Running the T200~

We (Dan & I) were both rookies at the T200; what the Tustumena 200 is called for short. We had heard wonderful things about the race, and had always thought it would be fun to check it out. But it is held the 4th Saturday in January, which is too close to the Yukon Quest for Quest teams to go run it. But with Dew Claw taking a year off from the Quest this was the perfect opportunity for us to go give it a look see. And we are both glad we did, cause we really like what we saw.

The trip down to the Kenai Peninsula is a pretty long haul. But we were lucky enough to break it into 2 days. Our wonderful friend Joel joined us to help with the trip and race. Packed into the truck were 3 humans and our gear, in the bed were bales of straw, meat for the dogs and 2 race sleds. The trailer was home to 26 dogs and more gear. Midway we spent the night with friends TC and Dave in Willow. It gave us the opportunity to take the dogs for a little fun run from Deshka Landing to let them stretch out and burn off some energy. Then a social evening of talking dog and eating a fine meal of veggie pasta and some t-bone style steaks from the caribou Dan got this fall. Joining us for dinner were TJ & Lindsey, who along with TC and Dave are the folks that will be watching my Iditarod dropped dogs after they are flow back to Anchorage. I am really fortunate that such wonderful dog loving mushers will be looking after the kids.

The second day of the trip day ended with a bang, literally. Well more like a bang, pop, hiss… and then about 40 minutes on the side of the road changing a tire. Not excatly what we had in the plans. But it seems my life rarely ever goes excatly as planned. After changing the tire, finding someplace to get a new spare became our next priority. But luckily armed with 2 iPhones, and Joel’s expert use of the ‘iWant’ app, we found a great locally owned tire shop. Steam on Wheels had our new used tire on the rim in as little time as it took us to drop* the dogs. And we were ready to roll again.
*for those unfamiliar with ‘dropping the dogs’ in the context of road trips, let me explain.  On road trips you need to stop every 3-4 hours and let all the dogs out of the dog box to stretch their legs and do their business. The doggie equivalent of a rest stop potty break. The term drop is also used in the context of racing, you will read more about that later.

After a long and slightly eventful second day of driving the humans of Team Dew Claw checked into the Aspen Hotel in Soldotna. They were a race sponsor, and also the location of the mandatory vet checks the next day, so it was a good convenient spot to stay. The cable TV was a nice treat considering we get no reception out where we live, and have not had television at home for years (the old TV is just for playing DVD’s). And the hotel pool & hot tub was too inviting for me to pass up. Luckily I got some quality time in there before the 4 pee wee hockey teams checked in and took over!

The next day brought vet checks, and mushers meetings. The dogs all checked out and were ready to run. Our gear had been double checked and packed before the trip down. This gave us a little free time to relax and enjoy the company of our fellow mushers and the many wonderful volunteers we met.

The morning of the race was cold by Kenai standards. But coming from Fairbanks which was having a record cold January it felt fine to us, we were used to worse. Teams prepared for the start in a well plowed start area, while local mushing fans wandered around taking in all the activity. Now you might expect 2 teams taking off from the same truck with only one handler between us to be a bit stressful. But not even close. Dan and I both had our gear ready & sleds packed well in advance, did our mandatory gear check early, and were the first 2 to have our GPS trackers pinned to our sleds. The dogs were mostly seasoned race dogs and relatively unaffected by the crowds. And the 3 younger boys I had with in my team, Onion, Carrot, and Chase-um seems to take their cue from the older race dogs. Dan went out before me with bib #2, and I was bib #12 so there was a bit of time after he left for me to get my team lined out. And we both got off to a great start.

Now the trail was new for this years race. (read more here) and looking at the trail map might be confusing (see the map here on the tracking page) The square is the start, the first dot on the way down is Oil Well Pad, keep going down to the bottom dot and that is the school in Homer for a 2 hour rest. You head back up from there to Oil Well Pad and then head left to Freddy’s, which is the half way. At the half way you get a 6 hour break, then you head back to Homer for another 2 hour break, and lastly back up the entire trail to the finish. The route is listed in the race rules as well. I was nervous about getting confused and not taking the right trail at Oil Well Pad. But my fears were totally unnecessary. Not only had the trail groomers done an amazing job of marking the trail. the volunteers at Oil Well Pad had fencing set up so that you were funneled through and onto the right trail. -Well except for went Dan got there the first time, he was a little faster then they thought and they had not moved the fence to open up the trail to Homer yet. It was quickly fixed and he was on his way. In Homer the community turned out in full force and the hospitality was great. The half way at Freddy’s was also everything a musher could ask for in a checkpoint. Great people, hot food and coffee, and a real luxury you do not always get while racing; a mushers only area with our own bathroom & bedrooms for sleeping! Totally Awesome!

