Racing

2015 Knik 200: Musher’s Meeting & Starting Positions

Sarah · January 31, 2015 ·

It was a hassle getting out of the house with the dogs this morning but we were, eventually, handsomely rewarded and we had a great time. We had a fun road trip up to Knik too.

On the way up, we saw a familiar dog truck on the road. It belonged to none other then fellow Kenai Peninsula Musher, Paul Gebhardt of Morning View Kennel. We sped up to go by him, and in typical mushing fashion, called trail. We made a sign and hung it in the window as we went by.

Paul got a good chuckle.

Races are great like that. It’s a good excuse for us all to come together, hang out, and spend some time together. For us, The Knik 200 Musher meeting was a great chance to catch up with old friends, talk dogs, and win some awesome gear!

Musher Meetings are generally “spiced up” by having some free give aways and we were lucky enough to take home some of the booty. Justin and Travis both took home 100 free dog booties from a drawing at the musher’s meeting. We are so excited! Dog booties are one of the most expensive costs in our sport outside of dog food. Thank you to Kipmik Products for donating the booties!

2015 Knik 200 Race Format

The Knik 200 has changed it’s route from previous years due to snow conditions. This year, the race starts at Deshka Landing in Willow and will consist of two loops starting from Deshka Landing going to Yentna Station and then back to Deshka. There is only one mandatory layover of six hours of rest to be taken at Deshka Landing before the start of the second loop. It should be a race that allows for lots of passing and will have lots of river miles.

Travis Beals Draws his Starting Position at the 2015 Knik 200 — Travis draws his starting position for the 2015 Knik 200. Photo Courtesy of Jae March.

We drew our starting positions. Travis drew 10th, meaning he will leave at 1:10 pm tomorrow. He is required to stay the mandatory 6 hours at his layover plus an additional 40 minutes to make up his start differential.

Travis’ Team

Zema – Gremlin
Fidget – Krum
Handsome – Wrangler
Cuervo – Willie
Drum – Teddy
Jimbo – Droopy

Ironically, Paul Gebhardt drew 11th place. Paul promptly asked Travis if he could borrow the “trail” sign he had made.

Travis isn’t sure how he will be treating this race yet. While the team is strong, he may decide to camp and use this race as more of a training run. He hasn’t made any decisions. He has two dogs in the team who are slightly behind in miles and will be judging how he runs based on their performance early on in the race. Regardless, it’s great experience.

Justin Steilstraw draws his position for the 2015 Knik 200. Photo Courtesy of Jae March.

Justin leaves 14th. Justin will leave the 2015 Knik 200 starting chute at 1:26pm. He is required to stay the mandatory 6 hours at his layover plus an additional 32 minutes to make up his start differential. Justin’s team has a a few of our race dogs (Weiser & Madori) as well as a number of up and coming puppies.

Justin’s Team

Weiser – Madori
Flo – Fergie
Shark – Star
Hank – Thor
Bruce – Aldawin

Wyatt Suchecki drawing his starting position at the 2015 Knik 200. Photo Courtesy of Jae March.

Wyatt leaves 19th. Wyatt will leave the 2015 Knik 200 starting chute at 1:36pm. He is required to stay the mandatory 6 hours at his layover plus an additional 22 minutes to make up his start differential. Wyatt has a number of veterans on his team, including Tamere, Kermit, Ginzu, Ray, Monroe, and Thunder

Wyatt’s Team

Bonnie – Tamere
Granger – Pinky
Kermit – Ginzu
Ray – Monroe
Thunder – Mongoose

Justin and Wyatt will both camp at Yentna station on both the first and second loop of the race so don’t be surprised to see their trackers stop. They are running a lot of young dogs and it’s important this experience be positive for the dogs and for the mushers. Yentna is a great place to camp. They have rented a warm cabin for the mushers and traditionally on race days, Yentna serves up some terrific pasta. They’re in for a real treat!

Travis Is Signed Up For The 2015 Knik 200

Sarah · January 27, 2015 ·

I sleep on the couch and wake covered in animals. Max jams himself in between me and the backrest, sprawling halfway on top of me. He is a heavy sleeper and, unlike most dogs, doesn’t fidget during the night and keeps me warm when the fire in the wood stove goes out. On my chest Snowball, one of our three cats, sits on top of me. When I wake, he stares at me the look on his face is blank: What of it? he appears to be saying. He is old and lame on one of his front legs. I carry him most places and spoil him terribly so, when I’m home, he is often by my side. Wrapped around my head is Mama, another cat, her tail flicks my cheek occasionally but otherwise she sits around me like a big black scarf. On the floor I can hear Betty breathing. She sleeps with her head near my hand — in case I should want to pet her in the middle of the night.

