Training for the Two Rivers 200, The Chatanika Challenge

Here's a picture of my race team for the TR200 this weekend. Yep, you heard right...I'm doing the race. Manny is discovering that while he enjoys training, he isn't so much into the racing side of things. But, yours truly is. So, he's handing the runners over to me. And Happy Birthday to me!!! What a great present. :o) Anyway, Manny has had them out on a few training runs this week, to get them used to the temps, run part of the race trail and just check them out overall. The race is just 2 days away, so lots of prep happening right now. Packing drop bags tonight (my resupply bags that will be at the 2 checkpoints- Pleasant Valley Store 92 miles in and Angel Creek Lodge about 140 miles in), cutting meat, going over the sled and lines, etc. The temps are looking to be really HOT (about 30-40F above zero) and sunny. This equates to a slow, mushy trail and dogs who could overheat. Our temps have been all over the place over the past 2 months, dropping down to -50F, up to 58F above at one point. That's over a 100 degree difference in temps! So, you can imagine that the dogs with their permanent fur coats, would overheat easily if a musher doesn't take care. Luckily, the race trail winds through trees, down through swamps (low lying) and on rivers...these are generally areas where temps are a bit cooler. Most mushers will try to run in the cool of the night, trying to avoid those middle of the day temps. I have my race plan in place, and it involves camping/snack/water breaks all throughout. I'm hoping to start with 11 dogs....but may be down to 10, we'll see. That's ok...I actually enjoy running smaller teams.

There are 16 teams signed up as of right now....if all show up, that means over $3000 in prize money! Right on! Not that Rogue Summit is in contention...but it's nice to see our little race growing. Yay! Check out our TRDMA website for information on the race. Well, I'm off...a little thing called "Work" is beckoning. I'll try to post updates...but may not be able to post anything until after the race. We'll see. Take care all!

-Were you a Rogue today?