Busy Week!

It is right smack in the middle of the busiest race weeks for us this year.

We just got back from the Tustumena 100, where Charlie ran the team, and one day away from the Don Bowers 200, when I get to run them.

The Tustumena went GREAT!  The team ran at an average of 8.5 mph.  And there was ZERO injuries.  Lost did develope a bit of a sore wrist by the finish but just 2 hours later it was totally fine!

This was by far the healthest race team we have ever had at a finish... tails wagging, barking, and basically looking as energized as at the start of any run at home!

All of the dogs on this team are just 18 months old- except the two leaders who are 6 and 7.  That's very young, you can see it in thier bodies.  They look just like young teenagers all gangly and a bit uncoordinated!

That will all change! 

But for now our goals are to get them in a few races, run easy and slow, rest a LOT, and let them learn that racing is FUN!

So the Tustumena was a total success!  With the added bonus that they learned how to live out of the truck for 5 days!  Another skill they need to learn.

And now that leads us up to the Don Bowers 200.  The Tustumena 100 was 2, 55 mile runs with a 4hr rest seperating them.  We are going to run this race like two Tustumena races...

In other words our plan is to run 50 miles rest 4hrs run 50 miles more to the halfway point.  There we take a mandatory 8 hr rest and then run back down the same way we came- 50 miles, 4hr rest, 50 miles to finish.

Again, our goal is to average 8-9mph the whole way.  So we should get to the halfway point in 16hrs and finish the race in 40hrs- If all goes well.

If all that happens then we will call it a great race season!

Next year with more maturity in the team we will try to bump up our traveling speeds to 10mph!  They want that now, so it shouldn't be an issue, they just don't have the deep level endurance that can only come with age.  So if we let them try for 10mph this year they fade down to 6mph by the 25 mile mark... Distance racing is all about pacing.

Nothing I see marks a truly good dog musher more than split times at checkpoints that indicate consistent speed throughout the race!