SPK Dog Log

Aliy and the team are safely home to Nome.

It was emotional to see them come down the chute looking so very good! Several waves of “Aliy! Aliy! Aliy!” chanted around the crowd and she received such a big cheer all the way down Front Street. Aliy was smiling, of course and her Mom and Dad were beaming with pride. She and Mitch Seavey were quickly ushered into a press conference in front of a huge crowd who hung on every word!

The dogs were happy, healthy and some were still even slamming into their harnesses to keep going! They chomped down several thawed salmon snacks as soon as they stopped then as they got to the dog lot they ate a big kibble meal and got full body massages and are now resting in their comfortable straw-filled homes.

Aliy is currently sitting in the lounge with us all telling stories of the trail. The one thing that stood out as a significant factor in the race was the rain – if affected everything: the trail, the dogs, the equipment, the mushers… everything. She is really proud of her team and we are really proud of her!

Here are a few photos; I’m working on the video now of both their finish and the press conference and we’ll get some of her stories on (virtual) paper for you as soon as I can.

The waiting throng of media; Quito basks in some much deserved glory

Aliy has a moment with Olivia

At the press conference with Doug and Mickey; answering questions

Telling us some trail stories

Quito and her energetic team mates give the crowd some winning smiles. Aliy follows suit with her own trademark smile during her finish line interview.

Aliy Zirkle and the SP Kennel Red Team have finished the 2013 Iditarod in second place, just minutes behind the winner. Quito was in single lead as the team crossed under the burled arch. Congratulations to Aliy and all the dogs!

We will post more photos and videos just as fast as possible!

Aliy and the Red Team are through the Safety checkpoint and racing toward the finish line in Nome. They’re still trying to chase down the leaders with only 22 miles to go.

Meanwhile, the entire SP Kennel support team is at the finish line, preparing for the team’s arrival. This includes setting up individual, straw-filled crates for each of the dogs, heaping up piles of snacks and kibble, organizing liniment and all of the comforts the dogs well and fully deserve! This photo just came in from Moira:

Whatever happens, you can be sure that Aliy will have spent every ounce of energy she has on the trail. As soon as the finish line ceremony is complete, she will take time to congratulate and thank each dog, then hand them over to the crew for all the pampering a dog could dream of!

Right now Aliy is two miles behind Mitch Seavey with eight miles to go until Safety then another 22 miles after that to Nome. Jeff King is 13 miles behind Aliy… It’s still anyone’s race and we won’t be calling this until someone crosses the line.

You may have read the Anchorage Daily News article about Aliy and the team howling at the checkpoint as they were waiting to leave; this gives me chills just thinking about it and I hope to goodness someone caught that on video! All reports are that the team looked great going out and she was positive and upbeat and the Insider video showing them leave confirms that! Bill Roth from ADN took this photo at the checkpoint this afternoon.

You can see she left with Quito still in single lead, Nacho and Scout, Willie running solo, Scruggs and Beemer, Mac and Olivia with Biscuit and Chica in wheel. They are all dressed for the wind in their Horizon Lines wind jackets in anticipation of “the blowhole”.

The Alaska Dispatch headline is “Forget Seavey vs Zirkle: Iditarod comes down to Quito vs Tanner, lead dogs supreme”. Go Quito! Although Aliy and the other 15 team members have had quite a lot to do with it too!

Click on picture to link to article

The team in Nome are heading down to the finish line to organise the dog yard and snacks for the team then very nervously await their arrival onto Front Street. I will be handing the “blog-baton” over to Macgellan from here for a bit as we will be tending to dogs and Aliy for a while and won’t be able to get back to update you.

For now let me just say that whatever happens this evening we are all so incredibly proud of her and her entire team of Quito, Scout, Beemer, Olivia, Rambler, Dingle, Scruggs, Chica, Boondocks, Nacho, Puppet, Mac, Waylon, Willie, Biscuit and Tug. All of them have worked hard all season for this moment, whatever position they finish in! I’m sure you will join us in being unashamedly proud of the SP Kennel Red Team right now!

Macgellan, it’s over to you!

Meanwhile… Allen and the Black Team pulled into Koyuk checkpoint at 3.38pm after running straight through from Shaktoolik checkpoint. They will rest here for a while before heading towards Elim. You can be quite certain he will be well aware what is going on ahead of him! After tending to his team mates the next thing he will be doing is checking on Aliy’s progress, something he will have been doing all along this race.

Those of you who have been following the blog for a while will know that, now he is in Koyuk, it is competition time! Koyuk rode in Allen’s sled during the ceremonial start – way way back on Saturday, 2nd March, and is now looking for a new home.

To win Koyuk we want you to estimate what time Allen will cross the finish line in Nome. Easy eh? Email your best estimation to spkdoglog@gmail.com and the closest “guess” wins! The entries will close as soon as the team reaches White Mountain.

Koyuk would hit refresh if he had opposable thumbs

Q: Except for Mac, what do all the dogs on Aliy’s current team have in common?

A: They were all finishers on Allen’s champion Yukon Quest team last month!

That’s right, every one of them — Quito, Olivia, Scruggs, Scout, Beemer, Nacho, Chica, Biscuit and Willie — was with Allen at the YQ finish.

By permission: Photo (c) Laurent Dick – www.wildalaskatravel.com

I’m so in awe of them right now I don’t even know what to write!

And speaking of being in awe… How about our “little” rookie Mac!

From the time he was a pup, Aliy knew he would be “a real sled dog”… Attitude and all!