It's over.....or is it?

Ran the Mid Distance Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon
Day 163, February 1, 2011
Team Buzzsaw / Stewart Taylor Printing

My Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon experience has come to an end. It was everything I had hoped for and will cherish the memories and the experience forever. I met some unbelievable dogs and learned to appreciate animals again. I met some great people and have made new friendships along with new business acquaintances. I lost 30 lbs and got myself back into shape. I learned that I have huge support from some of the family members and surprised how the community backed my journey. I hope that people watched the Beargrease or followed it with new interest and I hope that the momentum will continue to grow for this great Duluth / North Shore event. I have been asked if I would run the full marathon and my answer went from no, to well maybe, if the circumstances were to fall into place and I can't imagine how that will happen. So It's over, for now, and I will begin to prepare for my next adventure....biking around the Grand Canyon with my wife!

Final Preparations!!!!!

Running the Mid Distance Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon
Day 153, January 22, 2011
Team Buzzsaw / Stewart Taylor Printing

5 months has come and gone. I started this journey September 1, 2010 and it will be over in just about 1 week. Today's event will be clipping the dogs toe nails, foot care and equipment check. Final preparations will take a couple hours of going over our game plan and making sure we cross everything off of our to do list. In this last week I will lose 5 more lbs bringing me past my goal and reaching 170lbs, down from 200 last July! The dogs are in great shape and we have finalized our squad with a couple of late surprises. Potential lineup is: Lead dogs will be Cirrus and Whisper, Point dogs will be Serena and Russell, team dogs will be Rocket and China, wheel dogs are Sly and Jaye. We had a sweet run yesterday to Two Harbors and with the cold weather crystallizing the snow, it was fast! In 2 days I will ride a snowmobile to Tofte, MN (finish line) to learn the whole trail and make some notes by using my GPS to know milege points. Lots of work, but worth it for a great run!

Enjoying the Real Thing

Running the Mid Distance Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon
Day 147, January 16, 2011
Team Buzzsaw / Stewart Taylor Printing

With 2 weeks to race day you would think we would need to run hard, long and fast every opportunity. But instead of loading all the dogs into the truck and taking them 10 miles to start the 30 or 60 mile run, I hooked up 8 dogs right at the Stetson homestead and ran on the 3.5 mile loop for just an hour. Breaking trail, running on the lake and then back through the woods 3 times. It was refreshing and fun. No racing or split times to worry about, just dog sledding in it's natural form, the way it is meant to be. Once on the lake, I was able to Gee (right) Haw (left) the dogs at will. Watching them react to my commands and making them go where I wanted them to go was a thing of beauty. It was a great day of learning what these Alaskan Huskies can do in a different enviornment from a race trail, where they just go straight ahead. Tight corners, deep snow and no real trail on the lake. It was vastly different than race training but more natural and enjoyable. Today was a special day as I enjoyed the real thing with my team.

WDIO.com - Local Musher's First Beargrease

WDIO.com - Local Musher's First Beargrease

Preparing with Longer Runs

Running the Mid Distance Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon
Day 144, January 13, 2011
Team Buzzsaw / Stewart Taylor Printing

Sweet day yesterday as we ran to Two Harbors and back on the North Shore Trail. A 2 hour layover in Two Harbors with 2 teams from the Stetson kennel and 2 teams from the Gordon kennel made it feel more like the real thing. Dogs put down to sleep or rest and the handlers and mushers talking about their dogs over a sandwich. There is a standard conversation that seems to always take place at layovers; "See that dog right there....." and the story continues. Each dog has their story; where they came from, how fast they run (or use to run), what their good or bad habits are and so on. With 30 dogs on the run, there was a lot to talk about. The longer run really opened my eyes to how tough the full Beargrease is. The mid distance that I am doing is done in 20 hours. The full is 4 days! It is a grueling race with the Sawtooth Mountains in the middle of it. I look forward to longer training runs as we get closer to Jan 30.

