Well, it seems every time around new year’s a thaw occurs in Alaska. The snow is melting. Yesterday it rained. So tomorrow, I am traveling north with Wade Marrs to go train on the Denali Highway.
I’ve never gone on a training trip with anyone but Travis so I’m excited about traveling with another musher. I’m sure I’ll learn a thing or two.
This will be a good test before Copper Basin. My dogs have been doing well. We have been running consistently though our runs haven’t been too long in length and we have only done a few camping trips.
Copper Basin isn’t something I’m really going into in “race mode.” I am not going to be out there competing to win. My objective is a strong Iditarod team and this race is playing into that.
Copper is a 12 dog race that is about 310 miles long. The runs are as follows
- 50 miles
- 73 miles
- 43 miles
- 85 miles
- 59 miles
- FINISH LINE (otherwise known as a warm bed and hot shower for the musher and a warm dog box and long rest for the dogs!)
The race has a mandatory 18 hours of rest that each racer must take. Of course, you are able to take more if needed or wanted.
Right now, I’m still working on trying to figure out my intended race plan. I can take 12 dogs and am hoping to take mainly the younger dogs in my training pool to see how they do and get them some race experience. The final cut will really determine how I run the race but, to be honest, I’m not really expecting anything more than finishing with a happy team. My goal is to finish Iditarod and to use Copper Basin as a tool to help get me there.
I’m hoping that the hill training on the highway will help prepare us for some of the hillier runs in Copper.
So now it’s time to pack for my training trip. It’s a lot like packing for a race but instead of drop bags you simply haul everything.
Here’s an idea of what I’ll take:
- Ax
- Dog booties
- Sleeping bag
- Human food
- Dog food (kibble & meat)
- Parka, gloves, hats, jackets, extra layers, extra boots & checkpoint shoes
- Headlamp & spare batteries
- GPS
- Travel dishes, ladel
- Dog food cooker, heet, matches, lighter
- Watch / Alarm Clock
- Drinks & Snacks for the run
I’m looking forward to the trip. I’ve been working with Penny as a lead dog and she has been phenomenal except when going up hills so I am hoping this experience will give me lots of experience to teach her to charge ahead.
Here are the dogs who will be taking me on this awesome adventure:
- Penny, 2 years old, female
- Madori, 5 years old, female
- Dolly, 2 years old, female
- Athena, 1.5 years old, female
- Pippa,1.5 years old, female
- Lena, 1.5 years old, female
- Crazy, 2 years old, female
- Shark, 2 years old, female
- Hoover, 2 years old, female
- Bensen, 2 years old, male
- Coda, 2 years old, male
- Check, 1.5 years old, male
- Rowdy, 1.5 years old, male
- Hammer, 1.5 Years old, male
- Thunder, 6 years old, male
- Hank, 2 years old, male
I like numbers so let’s take a look at some of my team’s stats:
I will be taking (6) 1.5-year olds, (8) 2-year olds, 2 veterans. 63% of my team is female and 88% is 2 years old or younger. 50% of my team is out of our kennel super-dog and amazing leader, Boston. 25% of my team is out of 4-time Iditarod Champion Xena. 19% of my team is out of Iditarod & Yukon Quest Champion, Hope.
Don’t worry, I have several older dogs in training who won’t be making this trip. Ray, 10 who finished Iditarod in 11t last year. Zema, who is a phenomenal leader and is 5. Boston, another great leader. I also have Tamere and Star who have finished Iditarod multiple times. I’m also leaving behind Varden, another superb 2-year old.
Kind of cool to look at. At the end of the day however, stats aren’t the same as results. Still, I’ve been fortunate to work with some pretty talented dogs. Every day I spend with them is fun and exciting.
Here’s looking forward to a great trip!
– Sarah
