YQ300: SPK Red Team First Into Mile 101

Aliy's Red Team was first to arrive at the Mile 101 checkpoint. According to the YQ site:
"Aliy Zirkle came storming into Mile 101, not realizing she was the first of the YQ300 mushers. She'll be taking her mandatory four hours stop and getting some rest herself after bedding the dogs."
As always, Aliy's focus is on the dogs and she lets the standings take care of themselves.

The team will take its mandatory rest, during which Aliy will spend most of the time pampering the dogs and maybe get a few minutes for herself to eat and rest.

Unless you've been there to see it, folks, it is almost impossible to understand and appreciate how much time, attention, energy and even personal sacrifice a great musher like Aliy will expend and endure on behalf of the dogs.

It's humbling to witness what she does for the love of her dogs.

According to the tracker, Chase Tingle arrived at Mile 101 about a half-hour after Aliy, with other teams following pretty close behind. That means this is a very competitive race, and guaranteed to be very exciting -- and stressful for all of us! -- over the next day or so.

It's frustrating that we don't have any photos or video of Aliy yet, but when I explain in a future post just how impossible the logistics and communications are for both YQ races you'll have a better sense of why that is. For now, trust me when I say it's truly amazing that we get anything at all from "way out there"!