My phone rings frequently during the night. If I hear it, I usually answer. Sometimes it is a tourist trying to plan a summer trip and they don’t understand the time change. But more often than not it is Travis calling. He lives with such strange hours now that his days are no longer defined by the movement of the sun. The more you travel with dogs, the more you adopt their way of life. He eats when they eat and sleeps when they do. They have become his reference for all things.

So when he calls at 3:00am I am never surprised. I try, my best, to take it in stride even when it wakes me from deep slumber — a rarity for me. He tells me how the dogs are doing and what is going well.

“I signed up for the Knik 200,” he tells me tonight. “But I was thinking if you wanted you could run it instead.”

So bleary eyed and foggy-minded we talk. The race just announced a change in route due to lack of snow. It will now go from Deshka Landing to Yentna Station back to Deshka Landing, where a 6 hours layover is required back to Yentna station and, finally, back to Deshka landing for the finish. One section trail, run 4 different times. I applaud the Knik 200 for doing what they need in order to run a race and allow many rookie mushers to qualify — and in many ways, I think it will allow for some great passing training but the trail certainly doesn’t sound quite as exciting as the normal course.

We go back and forth. “You’ll run the team more conservatively,” Travis says — and I can’t deny because it is true. I will go slow and take my time. I will have fun but we will not race the way Travis would race.

“But you haven’t run some of these dogs before,” I tell him. I think race experience where you are actively pushing your dogs to their full potential is important. “Droopy, Thunder, Jimbo, Teddy, and Mongoose,” I tell him “have never run in a race with you. You may see something different.” And I believe that. Some dogs are mediocre in training and all-stars on the race trail. You never know until you run them hard.

“But you should do this one,” he says.

I listen. He tells me I should run it and that I’ve done a lot to deserve it but, for whatever reason, it doesn’t pull at me.

“I’d rather watch,” I finally tell him. I have too many concerns to jockey the team he has been carefully sculpting all season.

“Ok,” he says.

He hangs up and I struggle to fall back asleep. I look at the stars and watch as the light behind the mountain fades from black to pink. I spend today writing and sitting by the fire, frequently struggling to stay awake. I bought the dogs a new dog bed but they sleep on the couch so I take it and sleep for an hour on it curled by the fire with the cat and think of all the stories I will have to write in a week’s time and that makes me very happy.

2015 Copper Basin 300 Race Overview

Sarah · January 10, 2015 ·

So first of all, we should put it out there that we are NOT racing the Copper Basin 300. We went back and forth on this throughout the fall and ended up on the waiting list. Sometimes, that’s just how it goes. Travis had a stellar performance in the 2014 Copper Basin 300 earning himself the coveted Humanitarian Award for Best Dog Care. He started and finished the race will all 12 dogs.

Asking Travis about the race he said, “Ya my team was on fire. But one of the things I really took away from that race was that they were ready to go and it was only January. There were still another two months between the Copper Basin 300 and Iditarod.”

This year, we are trying to shift focus away from the smaller races and onto the bigger ones. We have no idea if it will work or not. Most mushers our age start out handling for other racing kennels, where they learn the tricks of the trade, before going and starting their own kennel. Not us! So a lot of the tricky decisions about how to train and race early on in the season has been something we have had to carefully navigate. I’m not sure we’ve dialed anything in yet. Although we now are much more mobile than before, the biggest hiccup for us being really successful is trail access. When it comes down to it, we really need to buy property in mushing country: Willow, Fairbanks, Healy, Eureka…here’s to hoping we can do that sometime in the near future. We tried this year but kept having issues pop up. It’s been the biggest roadblock.

That being said, the Copper Basin 300 is a very big race. Besides the Kusko 300, it is one of the most challenging races out there. It’s a notoriously tough and physically demanding.

So let’s take a Look at the CB300.

Copper Basin 300 Overview

Long considered the toughest 300 mile dog sled race, The Copper Basin 300 is a challenge for both the musher running the race and their handler, who offers support. Although Copper Basin is considered a qualifier for running the Iditarod, many mushers have often remarked “that running Iditarod should be a qualifier for the Copper Basin.”

