Well... not exactly, but sort of.

The question was: Can Aliy Keep up with her dogs?
The answer: Well... not exactly. But, if you use creative statistics, sort of.

The Anchorage Running Club's Big Wild Life Runs half marathon was the test this weekend. It was a great event in a great city. The turn out was fantastic and Aliy was one of thousands of participants in the event.

The 13.1 mile course was awesome. It started in the heart of downtown Anchorage and went out along the Coastal Trail. Then for miles, the Iditarod Route and the marathon route were exactly the same.

However, Aliy's pace was mildly slower than her Iditarod Team usually scoots down the trail. Aliy covered the same distance the dogs do in about twice the amount of time. Considering each SP Kennel dog has twice as many legs as Aliy, one might mathematically deduce that their paces were then actually the same. And if one tweaks the numbers a little more: there are twelve dogs running the Iditarod route and only one Aliy on the marathon route... So... perhaps that puts her ahead? (I'm sure Aliy will have a mathematical discussion with Quito and Beemer back at the kennel when she is asked to explain her performance.)


The same trail, just a different season.


Aliy's running partner for the event, Linda Steiner, has been training for her first ever marathon in Portland this October. This half marathon was a step in her training progression. Aliy decided that since she was in Anchorage for several days anyhow, why not to show up and cheer Linda on.

And, why not do that right by her side?

Good luck to Linda in October. Sorry Linda, but Aliy will be busy keeping up with the dogs in October!