The start was great! I had lots of help from my husband, Manny and my good friend Miriam, along with Miriam's own pit crew. We got to the line with no problem, and took off. Dutchess and Achilles were in lead, as I figured the crowd would be a little much for Curry. We were flying down the trail! After all of my problems with trees this past season, it was a little unnerving taking those twists and turns down to the river...then of course, we got to launch off of the same log that was there for the Two Rivers 200. At the speed my dogs were going, I was airborne over that! Once we hit the river, the dogs started easing into their traveling pace, but I noticed that L4 wasn't pulling. He kept looking back, so I stopped to see what was up, but couldn't find anything wrong. In fact, once stopped, L4 was banging harness, screaming to run. So off we went...with L4's tug slacking again, which stayed that way the entire run.
We came to the end of the river, when another team caught us. By this time, Achilles was really slowing in lead. He's wonderful for take off, but he likes to go a little slower than my other leaders. Since this was only a 20 mile "sprint," I knew I'd have to take him out. Once we got to the slough, I stopped to switch leaders...and another team caught us. That was ok, as I put Curry up front and we started going good...until we came to the turn home. My leaders kept thinking we were going home, and while they did finally take my on-by command, they ended up in a tangle. Stopping to untangle them cost more precious time and another musher caught up. I ended up letting him pass, then the team picked up and followed him the rest of the way to the finish line. All in all, it was a good run, even though we didn't finish as fast as we could have.
After the adults and teenagers ran their classes, we had a big potluck followed by the kids' races. Devlyn got to run in his first race, running the one-dog class with our old leader, Beano. It was great watching him take off and go around the little horseshoe shaped course. Once he crossed the finish line, he wanted to go again! Now, Beano has become 'Devlyn's dog' and Devlyn is asking for his own sled. A musher is born!
The last event was the annual Hungry Dog Contest. Manny entered with Onyx, his black lab. It was no contest....Onyx cleaned up...Literally! That dog ate faster during the final heat than he did in the first one!
The day was a great success, with great food, fun and friends. Even Miriam had a great time as she and Bill duked it out in the 6-dog class (Miriam's first race ever!). Way to go guys!! Thus brings the end to another mushing season for Running Swift Kennel. While we'll do some running this summer with the dogs to get some exercise, serious training won't start until the fall. Thanks to all who have supported us this season, and to all of you who visited our website. See you next season!!
Tammi