The Handlers Get it Done

Running the Mid Distance Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon
Day 140, January 9, 2011
Team Buzzsaw / Stewart Taylor Printing

I was able to work with a team this weekend as a handler in the White Oak Dog Sled Race in Deer River, MN. It was a great learning experience and helped me to understand the other 90% of what needs to get done to run a team in a race. The musher gets the glory but it is truly the handlers and the dogs who do the bulk of the work (kind of like a running back and the offensive linemen). Here's the list of chores the handlers take care of once the truck is at the race: Put out droplines for the dogs and get them out of the truck, help prepare the sled and everything that the musher needs in it, get the gangline attached and doublechecked, help attach the snubline and snow hook, feed and water the dogs 1 hour before the race, put on ointment and dog booties for each paw, walk the dogs to loosten them up, harness and hook up the dogs and then help get them to the starting gate. Then go back to the truck, pick up the poop and food bowls, stack the gear, lock up the truck and head to the next checkpoint......and wait. Waiting is the hardest part of it. You have to guess about 10 mph x 48 miles = almost 5 hours, give or take an hour. On top of that, you have to be waiting for the musher to come in and get him on his way asap. If it is a layover, then the work begins. Hook up the team to the truck, keeping them on the gangline and harnesses on, taking off the booties, massage the wrists, feed the team and put out the straw and blankets for thier nap. about 5 or 6 hours later.... (hopefully you have gotten some shuteye) it starts over. And on it goes....hurry up and wait. The handlers are the #2 heroes, right after the dogs. The Musher comes in as a close 3rd most important part of the race!

Ropes, Knots and Clips

Running the Mid Distance Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon
Day 138, January 7, 2011
Team Buzzsaw / Stewart Taylor Printing

The configuration of ropes in a mushing sled with your team of dogs is a critical element. First, your gangline, which is the main line that holds your team, should be checked often for any frays or tears. The neck lines and tug lines should also be checked and replaced if they are starting to go. When you are hooking up the team, the dogs start to bounce into their harnesses and it puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the gangline and the clips. The dogs want run NOW! A quick and efficient hookup is always the goal. The next rope that is needed is the snub line. This rope is tied to something sturdy right behind or next to the sled and is attached to the gangline. Always to the gang line and not to the sled. The sled could be broke by the power of the dogs. The snub line should be clipped to a section of the gangline that is a different spot than other connections for redundancy. The other end needs a knot that is powerful enough to hold the dogs, yet comes out easily when you are ready for your departure. Next is the snowhook which is also attached to the gangline, also in a different spot if possible. The snow hook acts as your break when you are out on your run and need to stop for a short period of time and dont want to tie off the snub line. The ropes and knots that are used in mushing are extremely important and should be perfected and double checked before running dogs. It will protect your dogs....and that is what this sport is all about.

New Year's Run

Running the Mid Distance Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon
Day 134, January 3, 2011
Team Buzzsaw / Stewart Taylor Printing

My first run of the new year was a blast. We hooked up 2-6 dog teams and flew! The trails were packed and groomed, the weather was crisp and the dogs wanted to run. We ran 20 miles in under 2 hours (11 mph) and it gave me the insight to the speed I need to run the race at. 12.2 mph won the race last year and that is moving pretty good for 100 plus miles. I rested the dogs once every 45 minutes or so.... usually when they should be loping and aren't and after I have called them up to push it. I figure all they need a 30 second rest. It is better to rest them when they are tired, they will give you more when you need it later. The dogs all looked good, strong, healthy and hungry at the end. You want your dogs to have a great appetite at the end of a training run. My new favorite "World Class" dog is

Sparkler

This dog is a go getter and bounds out of the truck each day. (Sparkler has 2 brothers; Rocket and M-80. I run with Rocket too and he is just as good. The reason they all have firecracker names is that you name your dogs in this sport with a "theme". When Stetson was on an expedition, some dogs were born and the handlers, Johnathon and Juliet named them after the movie "Transformers". The dogs were Mudflap and Starscream). I saved him for the lead on the return trip to help drive a solid pace. This dog has a speed record in the Mid Distance while he was in the lead....fastest time in a 30 mile run. He has won this race before and I can see why! I am looking forward to each day now as these dogs are getting in shape. The muscles are evident in their shoulders and they have trimmed their weight down. Only 27 more days to race day!