03/30/2024
So proud to sponsor the underdog!! So much hunger, drive and perseverance! It really is what built this great state of Alaska.
So our last race for the year was last weekend at Tok Dog Mushers Association for their 2024 Race of Champions!
Last weekend was fun but also very rough for me. I caught the flu that has been going around Thursday morning, the day before we were supposed to go down for the race. I woke up feeling feverish, whole body muscle aches, no energy, and no appetite. When I went out to feed dogs I was struggling with my water buckets and was out of breath by the end and I couldn't stop coughing. I wanted to cry, because in my mind at that moment if I could barely feed my dogs how was I supposed to travel, race, and care for my dogs all weekend. When my boyfriend Zach got home from work that night he surprised me with his positive attitude of "just take it one day at a time and just see how you feel tomorrow." So that's what I did, I didn't prep anything that night, just laid on the couch till bedtime and took some meds to help alleviate my symptoms. The next morning I woke up and didn't really feel that much better but I had the mindset to go! So I took my time feeding, loading gear, then dogs. I met Brandy Sturdivant in town to pick up Evelyn as help for the weekend and then went out to pick up Victoria Carver to carpool with us too. The drive down was actually really comfortable and the roads were dry. I listened to my music while the girls napped and I had my heated seat on high. We got to Tok with plenty of time to water before the draw and dinner at the hall. I didn't eat much except some amazing fruit and berries someone brought. Also didn't talk much since my voice was practically gone and it hurt to talk at that point too. I was in bed by 8:30 and woke back up at midnight to drop dogs to p*e again. Then back to sleep till 5am when I got back up to wax my 2 sets of runners. I figured if I was going to race might as well still run both classes 😂 I never said I was smart but every amount of stubborn determination had taken over at that point and I wasn't going to quit. My dogs never complain why should I? The 6 dog class started at 8, an hour earlier then normal due to the officials worried about the warm temps rising by late morning. I'll be totally honest in saying that 6 dog run is one of the few times I didn't feel fully in control. The trail was HARD and ICY! So once we took off I was holding on for dear life with my balance being out of wack on top of the trail conditions. I couldn't carve my corners and got ping-ponged around them instead. My dogs didn't seem to care thankfully. I stacked my 6 dog team with Mako & Bolin in lead, Pema & Ikki in swing, Mebby & Meelo in wheel. All was going okay until I could see Ikki not running as well about halfway though, she started struggling to keep pace which isn't like her so I rode my drag and called her up for encouragement. My assumption was the trail was bothering her paws or she was struggling with the sp*ed. When we got back to the truck and I put her on the dropline she held up her front left paw and started crying in pain 🥺 I checked out her paw and leg but saw nothing on the outside. I knew right then that she'd be dropped from our next heat on Sunday. Later I had a vet friend Josh Link check her out and he confirmed it was nothing serious but that she'd pulled her bicep muscle. I gave her some pain meds and let her rest. Our next class didn't start for almost 2 hours so I sat in the truck and took a 30 minute nap with the heat blasting on me. That helped me recharge just enough to be able to go out again. I couldn't run or rush anything physically otherwise I would start coughing and couldn't stop. I was also not able to talk without coughing so I had to help direct what I needed by pointing or saying very few words to Ev and Victoria. I only had 7 dogs to prep for the 8 dog class. I had Appa in single lead, Daffy & Bumi in swing, Poki & Momo in team, Raava & Bugs in wheel. Our run for 8 dog wasn't as fast but definitely had its own challenges. Appa started out strong, passed a team and did fine until he wanted to dip for snow. He did it kinda random too so I was not prepared and couldn't stomp on my drag mat fast enough to keep my swing dogs from getting caught in his lines. So we stopped, I ran up to untangle them and we started again. He shortly after repeated his attempt at more snow and tangled the swing dogs again 🙄 so another stop and untangle. At that point I just kept calling him up and watched him like a hawk. Our run wasn't the greatest but we completed it. The dogs were hot but looked okay otherwise. Once we got all of our dogs loaded up to rest for a bit I got in my backseat, curled up with Pema and napped solid for a while during the open class. I didn't even care to find out my placement for my classes I just needed some sleep first. Well as it turned out we somehow managed to take first in 6 dog by seconds. I knew we could beat that the next morning since we broke the 16 minute barrier last year, heck we might even get the track record too! Our 8 dog class competition was really stacked up and we were in 12th, which still wasn't terrible considering all things. Tomorrow would go better.
