Flathead Sled Dog Days                                                                                               January 5-6, 2008

Saturday, January 5th: Day One

Robin's team. Spoke with Robin after the run. She said she had a great run and finished in first place 25 minutes ahead of the second place team. The first 20 miles were all up hill and the dogs loped the entire way. The next miles were up on the mountains running through 2-4 inches of new snow. This can be tough on a team but she said they handled it well. Wallace and Teal ran lead the enitre way and were awesome. It sounds like one of those magical runs when all the dogs are clicking and you just feel honored to be on the runners and be a part of it all. The Iditarod veterans, Comet and Danica, handled it well. They probably thought this was just the ceremonial start. At the finish all the dogs ate and drank everything offered them. This is a good sign that they were not over-tired. Sunday the teams start in reverse order which means first place team goes out last. If Robin can catch a few of the teams ahead of her, Things will be looking good for the Amarok. Dogs on the team: Wallace(in lead), Teal(in lead), Comet, Danica, Maku, Bail, Onyx, Neil, Carbon, Barker and Betty.

During the run on Thursday January 3, Ike misstepped on a cattle guard and has a sore shoulder so he will not be racing even though he is doing better day by day.

Meghan's Team: Meghan had an adventure of getting off the trail which was not marked well and had no one at the turn as there was supposed to be. She went an extra mile, realized there was a problem turned the team around and got back on the correct trail. In spite of that she still finished first in her division, 6 dogs running 26 miles. Thunder and Charlsie ran lead with Coors, Pepper and the two yearling girls, Tude and Rascal rounding out the squad. Meghan said the two young girls did great. The run did not faze them at all. Sounds like they will both be on the big team next year .

Sunday, January 6th: Day Two

Robin's Team: Another dominating performance. She started out last and passed all the teams starting ahead of her. She finished this run 26 minutes ahead of the second place team. For the entire race of 100 miles she finished 51 minutes ahead of the second place team. This time Teal ran lead along with the very promising two year old leader, Maku. All the dogs looked good at the end of the race and ate and drank everything they were given. No injuries to any of the dogs. Comet was pushed to his limits speed wise but hung right in there. After 5 Iditarod finishes, he is wondering why the team didn't get up and go another 50 miles after a rest. The two young males out of our main stud, Vince, did awesome. They are Neil and Barker.

A word about Teal: she is a 5 year old leader who came from the kennel of the late Susan Butcher in Alaska. Susan won 4 Iditarod's and was one of the best dog trainers ever. Teal is so steady and never makes a mistake so the last couple of years she has been running with the handler's team to teach them. This year we decided to move her to the main team to see if she could handle the speed. I guess she can. Susan always took an interest in Teal's racing career and at one point after an exceptional performance in Oregon 3 years ago told Robin, "I never should have sold you that dog." We believe Susan was smiling watching Teal's performance at this race.

Meghan's Team: Meghan and her crew captured first place in the 6 dog 26 mile/day class. Again Thunder and Charlsie ran lead. All dogs finished strong although Pepper had some stiffness in his wrist and will probably be rested for a few days. No missed trails, just a solid run. At the awards ceremony Meghan's team was voted Best Cared for Team by the race veterinarians. This award is given to the driver who the vets felt did the best job of caring for his or her dogs during the race. It is quite an honor and is an award we always strive to win. Way to go Meghan!

Katie Davis, the Race Marshall, told Robin she knew we would bring a good team but she and all the others were shocked that a team of "flat-land" dogs could dominate teams that train in the mountains. Robin said she never got off the runners to help the dogs up the hills. She passed a number of teams where the musher was off the sled running up the hills to help their team. Apparently a report on the race was in the Daily Missoulian Paper. I will post the link when it is posted.

Monday was a day off for dogs and drivers. Megs and Robin will start to determine which of the 10 dogs will race next weekend at Seeley Lake. The remaining dogs will be run up to the race. Seeley Lake will feature some elite competition, so stay tuned. At this point Teal, Maku, Barker, Neil, Bail, Onyx, Wallace, Danica are on the team. The other two dogs will be determined after runs during the week.

