24 February 2009 Yukon Quest

The Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race finish line was just blocks away from our hotel! The news reported that the first team of dogs would be crossing the finish line at 9:30 am so we bundled up and hurried down the snowy streets to the Yukon River. In our wait for the first team of dogs to appear, I learned that this race starts in Whitehorse, Canada and ends up in Fairbanks, Alaska which is 1,000 miles away! We were able to speak with last year's winner Lance Mackey and he told us that this is the hardest dog race in Alaska because there are only 10 stops along the way and some of the stops are 200 miles apart. I also found out that there is only one sled driver for each team called a musher. Fourteen dogs can be on the team, but only 8 can race at a time. A team cannot add any new dogs but can switch out dogs when necessary. Usually dogs run for 4 hours and then rest for 4 hours while other dogs pull the sled. All of the dogs wear these cute little black booties made of cloth that attach with Velcro. Since dogs sweat by panting and not through their skin like humans, their feet can get hot wearing the booties that protect their feet. So their booties are removed for a bit when they stop to cool off their feet. We were told dogs have to eat 12,000 calories each day to keep up their energy!

My biggest surprise was how long this race takes. All of the 29 teams left on February 14th, so it took 9 days, 23 hours and 20 minutes for the winner Sebastian Schnuelle and his dogs to cross the finish line. Our chilly 74 minute wait was worth every minute seeing these dogs pulling the led in their black booties! However, we didn't wait to see the last team cross the finish line. This team gets something called the red lantern award. More training for me tomorrow so I've got to mush on...