The circular race trail allows mushers along new trail during each leg of the race. Each checkpoint is at some sort of lodge. The Copper Basin 300 is known for its notorious trail conditions and bone chilling weather. Temperatures are routinely -30 and -40 below. Because the course crests numerous hills, teams also have to contend with blown in trails.

In 2013 when Travis first ran the race, nearly every team had to go over a windblown summit. Due to the severe winds, each team had to break out trail. Later in the race, warm temperatures and freezing rain made for an interesting mixture.

The Copper Basin 2015 Race Route

The Copper Basin 300 begins in Glennallen, AK and runs counter clockwise. The CB300 has 18 hours of mandatory rest built into the race. There is one One (1) mandatory layover of six (6) hours plus start differential at any checkpoint. An additional accumulation of twelve (12) hours at any of the checkpoints. IN 30 MINUTE INCREMENTS. You can learn more about the Race Route here.

Race History

The race has been running since 1990 and has only had to cancel the event twice. The first cancellation was in 1996 due to extremely cold weather. The second cancellation came in 2012 during the middle of the race when cold weather and poor trail conditions prevented mushers from being able to make it to the next checkpoint. Many, at this point, thought the Copper Basin would be finished. Under the new direction of race manager Zack Steer, the 2013 Copper Basin was was widely considered to be one of the best put on races of that year.

Our Past Experiences With The Copper Basin 300

In 2013 Travis entered the Copper Basin 300 as a way to introduce his team to tough terrain. He had no intention of running competitively, rather he used it a learning experience for both him and his dogs. Sarah handled for him in this race. The handlers of the Copper Basin 300 are responsible for picking up after their musher and taking care of any dropped dogs. To do this, handlers must drive the entire race route. By the time handlers finish picking up after their musher, they often have to “race” to beat their musher to the next check point.

In 2014, Travis finished 5^th in the Copper Basin and received the Humanitarian award for best vet care.

This year, we are sitting out. We’re disappointed but are also interested in seeing how a season with fewer races impacts our team.

2015 Copper Basin 300 Resources

Copper Basin 300 Facebook Page

Copper Basin 300 Website

Mushers We Are Keeping a Close Eye On In This Race:

Wade Marrs – Stump Jumpin Kennel

We always have to root for Wade and like to think we are some of his biggest fans. We’ll be training out of his kennel and watching the dogs that didn’t make the race team. Wade runs primarily smaller dogs. He finished 8th in the CB300 last year and 8th in the Gin Gin 200 last week.

Nicolas Petit

Nic finished 2nd in the 2014 Copper Basin but this year is driving a completely different group of dogs. Last year, he drove a team that primarily consisted of Raymie and Barb Redington’s dogs. This year, he is driving some dogs of his own breeding. There are four former THK dogs in his team.We have no idea what to expect from Nic although we do know he has been spending lots of time training in Glenallen on the Copper Basin 300 trails. His team has lots of young dogs and this will be their first real (and one of their biggest) tests.

Kristin & Andy Pace – Hey Moose! Kennel

Kristin & Andy have a small kennel out of Healy, AK. One of the things that impressed us the last time we ran with them was the size of their dogs. They’re massive! Kristen is training for the Yukon Quest. I don’t know how each of them plans to race but I sure am looking forward to their post-race write up. These guys are great writers!

Paige Drobny – Squid Acres Kennel

Paige had an impressive performance in the Gin Gin 200. She and her husband Cody Strathe are quickly making a name for themselves in the mushing world. They have some really nice dogs and are very well organized. It will be interesting to see how Paige and her team performs.

Ray Redington Jr. – Team Redington

We love Ray. He’s always been a really great friend to us and has been quick to offer us helpful mushing advice. Ray is also signed up for the Kuskokwim 300 which has an impressively large purse. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ray race hard but I also wouldn’t be surprised to see him hold back a little too. He’s got a busy race schedule ahead of him as he has also signed up for the 1,000 mile YUkon Quest. Regardless, he will be up at the front of the pack!

Aliy Zirkle – SP Kennel

Aliy, in all likelihood, will be running the B-team out of SP Kennel. We’re excited to see how she performs. She should have a more relaxed run than her husband, Allen, who will be trying to win the Copper Basin.

Allen Moore – SP Kennel

The CB300 favorite, Allen Moore has dominated this race for the last couple of years. I expect him to win the CB300 or do incredible well. He will be driving SP Kennel’s A-team

Robert Redington

Robert is another friend of ours. He is working on getting qualified for Iditarod. He did really well in the Aurora 50/50 this year. We are hoping he has a great race and are excited to watch him race. He’s got some incredible dogs that he has been training over the last few seasons.

