*** 2009 WILDERNESS 100 SLED DOG RACE ***
Competed in the mid-distance event. This year the course was only
80+ miles round trip, with a 2 hour layover at the Brownville checkpoint. The
mileage and temps (25 above) were perfect for simulating the first 70 mile leg of
the Can Am 250. We went into this event, solely to determine if we had
12 competitive dogs to compete in the Can Am 250. We quickly learned that our
kennel presently does not have the right mix of dogs.
Driver: Bob O'Hearn
Finished 11th out of 14 teams who started.
* Kona although a cheerleader, does not have the endurance to pull
100 miles anymore He and Rocky turned 8 years old in
November. Damn, where has the time gone?!
* 50lb Rocky dropped while in harness and needed to be put in the sled bag for a 20 miles
ride to the finish line
(unfortunately, right before what is referred to as the 'big
hill') -> Rocky was our main leader and prominent member of our team since the
age of three. Never before today has he taken a ride in the sled. This
is quite upsetting.
* Ruby showed some shoulder favoritism on the second leg after becoming tangled in the
gangline running thru deep snow on the edge of the trail--> Ruby moved well during
playtime in the dog yard upon our return home, so it appears the injury
will not be a long term concern.
* At the checkpoint, Bob purposefully left Jasper and Curly
back. They are healthy, just young in the head. He does not
want to sour them. We opted not to run Dharma in this race so as
to give Jasper and Curly the experience.
Taking all of this into consideration... and warm temps as the teams were sitting in
checkpoint... Bob finished in the bottom 1/2. Our goal was to finish
with a 9mile/hr average (which had been the norm up to this point in the season).
If we took a top 10 in the process, that would have been a bonus.
Timing wise against the other Siberian Husky competitors: at the 1/2
way taking differentials into consideration, Bob was 15 min behind Kathy (she had a
smoking run... repeat of her earlier performance at Eagle Lake. Left the 1/2 way
with 10 dogs and peddled her heart out for a photo finish) and 2 mins ahead of Jaye
(repeat of the scenario last year at Can Am when she and Bob passed each other and Bob
ended up carrying Granite over the finish line).
Our attitudes about the weekend are positive; we are just a bit melancholy
1) since this event was the deciding factor of whether to continue with the prep
for the Can Am 250 and 2) it's always upsetting when a trusted member of your family is
injured or off their game.
Click here to view
various photos of our team
Dogs on the Team:
Cosmo
leader |
Halley
leader |
Rhone
leader |
TK
team |
Rocky
leader |
Kona
team |
Enzo
leader |
Ginsing
team |
Granite
leader |
Ruby
team |
Jasper
yearling |
Curly
yearling |
