River (yes… that’s a whole different story.)

Aliy and Allen will be at In-Store Events in the Fairbanks Verizon store on January 31st from 12-2pm and at the Anchorage store on February 28th from 12-3, so if you are in the area on those dates make sure you call in!

We are so excited that Verizon is now part of our SP Kennel team. (Right: Aliy signs the sponsorship contract while Skunk looks over her shoulder.)

Aliy gave me a dog-by-dog wrap up of her Red Team. She was understandably delighted with her team’s performance in finishing 6th.

The Red Team in Meiers Lake checkpoint

Waylon was Aliy’s steadiest dog from start to finish. He had a good attitude the whole time and enjoyed himself. He seemed to be highly entertained with having Junior up there with him. He has no trepidation, no fear and since the 2014 Iditarod he knows he can do ANYTHING now! Amazing, considering he’s a scrawny, 40lb hairless husky with antenna ears and huge smile.

Scruggs is slightly slower than Waylon but he was irreplaceable. He is smart, tough and dedicated.

Scruggs’ sister Boondocks is a little firecracker! She was a little bit tired at Mendenltna and Aliy did a precautionary wrap wrist which helped her because after the two hour rest she was ready to go!

Chemo – Aliy could tell was hot-to-trot the entire race. He was her speed going up hills; he gets excited and was loping where the trail allowed. He came through in the end and wanted to be in lead for the final push.

Brothers Clyde and Outlaw (left) are ying and yang. They both bark going up hills and Outlaw barks when he wants to go.

Outlaw is definitely the less experienced of the two but received some great learning on this race.

Clyde is the more senior, he as two more 1000 mile races under his harness. They were her strength and power and are a really nice pair.

Father and son – Biscuit and Pepe ran in wheel for the whole race.

Biscuit is one of the toughest dogs Aliy has ever know in in her life. He doesn’t know “easy”. At 9 years old beat out his 3 year old son in performance. When you say “go” he will go – no questions. Aliy said she could say thousands of words about him.

Pepe tried his hardest and Aliy is very happy with him. He pulled a little too hard at the beginning but Pepe has never seen “hard” so he got a good education! He got to run with a rock star next to him and it was good for Pepe. He gets so excited a checkpoints, doesn’t rest quite as well as he should but that will come with time. He was the wild card in the team but Aliy was pleased she took him with her.

Mac got stronger and stronger as the race went on. She put him into swing at Mendeltna and as soon as they hit the trail she was super happy with that decision. He knows what is expected and he always delivers. He was in no way tired and pulled the whole time. Mac is always a bit of a challenge to have on the team as he is so physically different to the rest. He needs two or three dishes of food rather than one and requires different care and attention but he sure is worth it!

Mismo (right) did great, no question. Aliy conservatively left him in Sourdough as there were a few moments when he was running where he was little off. He never didn’t pull and had a great attitude but really wants him fit for the Quest and ID so made the conservative decision.

Junior and Dutch – Aliy was super excited to have them on her team, this was their first mid-distance race.

Dutch was another conservative drop in Meiers Lake as she wants him to be available for Quest and/or Iditarod.

Junior (left with Waylon) was a power house until she got tired and Aliy felt there was no sense in making her more tired by continuing on with the race. Both Junior and Dutch were not completely knowledgeable going into the race about how to sleep in checkpoints but they learned! By Sourdough they had down!

Aliy enjoys running the Copper Basin and finds it interesting how the route changes every year. It can be mentally challenging to add on extra trail when you know the bulk of route so well but that’s what makes it exciting. The Copper Basin put on a good show and lots of mushers will be happy with the organisation, the trail and the weather!! It is an honest, challenging 300 mile race!

Thanks to the committee and volunteers for staging such a fine race and to the handler team of Ray, Moira, Mark, Joanna with support from Bridgett, Scotty, Mike and Elena! You guys rock!

As you can imagine, Allen is super happy with his team and their performance. I asked him to give his thoughts about each of his team mates.

Chica was the strongest dog in the team, she was Allen’s MVP! He thought about putting her in lead many times but wanted to keep Kodiak there to give him an opportunity. She pulled hard from start to finish and she always takes her rest seriously. Anyone watching would think she doesn’t want to go as she stays curled up resting until Allen calls “Ready?” then she leaps up and gets down to business. After Kodiak started to tire Chica took her position and brought the team home.

Chica and Quito curl up together at Meiers Lake checkpoint

Quito was the rockstar she has always has been. She was still loping at the end, especially once Chica was up there with her. They work so well together and even as the oldest dogs in the team at eight years old they shone! He said he knew going into the race that they weren’t as fast as the young ones coming up but they are tough, knowledgeable and know how to win. That turned out to be hugely important in the last leg.

Scout was in lead until Sourdough. He’s a great leader; he charged out from the start and was in lead for half the race. He started to get a sore wrist coming into Mendeltna and after some rest it started to swell so Scout got to do the final leg in the truck with us.

Kodiak (right) could be our new Quito and that is really saying something! He’s just two years old and he was in lead, driving, for 270 miles until he got a little tired – which you would expect for a two year old. This was his first mid-distance race so he exceeded expectations and is going to be a rock star!

Izzy already is a rock star! She is fast, steady and you can tell she has really matured into an adult dog this year. She will be on the main team for a long time to come, all going according to plan.

