These photos just came in via iPhone from Moira at the start of the CB300.
From the top: SPK Black Team, SPK Red Team, SPK R&B Team… All looking fantastic!
All three teams had smooth, on-time starts. It will be about five hour until any of them arrive at the first checkpoint. We’ll do our best to keep you posted… Stay tuned!
After a spectacular drive down the Richardson Highway our convoy of three trucks with our very precious cargo arrived safely in Glennallen.
Our first stop was to check-in all our drop bags (the bags that hold the kibble, snacks, human supplies and other equipment that will go ahead of the mushers to the checkpoints). A great team of volunteers made it simple and quick, thanks!
Next was musher registration and veterinary checks. There’s an excellent team of veterinarians and vet-techs here for the race, many of whom have been on this race many times! All our dogs got a clean bill of health and are ready to race.
L-R: CB300 volunteer, Joel, checks in the drop bags; Rambler, Beemer and Waylon await their vet check
We stopped by the Prince William Sound Community College for some great meatballs and a chance to mingle with other mushers, supporters and fans. Thanks to the team at PWSCC for their hospitality! The musher and handler meeting was also held at the College where we heard about the trail, checkpoints, veterinary support and race start logistics. Evidently Jamey Kemp and his crew have put a tremendous amount of effort into trail breaking and getting a great trail for the mushers and dogs so we’re all excited about that. The mushers also get to see a section of trail that has not been on the CB300 before (the loop from Tolsona to Crosswind Lake and back). The checkpoints and race start logistics sound very well organised and user-friendly.
We’re now all settled in to the Caribou Hotel. The dogs have been fed, are taking an evening nap and we’ve sent the mushers to bed. We will drop the dogs one more time, give them a snack, a walk around and check everyone is happy before settling them to bed for the night.
It’s an early start in the morning to have dogs and people fed and ready at the race start carpark by 8am. Allen will leave at 10.48am with Aliy immediately behind him at 10.50am. Meghan will follow at 11.08am.
The first checkpoint is Chistochina and although I will try to get photos and video of the start and at Chisto of all three teams, we won’t have internet access until Meiers Lake checkpoint so it could be a while before you hear from me. We will, however, endeavour to get pics and updates on how the teams are faring in the first part of the race to Aliy’s sister Kaz and/or to Macgellan to update you.
Remember to check the Copper Basin website and their Facebook page for more “real-time” updates.
– Moira
We’re pleased to share with you the team line-ups for the BLACK, RED and RED AND BLACK teams for the Copper Basin 300.
Allen’s will lead out with Quito and Scout followed by Chica and Olivia, Boondocks and I.V., Nacho and Schmoe, Willie and Puppet with Biscuit and Felix in wheel.
Aliy will lead with: Beemer and Rambler followed by Waylon and Scruggs, Clyde and Chemo, Mac and Sissy, Tug and Fang with Tatfish and Izzy in wheel.
Meghan will lead out with Dingle and Ranger followed by Honda and Viper, Lester and Lydia, Pud and Outlaw, Boris and Mismo with Sandy and Bonita in wheel.
Click here to take you to the Race Roster page for more information about each athlete.
We’re pumped! Are you?
And just quietly – we are excited for yearlings Lydia and Sandy!!! Of course we are disappointed to leave some behind but this is just the start of the season and everyone is still in the running for future races!
The Copper Basin 300 Sled Dog race begins this Saturday January 11th in Glennallen, Alaska. The CB300 is known for it’s mountainous terrain, rugged trail conditions and, often times, large amounts of snowfall and bitter cold. From year to year, the race route and the conditions vary – which makes the CB300 an unpredictable challenge. The weather always has a say and no one knows if the temperature will be 50 below zero or 30 above. Only time will tell.
SP Kennel considers CB300 a “true test” of our season of training, the dogs’ fitness and a musher’s savvy. Some years we have had great finishes and other years… not so much. With a full field of 45 teams, the 2014 Copper Basin 300 will be a heck of a race.
We are very excited to have three teams in the event: Allen, Aliy and Meghan with their respective 12 dog teams. The exact team rosters will be posted on Friday. Last minute decisions are still in the works, as well as one more pre-race training run.
