YQ: Day 1 Wrap-Up

It’s getting late where I am on the East Coast, so I’m going to take advantage of a lull in the action to offer a brief wrap-up and get a little sleep. It’s going to be a long race, so I encourage you to do the same!

First of all, I want you to know that I specifically asked not to be briefed-in about SPK’s Yukon Quest race strategies. Mostly so that I couldn’t accidentally disclose in public either team’s strategy, but partly so that — like you — I could enjoy all the mystery, drama and suspense that the YQ typically offers. Accordingly, everything I write over the next week or so is pure speculation on my part. Informed by experience, perhaps, but speculation nonetheless… Okay?

That said, here we go:

Looking at the tracker, it appears that shortly after taking the lead, Allen stopped on the trail about four miles short of the Two Rivers checkpoint.

The most likely reason is that his run/rest strategy simply called for it. There is absolutely nothing to read into the fact that he has stopped outside a checkpoint.

YQ checkpoints are relatively few and far between — compared, for example, to Iditarod — so there is an increased likelihood that run/rest schedules will not match up with checkpoint locations.

Allen and the dogs are very comfortable “camping out” and you can expect to see them spend a lot of time doing it. Frankly, Allen and Aliy prefer to avoid resting in checkpoints where there is always a lot of noise and commotion which interferes with the dogs’ rest. There’s nothing like a good night’s sleep under the stars, compared to tossing and turning while dogs bark, fans trudge around and snow machines make their awful noise!

Meanwhile, Aliy and the Red Team are cruising along the trail in what looks like fourth position. Since all the top-line dogs at SPK train in a similar run/rest routine, don’t be surprised if she stops short of the checkpoint as well. As we all know, Aliy loves to camp!

Overall on this first day, I am as impressed as always with the performance and professionalism of SPK!