Sky Runner Kennel

The last month has gone by pretty quickly! On February 24 we got a new dog at the Leadville race from Bruce Harper. He’s a registered siberian husky that goes by Willy (registered name is Code Name Chillie Willie).

The Leadville race went great! I was the only one that raced in my class (3-dog junior) so I won. But I also beat 3 four dog teams. Bruce Harper’s team was only 2 minutes, 30 seconds ahead of my overall time. Two weeks before the race Elmo got out and cut his foot on some glass, it wasn’t healed in time so I borrowed one of Bruce’s retired dogs. I also used Willy in lead with Sky, because we had planned on getting him that weekend I wanted to try him out. The team ran great and we even passed a team that went out 3-5 minutes before us.

Now onto the Alaska story! On February 29 we went to Karen Ramstead’s open house. It was great to see her dogs and meet another Iditarod racer. On March 1st we traveled the 40 miles by snowmobile to Yenta Station, the first checkpoint. We stayed in a cabin there and worked the checkpoint. On Monday morning we decided to travel upriver to the second checkpoint of Skwentna. When we arrived only two mushers were there. We stayed for about 20 minutes and then headed farther upriver where we had a tent setup. My brother and I spent the night there and left on Tuesday morning. The ride back to the truck (100 miles) wasn’t near as fun as the ride out, because it was 40 degrees and raining. When we got back to the truck/parking area we loaded up and finally got into the warm truck. It was a great trip!

Now I’m back at home and planning for next season training and racing. I can probably run and train the dogs for another month or so, but after that our season will be over until September.

Dillon

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Well, this past weekend we got a total of about 4-6″ of snow. I’ve had to wait a few days before I can train again as I don’t have a sled. I thought that by now the trails would have iced over atleast some to run with on the bike. They weren’t. I started what was supposed to be a 4 mile bikejor with Sky when I noticed a dog infront of me. I thought no big deal, Sky usually passes without even looking…when we’re going good (8+ MPH). We weren’t going fast enough for her so she decided to see what the other dogs were doing. Just a quick sniff and we were off again. I was having trouble getting going when I saw a jogger going by. Just when she was passing us, Sky decided to do a “We’re not going fast enough howl and spin”. Scared to jogger pretty bad, but nothing happened. I then decided the trails weren’t runable on bike. So I walked her and the bike back to the truck. We drove the few miles to home where we hooked up and left to tire her out some. We went about 5 miles. It was only about 30-32 degrees, but it felt a lot colder. Hope to be getting some handwarmers soon. The run went well though.

The moral of the story is, I need a sled!

Dillon

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This morning I decided to get Sky’s first run in. We did 2.7 miles and they (Sky and Elmo) did great! I only had to help on the hilly parts. She is a great puller! You could tell at the end of the run that Elmo was better conditioned. Sky was panting while Elmo was only a tad bit tired. Sky is going to make a great sled dog!

Dillon

PS

It’s supposed to snow tomorrow! YAY

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This weekend was GREAT! I borrowed one of Mike Sullivans older leaders to help with passing and speed. The dogs weren’t fighting, but Elmo hated to have a neckline on so I had to hold Charlie back on both days, because Elmo was balking. The first days run was average. A lot more rocks and sand compared to our normal trails, but it was great fun! Sundays run, Elmo just didn’t want to lope after we finished the uphill part.

On Saturday night, Lachlan Clarke (Iditarod Veteran) gave a presentation on his Iditarod mis-adventures. It was awesome! We got to talk to him and ask questions. And on Sunday, before we left we got to visit his dog yard and play with his puppies! It was a great weekend!

Dillon

P.S. Race Results- http://colomtnmushers.org/07-dryland-race-results-draft.pdf

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Hi, my name is Dillon. I live in North-Central Colorado with my boxer/black lab. So far we have run up to 5 miles while bikejoring. We bikejor, canicross, and will hopefully skijor this winter.� Within the next month or two, some more dogs should be added to the mix.

Dillon

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