The CB300 website ~ CopperBasin300.com ~ will have a leaderboard. Updates will be challenging due to limited cell phone service at some checkpoints.
The CB300 also has a Facebook Page where information and news is posted.
Lastly, SP Kennel will do our best to update this website ~ SPKDogLog.com. Moira will be the sole journalist, photographer and videographer for our three teams… basically she’ll be an all-around Sled Dog Paparazzi. Macgellan will post some data analysis and run versus rest time statistics.
Saturday morning 11:00 AM is just around the corner. LET’S RACE!
Every team has a bench.
Not every player gets to play all of the time. Not every dog gets to race every race. We will fill 36 slots with racing dogs this coming weekend at the Copper Basin 300 Sled Dog Race. Now, many of our Dog Fans might be saying “With 39 Racing Dogs and 10 Yearlings how can you possibly decide who gets to race?” Sometimes it is an easy decision and other times it’s not.
All of the dogs have their own training calendar. We record all of their data into a spreadsheet and then spend hours analyzing how each dog is performing. We compare different dogs as well as year to year averages. Right now there are dogs that stand out with ‘perfect records’. These are dogs that haven’t missed a training day all season: Quito, Nacho, Willie, Mac, Lester and Felix. But, that doesn’t tell the whole story. We need to know why a dog missed a training day. Perhaps he overheats somewhat on warmer days; Honda; or started to get a little too thin; Beemer; or maybe just needs a little more long distance sled dog education; Shiner. We have to analyze every dog’s attitude, gait and overall appearance after each training run in order to get the whole picture. If a dog needs an additional day off or perhaps a shorter “fun” run we will edit their training calendar.
So, picking three teams for the Copper Basin 300 is challenging. And sadly there will be a few dogs left on the SP K bench. But, every dog at SP Kennel is still in the running for the Yukon Quest team, the Yukon Quest 300, as well as the two Iditarod teams.
It is just under a week before we pack up three teams for the Copper Basin 300 and there is still work to be done…
We’re working on drop bags for each checkpoint for each team. This involves making a detailed list of everything to go into the bags: for the dogs we pack snacks and kibble, vet-kits (including wrist wraps, Algyval, anti-ulcer medications), extra dog jackets, fleece throws, booties and harnesses. For the humans we include snacks and meals, basic first aid and comfort packs (hand warmers, Kleenexes, Chapstick and dry socks), extra clothing and tool kits. We also need to pack fuel for dog food cookers, spare sled parts and runner plastics.
L-R: Allen packs his CB300 Bags; Aliy looks over her Checkpoint supplies.
Each musher also has to think about what will go with them in their sled. Allen is known for traveling light, Aliy not too heavy but not too light, and because Meghan will be on a different schedule and will likely camp between checkpoints she will need to take more in her sled to ensure she is well equipped. Each sled needs a ‘once over’ and all bolts and nuts tighten and ready to go. We wouldn’t want one of our sleds falling apart on the race trail!
L-R: Meghan builds her dog sled; Meghan’s first ride on the sled she built.
We also pack the dog trucks for the handlers. The handlers’ job at checkpoints is to not only help park teams and support the musher but also clean up after the team has left the checkpoint. We need trash bags, rakes and a sled in order to clean up the straw beds from the team and any gear that the musher has left behind. Handlers will take any dogs from their musher if he or she does not want the dog to continue the race. Mushers are not allowed dog substitutions, so if any dog is left with a handler (the musher lingo is ‘dropped from the team’), then the musher will continue with one less team mate. There are Veterinarians stationed at the race checkpoints in case a dog needs medical care. There no human doctor however. That would require a trip to Anchorage or Fairbanks.
New Year’s Day in Two Rivers was possibly the most beautiful day so far this season. The sky was the most vivid shade of blue and the clouds caught the setting sun and glowed pink and orange. Moira caught some video whilst out with her team.
The sled dog racing season has started! Read about the Solstice 100/50 and all the upcoming races including the Copper Basin 300, Yukon Quest and Iditarod. We spotlight the “car litter” who are six years old this season and all very important dogs!
We introduce Gene’s Chrysler – our new SP Kennel Dog Truck sponsor and give you a “pup-date” – an update on the Fire litter and Cayenne and Champ.
We hope you enjoy it. Click on the picture to the right to read it.
