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Monday, September 9, 2013
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
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!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
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!
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!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
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.
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.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
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.
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.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
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!
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!
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