Seeley Lake SledDog Races                                                                                                         January 11, 12, 13, 2008

This will be a 3 day race about 25 miles a day. Ten dogs will be in the pool; 8 dogs will run each day.

Friday, January 11th. The pool consists of Teal, Danica, Betty, Charlsie, Maku, Bail, Neil, Wallace, Barker and Onyx. For today's run Charlsie and Betty ran lead. With Betty in heat Robin could not put Wallace up in lead with her. Danica and Teal rested. The run was 25 miles through 4-6 inches of new snow. Spoke with Robin after the run. She was somewhat discouraged at the slow pace; felt that Charlsie did not push the pace. It is difficult to tell about overall perfrormamnce given the slow trail conditions. All dogs finished healthy. One of the top competitors in the race, Jacque Phillip got lost and is still out there at this time. It sounds like tomorrow Teal and Maku will run lead and Danica will be in the team as well.

Saturday, January 12th. After finishing 6th yesterday, the team finished in 4th place today in a 40 mile run and moved up to 5th place in overall time. No official times are posted yet. Robin started out with Teal and Maku in lead. Maku seemed tired from yesterday and was not driving like Teal so Robin moved Wallace up to run lead with Teal. Robin said she had "glimpses of the awesome team that ran last weekend." The team did better but still not up to the performance of last weekend. About 10 miles from the finish Robin moved Onyx up to run lead with Teal. She figured it was a good time to give some race experience in lead for a young dog, Onyx, who had done extremely well on his first trip on the truck. Onyx and Teal brought the team home. Betty and Charlsie took the day off. It sounds like Teal and Wallace may be running lead tomorrow. Tomorrows race will be 25 miles.

Sunday, January 13th. Wallace and Teal ran lead today. Maku and Charlsie took the day off. Spoke with Robin briefly after the race. She felt this was the strongest the team ran this weekend. She finished 4th for the day and just missed moving up to a 4th place overall finish by less than 20 seconds after 100 miles of racing. Again all dogs finished strong, ate and drank everything offered. No injuries. This will be the crew for the Beargrease with possibly Maku being in the mix with the 8 dogs that ran today. Tomorrow the team starts the drive back to MN where we had 20 inches of snow over the last 2-3 days.

John Beargrease Sleddog Marathon                                                                                                     January 27-28th, 2008

Saturday, January 26th

We head for Duluth this morning for vet check. The Veterinarians will examine all the dogs in the race to make sure they are sound and fit. The team will consist of Maku, Teal, Betty, Bail, Danica, Neil, Wallace and Barker. Onyx has been off his game so will stay home. We are not quite sure what to expect with Teal, Betty and Bail all in heat. Robin may end up being captain of the love boat. As Susan Butcher used to say, we will run the race so the dogs finish strong and can run again. Robin drew bib # 14. She will leave the starting line at 2:56 PM. All the marathon teams will start before the mid distance. She will probably pass a number of the marathon teams on the way to Two Harbors. Teal and Wallace will be in lead. We hope Wallace stays focused on the race rather than the lovely Teal running next to him. Vets checked the dogs and found no issues.

Sunday, January 27th

The day started sunny and warm; great for spectators but a little warm for the dogs. We had to be at the starting line 5 hours before our start time. Fortunately we were parked in a quiet spot in the shade where the dogs could rest and it was cooler. The time went fast as we met with friends and fellow mushers. We also went over truck organization so we knew where everything was. Kudos to Meghan who had it all together. Kristi Beall Johnson and Michael Johnson drove up from Shakopee to help and be part of the start as well as Rod and Brianna Roy. The start was at Ordean school in their stadium. It was finally time and we took the dogs to the starting line. The announcer complimented us on a "nice looking team." Also explained our system of hooking up the dogs to the sled which is a little different from what most mushers use. The dogs were now screaming and yelling to go with Maku making a noise that could wake the dead. Finally at 2:56 PM the dogs were off with Teal and Wallace in lead, followed by Bail and Barker next then Danica and Betty followed by Neil and Maku in wheel(the position just in front of the sled). Meghan, Wade and I hurried off to Two Harbors while our long time handler Terry Olmem and his wife Nancy went up the the first check point 8 miles from the start to make sure Robin made it through OK. Terry said she cruised right through.

