Anna and I were sitting in the loft of the workshop at Dew Claw Kennel the other day chatting about the reality that our mid-distance season is over and all that is left is 1000 miles to Nome. This winter has gone by incredibly fast and we will miss our life here in Caswell next season.
BUT! It's not time to be sad yet, there is still lots to do and lots to celebrate!
Anna ran the Yukon Quest 450 a couple of weeks ago in the bitter cold of the Yukon. Although it was a challenging race, Anna and her team finished well!
I ran the Two Rivers 200 this past weekend in the beautiful mountains surrounding Fairbanks. It was my last long shakeout run to decide who will make my final Iditarod team! We ran beneath the beautiful Aurora for miles!
We finished my Iditarod drop bags last week! 1500 lbs of dog gear and human gear! Surely enough to get us to the finish! I will see these bags at each checkpoint!
Iditarod has made the decision to run out of Fairbanks this year. We've had a tough winter where we live: low snow and strikingly warm temps. To be honest, it has really sucked. With the route going from Fairbanks, it is a bunch of river runs. I'm quite sad not to run through the Alaska range. I was so excited to see Rainy Pass and fly through the gorge. But running dogs can only be so selfish, so I'll put my longings aside and run the rivers! I want my dogs to make it to Nome as healthy as possible.
Onwards down the trail!
Good luck. One good thing, maybe. New trail to everyone.
Thanks for the update Emily and Anna!