Well the next day due to the trail conditions being worse not only with ice but also with frozen dog paw holes we mushers ended up voting unanimously not to race the 6 dog class. So day one's standings stayed which ment we won the 6 dog class! 🥇After what happened to Ikki the day before I was more cautious about wanting to run too. I was sad I couldn't have another go at the track with feeling more alive that morning myself and I knew my dogs wanted to go too. Overall though it was better to not go rather then another dog getting hurt. The 8 dog class still raced and we were able to maintain our 12th place position which made me happy. I put Daffy up with Appa in hopes he would help keep Appa from trying to dip as easily. That part worked, what I didn't expect was when Daffy put on the breaks 2 times to 💩 🙄 and then tangled Bumi in swing both times so we stopped 2 times again like the day before. I even watched Daffy go right before we left so I just said whatever. There was nothing I could do but encourage them on and keep them moving forward.
Last weekend was the hardest race weekend I've done so far just because of me having the flu, do I regret going though? ABSOLUTELY NOT! 😎 As my Dad would say, "If you are going to be stupid, you better be tough!" Well some would say racing while being as sick as I was is pretty stupid, others may think I'm tough, me? I call it drive. A drive that's stronger then my common sense at times whether that's good or bad idk. To get me through last weekend it was good. The drive I have to succeed with my dogs also outweighs anything anyone could ever say to me. Since I started sprint racing, with my random dogs I've gotten from local mushers and also from the animal shelter I've heard some not so positive comments about numerous things like: higher dollar dogs with proven bloodlines is the only way to be competitive. I've heard about how expensive it is feeding so many dogs and that getting sponsors much less a food sponsor was almost impossible. I've had others comment about how my dogs are too small to be able to be competitive in the higher end 4 dog limited class teams. I've been told other teams that would come race would be competiting on their own as if implied we weren't even competition. All these comments have fueled my drive to say oh yeah? JUST WATCH US! My belief in my dogs abilities will never waver. They don't know they aren't from fancy bloodlines, or that they are smaller then other dogs in their class. They don't care, they are simply dogs and I decided to see them for the gems they are when others would've passed on them. Having no idea what kind of heart and soul they were going to miss out on knowing and getting to be part of growing with. My dogs love to run, and I love to ride behind them. The fact that we are making history on top of having a freaking blast is just icing on the cake. The fact that we have a dog food sponsor and so many other amazing sponsors is humblingly beyond words. I work my ass off 40+ hrs a week to provide for my dogs but the gear and other supplies we've been able to afford because of them has also helped us be able to be just as competitive as other more established teams. Also my obsession I've had with every detail for race prep has helped tremendously. My only goal from saying everything I have is this....If you believe it...it will happen. It may not happen fast and it may not happen exactly the way you have it planned but if you never loose focus you will succeed farther then you originally imagined. 😉🤗 Positive thoughts & positive vibes only!
Now we look forward to puppy runs and playing all summer under the midnight 🌞.
THANK YOU to our sponsors for this season of racing! Please show them some local support if you can, we wouldn't be able to do this without them!!
49th State Kennels
Ferguson Enterprises
Top Dog Feed
Plumbers & Pipefitters Union Local 375 Training Center
Worry Free Alaska
Atlas Alaska LLC
Danielle’s Dapper Doggo’s
Cowles Heating
After Hours Heating
J & J Mechanical Inc
Little Bear Photography
Lotto Alaska
Houser Plumbing & Heating
TCI LTD
Alaska Best Plumbing & Heating
Wess Co.
Alaska Integrated Services LLC
Northland Wood Products
Spenard Builders Supply
Midnight Sun Heating
Sal Aguilera
Thank you Ev and Victoria for helping me with my dogs all weekend. 🥰
📸 by Michele Flagen Photography of our 8 dog team 😍 (no 6 dog unfortunately since we didn't run day two)
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