TWO HARBORS CHECKPOINT( 50 miles from the start). Robn started out 14th among the mid distance racers but was first into this checkpoint shortly before 7 PM. The team had covered 50 miles in a little over 4 hours.. The check point is in an old gravel pit 8 miles out of Two Harbors. When it is cold and the wind is blowing, it is one of the worst places imaginable. Tonight it was beautiful and all the stars were out. We set up a camp nestled up against a hill near some young pines. All dogs ate and drank everything that was offered them. They then bedded down on straw beds after we put on wraps over their wrists and coats to protect their shoulders. Once they settled we we put fleese blankets over them. Wade then took Robin down to where the truck was parked and made sure she ate, drank and rested as well. Meghan watched the dogs while I checked time on some of the top teams. We were right with them. It took some of the dogs a while to settle down but all rested. Maku and Danica were quite tired but rested well and were ready to go 4 hours later when the team was awakened and Robin took off for Finland. Again Teal and Wallace were in lead.

FINLAND CHECKPOINT (90 miles from the start). The skies clouded and it turned colder. Better weather for the dogs. On the drive to the checkpoint the place where they told us we could get water was closed. Fortunately we found some water at the checkpoint. After some issues with our cooker we finally got things ready. Robin arrived shortly after 2 AM. All dogs werfe tired and sleepy but ate everything and started resting immediately. This was the last checkpoint; rest times were adjusted so that every one was now on an equal time making up for the difference in start times. Danica and Maku were very tired and I wondered if they would be ready when it was time to leave at 7:28 AM. Robin had said that Danica was actually running better now. Since she had finished the 1100 mile Iditarod last year, maybe she was just getting warmed up.

We felt they needed more fluid so Meghan and I made a meat broth with some chopped up beef hearts we had. We fed this around 6 AM. All the dogs looked up from their beds as we were getting the dishes ready(a GOOD sign) except for Maku we was sound asleep. All ate and drank everything, even Maku after we woke her up. At this point Robin was in 6th place almost 30 minutes behind race leader and friend, Don Galloway. We had some decisions to make. Should we leave Maku and possibly Danica and go with just 6 dogs or not. Robn felt that Danny was getting better and Maku was only 2 years old and it would be important for her to finish since she may well be one of our main leaders in the future. She decided to take all 8 and run the team to their capabilities. It was then time and dawn was upon us we harnessed the dogs and took them to the starting line. The dogs were straining to go and it took all Meg, Wade, Robin and I had to slow them down. At the start line several were screaming even little Maku. It is an undescribable feeling to have dogs that have run this far this fast get up after a 5 hour rest and be raring to go. We all felt good about Robin's call and off they charged into the early moring light at 7:28 AM. She was just 30 seconds behind the team in front of her. After the first 3 teams there were 8 teams within 10 minutes of each other. It was going to be quite a dog race to the finish with that group.

TOFTE: THE FINISH(130 miles from the start). We hustled down to Tofte to find a place to park and waited for the teams to come in. All the staff from YMCA Camp Menogyn who are doing a winter program with 21 of our dogs were there to greet us. This meant a lot to all of us, especially Robin. Don Galloway came in first as I thought he would. We then waited for the second place finisher. After 20 minutes Sharon Curtis who started the last leg 9minutes 20 seconds ahead of Robin came in. As Megs, Wade and I got ready to head up to the finish line, Wade yelled out, "there's my MOM!" Sure enough Robin was right on Sharon's tail and narrowly missed finishing in second place. It was an incredible run for Robin and the team. The team ended up with the fastest run on the last leg of the race, faster than Don's and making up over eight and a half minutes on Sharon. We brought the team to the truck. All ate and drank. The boys on the team were all looking in the back of truck to see what goodies Meghan might bring out next. They all got pieces of herring and chunks of beef hearts as a special treat as well as a regular meal. After a special attention and a rub down from Meghan they went into their boxes for a well deserved rest and a ride home. A number of friends showed up to see us two which also made it a special time. To say we were proud of the dogs and Robin was an understatement.