Olivia is one of our best dogs and coming into Meiers Lake Allen knew there was something going on but could find nothing specific. He had vet check her out and they found a slightly sore wrist that he wrapped at the checkpoint (sometimes a precautionary wrap for a few hours can ease the soreness). Unfortunately soon after leaving Meiers Lake she stepped awkwardly and hurt her triceps so Allen carried her in the sled to avoid seriously injuring her. There are still a couple more important races this season that she needs to be fit for!

Schmoe-dog was one Allen’s two cheerleading dogs. He’s a veteran racer and is steady and strong. When they were going up the steepest hills he was barking his head off and getting all the other dogs excited. He was definitely an asset to the team.

Scooter ran next to Schmoe the whole time and was the other cheerleader. They feed off each others’ excitement. If Allen stopped the team for even just 10 seconds to adjust something, she was ‘going ape’ to get going again. It was hard to control her in checkpoints because she always wanted to go – you can’t beat enthusiasm!

Willie was very much a part of why the team had speed. He is always there, always steady and always willing to go. He’s been on the main team for quite a few years. He has a good attitude, eats well and is happy ALL THE TIME.

Nelson is a young and upcoming and he has done no significant races before this one. He learned a LOT and was contributed a lot to the team until last checkpoint. We think he has a touch of ADD and it always shows, until the last 60 miles when he was overtaken by inexperience. This experience will put him in contention for the main team from now on.

As an aside, Allen gets a kick out of running Willie and Nelson together – “Come on Willie Nelson!”

Felix is his father’s son! Biscuit has been on the main team forever but is now 9 years old so time to pass the baton. Allen even called him Biscuit numerous times because he looks, acts and runs just like him. Biscuit has been our best team dog throughout his 9 years and his son is following in his footsteps.

Sissy ran in wheel for the whole race. After finishing the tough Iditarod with Aliy last year you could tell it had benefitted her a lot in terms of hardiness and experience. She never got tired and was always loping. She was another reason for the team’s speed.

Allen was asked prior to the race about the current snow conditions and he said that both he and Aliy are so skewed now due to 2014 Iditarod so “if there’s white on the ground, we’re good to go”. There were parts of the trail that were groomed like a sprint trail then there was some as a mogully as a olympic downhill mogul course. There were short sections of sugary snow, such as leaving Meiers lake going up off the river, making it a slog but in the Copper Basin you expect wilderness trails so none of the trails were surprising. Jamey Kemp, the trail boss, and his team did a great job once again.

Allen wants to thank his super handler team of Ray and Moira backed up by Mark, Bridgett, Scotty and Joanna. As Eric Lutz, the Race Manager, said in his wrap up speech – it’s not just the team with the best musher and dogs but a good team of handlers can make or break the race!

Thanks also to all the Copper Basic board and all the volunteers that worked tirelessly to put on an excellent race. There was over 100 people involved, giving up their own time to help. Thank you!

When Mark said goodbye to the Spencer and team in Mendeltna he said that Spencer was wired and the team looked great. They were well rested and raring to get back on the trail.

We eagerly watched the tracker throughout the morning, each time altering our finish time estimation earlier and earlier. It was so exciting to see them loping down the finish chute.

(Above) The team comes down the finish chute with the Alaska Range behind; (Below) Spencer checks in while Chena gives her critique on her team mates

You’ll see in the pic he was carrying Chena but it is nothing to be concerned about, she was a little tired and as they were going at such a pace on that last leg he popped her in the sled and she watched proceedings from there.

As a matter of course, the veterinarians always thoroughly check out a dog that comes in that way and they were happy she was well.

The vets are also always eyeballing and physically checking out dogs as they come into each checkpoint so you know they are on hand should there be any issues.

We gave the team a kibble and meaty water mix at the finish line (except Spencer, he didn’t fancy that) and congratulated each one. As I bent over to give Nomex a kiss he licked me on the nose and gave me a look to say “did you see what I just did?”. Commando started barking, telling everyone he is the bomb! Torch and Tinder decided they wanted their food off the ground rather than out of the dish as it tastes so much better that way. Chena wolfed down some moose snacks. Driver was still alert and eager for a hug whereas Sandy is the “no drama queen” and just took it all in her stride. Remember she is a Copper Basin veteran, having finished the race last year with Meghan. Lester, Beemer and Viper are as they always are: calm and satisfied at a job well done. Puppet seemed to enjoy being around the youngsters.

They’re all having a sleep now while we sort out the bags and bags of “stuff”. Of course everything that was brought down in the drop bags has to go back (except for the food consumed), but when it came down it was very nicely packed. When a team leaves its parking spot at a checkpoint, the handler crew rakes up the straw and throws all the gear back in the truck, but we don’t have time to nicely pack it all back up so consequently everything is everywhere. We are going to sort that out now. Booties here, clothing there, dog jackets somewhere else…

The banquet and prize giving is later this evening back at Mendeltna then we hit the trail for home.

There is still a lot of reporting to come. I will have wrap-ups from each team as well as all the video to edit so keep watching for the next week or two as I get that up.

We are so incredibly proud of Spencer, Viper, Lester, Commando, Beemer, Chena, Torch, Tinder, Puppet, Driver, Nomex, Sandy and Violet. They crossed the finish line in 34th position at 12.35 this afternoon.

When I asked Spencer what dog he wanted his finish photo to be with he chose Commando. Commando the yearling rockstar was in lead for various sections of the trail!

Will write a more detailed report later.