After a "Who Dat" hangover, attention again is on the dog race. I did get
to watch almost every minute of the SuperBowl and folks in the Steese
Roadhouse got a little taste of what it might like to be in Miami with a
Saints fan. I had one other comrade in arms who did a little cheering.
Race update:
Mile 101 ~ Magnus was there when we got there. Team resting well. Sean
came in on a severed runner, metal parts barely connected by runner
plastic. The clear through break was right behind the back stanchion and
ahead of the foot pad. He had done a pretty good fix with string to get
him that far. He had come over Rosebud Summit and down a trail of
glaciated creeks and rocks. Was contemplating a fix with very little
material available.
Magnus left 101 with an excited team.
Sean left with a very excited team and one and half runners. Sean's
pretty big feet will have to do some fancy footwork to maintain.
Central ~ Both teams arrived quite animated with a few hour difference in
arrival time. By this time Sean had detached the metal part of the runner
behind the break and came in with runner plastic on one side and a regular runner on the other.
Magnus left Central after a 6 hour mandatory rest. The team was screaming to go and zoomed out of the checkpoint.
Sean opted for a bit longer rest, a full 8 hours, ate the free steak from
the Steese Roadhouse and then ordered a burger and a ham sandwich. The waitress could hardly believe her eyes! We told him he was now rivaling Magnus in food consumption. (Magnus is infamous for his calorie intake.)
Circle ~ After cleaning up both teams straw, backtracking to the Central
dump to get rid of it, we set out on the winding 30 mile road to Circle.
2 hours later, nearly comatose we pulled in to the Circle school at 6:00
am and crashed on the gym floor for $35. Seemed like a bargain
considering we hadn't had more than about 4 hours sleep since leaving
Fairbanks Sunday. Magnus came in soon after with Nancy there to greet
him. I got up just before Magnus left once again with an animated group.
He dropped Presto with some sore muscle issues, nothing major. Sean
arrived about an hour ago, dogs looking super! He appears to have
adjusted to the one runner sled and says his left leg is definitely
getting a workout.
Now we are in a bit of a dilemma about our truck. Magnus left Circle
before Sean got here. It's an 8-9 hour run back to Central, the finish of
the Quest 300. Sean will surely stay here several hours so the truck
needs to stay. Luckily Dr Mike Davis is traveling along spectating the
race so he may drive Nancy to Central to greet Magnus and I'll stay here
until Sean leaves to clean up his straw then head back to the finish.
The trail is reportedly typical of the Quest, accolades for the great
trail from people who haven't actually gone over it and horror stories
from mushers as they come into the checkpoint. Stories of an 8 foot drop,
then a sharp turn into a heavily forested trail. Lots of running over
trees crossing the trail and slick glaciation then rocks. Glaciation is
different from glare ice because glaciation produces a sort of dome effect
and trying to go over it usually takes you sliding to one side or the
other.
So now we get a bit of break as teams rest.
Our teams are doing great, getting around a very challenging course,
mushers are no doubt learning lots and dogs moving well.
Sven Haltman looks like he's probably going to win the 300. He has done
several Iditarods and 300 mile races and clearly has way more experience
than anyone else on this race and dogs primed for Iditarod in a few weeks.
Almost over!!!
We are so thankful that the weather has been reasonably warm. Currently
snowing and 0 degrees.
happy trails~
and Team Eagle Racing
