Tuesday, January 16, 2007


The race was grueling due to blizzard conditions which created deep snow for the dogs to slog through. John came in third and unfortunately Zoya made the decision to scratch with 100 miles left in the race. She was not alone--out of 26 mushers, 13 scratched including top Quest and Iditarod mushers. Even though she scratched, Zoya gained invaluable experience from running 200 miles of a race as tough as this one. I have to now catch up on sleep...handling for two people is tricky in that there's always something to do, be it waiting for your musher to come into a checkpoint or picking up after him/her after they leave a check point. And then of course there's driving the dog truck to the next checkpoint, usually in the middle of the night, and caring for the three dropped dogs that traveled with me in the truck. I can't complain--the mushers have it worse by far but sleep deprivation is definitely a big part of race handling! But so is meeting amazing people from all over and learning so much about dogs. More later!

4 Comments:

Blogger SusanE said...

Handling sounds like fun in a sick sort of way.

I hope to do it someday. When my dogs are no longer running then I'll get my mushing fix by handling for other people in races. This way my husband can enjoy winters in the south without always having to be negotiating with me about my dog sledding.

7:10 AM

 
Blogger laura said...

Susane, I met a lot of handlers this weekend who had that story--they used to run dogs and now getting their "fix" through handling. Handling is so much fun if you love dogs, I didn't mean to sound like I was complaining, I just needed some sleep! (which I got!)

2:02 PM

 
Blogger FinnyKnits said...

Ok, I'm getting progressively more jealous the more I read your posts on handling for these mushers.

Sounds like an excellent experience. And good job on staying up and getting those dogs from checkpoint to checkpoint safely.

4:16 PM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi, what a great blog - pictures and explanations. You don't look silly at all - plainly adorable.

It is such a joy to hear about your adventures.

For me, I am leaving Feb. 24 for CA and the Academy Awards and then on to Gene's place to see my baby Nolan. Love, Aunt Adele

2:58 PM

 

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