On Tue, 25 Mar 2008 01:06:47 -0800, snowshoe@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
(Jan Flora)
wrote:
>Yesterday's ADN has an article about The Sweepstakes. The boys will leave
>Nome on Wednesday, I think.
>My money is still on Mackey, even though he's got to be getting
>trail-weary by now. He's run over 2000
>miles in the last month, on a dogsled. That doesn't even count the miles
>he's ridden in a pickup to get
>from Whitehorse to ANC, from Quest Finish to Iditadog Start.
>
>Jeff King and Butthead Swenson will be trying like hell to knock Lance
off
>his stump.
>
>$100,000 in cash & gold for the winner. A 408 mile sprint race with three
>sets of mountains
>and 50 water crossings, some frozen, some not. Weather forecast doesn't
>sound too snotty,
>so far. Should be a good race!
>
> Jan
I'm not as enthusiastic about these races in terms of the sled
drivers. I assume it's something of an athletic endurance race for
them, and we do see them off the back of the sled at times, doing a
fast walk or something, and there is that one-legged kick that
probably helps. I'm sure those guys are in great physical shape, even
those past 45 years of age, who might sometimes take a nap in the
basket on a good trail crossing open country.
Isn't it really about the dogs and how to make a winning race strategy
for them that determines the winner? It's the dogs who do all the
miles, crossing rivers, breaking trails. As only a race watcher, I do
see that hug and lick the lead dogs are allowed after fini****ng, but
not much about the other dogs. We don't seem to find out just what
caused the occasional dog death in the races, either. I just hope
they get a good piece of frozen fish or muskrat and at least a week of
rest before racing again.
There's other things about the conditions and treatment of racing dogs
that might be mentioned, but let's not go there. bookburn
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