Thanks to Joseph Robertia for this picture of the team coming into the Homer checkpoint

Now that I have gushed about the checkpoints, let me tell you about the trail; BEAUTIFUL!!! You will also hear a lot about the hills, and it was certainly hilly. Heck we ran back and forth through the Caribou Hills twice. And it was a workout to be sure. But nothing could take away from how amazing the views were, up in those hills on a warm sunny day.

When it was all said and done Dan finished 3rd, and I came in 7th. Here is a nice article written by our friend and fellow musher Joseph Robertia; his wife Colleen was 4th in the race and won the Sportsmanship Award (voted on by fellow mushers). Sprint to the finish — Smyth passes King for T200 victory

Both of us were really pleased with how the kids did. Dan’s team stayed strong and happy for the entire race. My younger dogs had a lot of fun, Chase-um was dropped early as he went out a little too strong at the start, having not yet learned to pace himself. So I had to be the ‘pacer’ and decided it was in his best interest to stop racing at the half way point. Carrot and Onion stayed with the team until the last leg. For the last leg I left them, wanting to make sure their experience stayed positive; and 2 adult who I did not want running any further, Ahtna and Skittle. Dropping a dog is like benching a athlete, for their own good and to ensure they are rested and well cared for after an extra tough workout. Dropped dogs are given to race veterinarians until they can be handed off to your own handler. I wrote a bit about dropped dogs in an earlier blog, read more.

Since I had started with only 13 (the race allowed for 14) I was now down to 8 dogs. But they were my rock solid strongest 8, and we had a very fast fun run to the finish. The last leg of the trail was home to a large population of rabbits. Rabbits who thought it fun to charge across the trail in front of my team. My team thought it was fairly fun too, and with each rabbit crossing we gained a burst of speed. I had been running a new leader who had never led in a race, Sparrow. Sparrow was not as focused when faced with these furry little distractions, and would have happily raced into the woods after the rabbits, without Loben’s influence that is. Loben, my trusted leader knew that we would not be actually chasing them into the woods and did her job of keeping the whole team moving forward. I had hoped to take a good look at the dogs in my team to decide which ones would be joining the dogs Dan ran in his T200 team for Iditarod. And I am pleased to say that all 8 did so well I will be having a very hard time choosing.

Dan had finished ahead of me, and his team was already fed and resting in the cozy straw filled boxes of the dog trailer. Dan had stayed awake and was waiting for me with Joel. Joel was also awake,  having pulled double duty this entire race, taking care of both teams! Getting next to no sleep, and never getting to see the trail, and smiling the whole time. Yeah Joel, we can not thank you enough.

Wish I had a camera with to share the beauty of the T200 with you, but alas when racing I don’t often have the presence of mind to use a camera and so I rarely take one. Some of the nicer race photos we saw were taken by ‘Photography by Antonia‘ And she was kind enough to post a gallery on facebook for all to see:
Here are the photos of me, Dan & the kids.
For the complete album of T200 images click here.

The trip home was also a 2 day adventure. No major break downs or surprises, thankfully. And we stopped mid way to stay with dear friends Theresa and John. I have known Theresa for years, and am honored to call her a friend. The men all went to bed long before she and I were ready to stop talking, laughing, solving the problems of the world and call it a night. I invite you to check out her Go Mush website for more news and information on sled dog sports.

Felt great to get home, except for the weather. We had slowly watched the temperature drop as we drove nearer and nearer to Fairbanks. The above 0 temperature we had been enjoying had felt pretty good, and now we were home to the deep cold of the sub-zero far North. Race dogs went from the trailer to the heated garage for a big meal and a nice night of R&R. I have to admit, once all the kids were settled in, it felt great to take a hot shower and sleep in my own bed.

There were so many people involved in making this a great event, and I want to thank all of the volunteers, veterinarians, organizers, trail crew, and our wonderful friends who helped us along the way.
MUSH THANKS Y’ALL