Spencer Egbert – SP Kennel

Spencer is a long time friend of ours and is now working for Aliy and Allen. This is his first 300 mile race and we couldn’t be more excited for him!

Following the 2015 Copper Basin 300

For live race tracking check out: http://www.cb300.com/racecentral.aspx as well as liking the Copper Basin 300 facebook page.

SP Kennel usually does a fantastic job of posting live updates. I’ve always been impressed by the large crew they bring to the race to help with social media. You can count on them having 2-3 quality updates.

The 2015 Gin Gin 200

Sarah · January 2, 2015 ·

2015 Gin Gin 200

The 2015 Mid-Distance Race season officially kicks off this weekend with the start of the Gin Gin 200. The Gin Gin is a 200 mile dog sled race that will be run along parts of the Denali Highway (closed in the winter time) from Cantwell to Paxson and beyond. It sounds like it will be a great race. Although it had been put on in years past, it has not been run recently. The race organizer, Zoya Denure & John Schandlemeier, have been busy raising their family and training their own competitive kennel.

The race has a lot of new names signed up – looks like a lot of people are either trying to qualify for Iditarod 2016 as many of the same mushers are signed up for other races.

The trail should be relatively fast and it will be interesting to see the speeds mushers like Joar Ulfsom, Ken Anderson, Wade Marrs, Paul Gebhardt, and Brent Sass post. I expect these mushers will make up the top 5. The first race is always fun as it gives us an early glimpse at this years coming racing season. Wish we were headed to the starting line!

Follow the Gin-Gin 200 on their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Gingin200

We are wishing all our friends out on the trail a great race — especially friend Wade Marrs!

Day One of Iditarod 42

Sarah · March 3, 2014 ·

It’s 8:00am on the first morning of Iditarod 42 and we are beginning to see different strategies once again emerge. I still haven’t been able to get my insider subscription to work so I’m currently relying on just the standings published by ITC at this time.

Martin Buser, Nicolas Petite, Mike Williams Jr. all currently sit in Rainy Pass this morning. I imagine they will rest here a few hours and then head out on the trail. It seems these mushers are doing an adaptation of Martin’s strategy last year of “rush to the front” but are choosing to add a little more rest.

Kelly Maxiner has currently pushed out of Rainy Pass and is en route to Rohn. He may opt to 24 there, once he gets there before trekking over “The Burn” but I imagine he will continue further along. Like Travis, Nick Petite, and Jeff King, Kelly Maxiner has a sled caboose (like Travis). It’s been reported that he has only been running 12 of his 16 dogs due to the hard fast conditions so even though he has rested little, his dogs have been getting rest.

The hard trail allows those traveling with dogs in their sled to maintain good, fast speeds despite having fewer dogs in the line. Petite, who probably has at least 1 or 2 dogs in his trailer was only a minute slower than Buser. Buser, who does not have a caboose, may have still had a dog in the sled – it just is a much tighter fit.

Unlike Petite, Buser, and Maxiner, Travis is running a more traditional schedule. We knew going into this race that the danger of this hard, fast trail would be that it is very tempting to go too fast and run too far. Combined with the warm weather, this can really sap a lot out of a dog team. But that energy drain, if it is seen, won’t be seen until several days into the race

Martin has definitely learned from last year. His team has performed consistently winning every mid-distance race they have been entered in. Translating that into an Iditarod win, however, presents its own unique challenges. Still Martin has the knowledge, skill, and talent as a dog man. I am not sure what to expect of him this year. His 17th place finish last year did not surprise me; I would be equally surprised if he hadn’t learned from it and refined his strategy.

Petite, who (I believe) only has 7 returning veterans from last years 6th place team, has had the consistent training. This guy was always out on the trail. Talking to Petite early in the season, he had a unique race strategy lined out for Iditarod 42. I’ll be interested to see how and if he chooses to execute it – but I wouldn’t be surprised. He likes to shake things up. He has one of the dogs we bred and raised, Levi, running on his team this year. His brother Wrangler, is running with Travis. Both are probably the youngest dogs on these mushers team, a nod to their talent.

So what is Travis doing?. He is taking his time, building up rest. This is going to be a trail that wears dogs down. The hard fast icy trail combined with the long stretches of snowless trail predicted later on in the race are going to be rough on teams. Wrist injuries will take lots of dogs out of the race. Taking extra rest now will pay off later. It is a tried and true method that has been proven year after year to yield good, reliable results…however only time will tell!