Western Wrap-up

Weatherman was wrong. It did not rain Sunday. It was beautiful. Temperature was just above freezing when the race started and warmed up to sweatshirt weather by the time the first musher finished. Trail was well packed and slick. Times weren't as fast as day 1 of course, but much faster then day two. Results were as follows:

1st Place: John Hanson Jr. Day 1=1:08:52, Day 2=1:42:16, Day 3=1:13:48, Overall=4:04:56
2nd Place: Clint Anelon Day 1=1:12:32, Day 2=1:46:32, Day 3=1:16:45, Overall=4:15:49
3rd Place: Tom Weedman Day 1=1:12:19, Day 2=1:52:57, Day 3=1:14:36, Overall=4:19:52
4th Place: Blunka Wassillie Day 1=1:14:12, Day 2=1:56:11, Day 3=1:21:10, Overall=4:31:33
5th Place: Ryan Savo Day 1=1:36:27, Day 2=2:06:37, Day 3=1:49:30, Overall=5:32:34
6th Place: Keenan Herrmann Day 1=2:01:25, Day 2=3:00:58, Day 3=3:10:58 Overall=7:37:25

Johnny, Tommy, and Blunka are from New Stuyahok and Clint is from Iliamna. Johnny ran his dad John Sr.'s dogs, Blunka ran Gust Choknock's dogs, Clint ran his dad Tim's dogs, and Tommy ran his own dogs. Ryan and Keenan were the only Dillingham mushers to enter. Ryan ran my big working dogs to get a feel for racing before we get competitive in the years to come.

Keenan showed the kind of grit and tallent we don't see in enough of our young people. He drove a sled he made himself out of hand-milled spruce and birch. Hand-tied and proven over 350 training miles, it wasn't pretty, but the contraption held up well. His lines were self fashioned. The team consisted of one old leader and three 10 month old pups he and his sister had been raising and training themselves. They would give me a call from time to time, but they socialized them, harness broke them, recognized the leader in the bunch and worked with her. Keenan and Libby brought up their sled dogs largely on their own and made their own equipment. When Keenan first called me about a month ago to ask about the race I said, "How far are you running and how often." He told me they were running 15 miles every day with his sister in the basket. I asked him if the pups were coming home worn out and he said, "Not really." I suggested he try it without his sister in the sled and recommended giving the dogs a break every now and again, but encouraged him to keep working twoard entering the race. Keenan took home a $900 dollar check Sunday. Wonder if he split it with Libby? The dogs were half hers after all.

Long after the crowds had gone home Sunday, Keenan's family and a small group of supporters waited for him at the finish line. He came in fist pumping wearing a smile that touched each ear. Dogs looked great, every tail wagging. Mom took pictures, Dad patted him on his back, and Libby quickly offered the pups some baited water. It was fun watching the top mushers come in with their dogs loping and seeing them take home the big checks. But for all the work and effort that goes into a dog sled race, it was Keenan's finish that I'll keep with me. I saw in him the glow of those first magical moments. That time when we first knew we would never stop mushing, when it was perfect. In that time and at that place I saw what I sometimes forget. In all its complexity with all its intricacies, this passion we share boils down to two things; a musher and his dogs. The musher and his dogs crossing the finish line of the Western Alaska Championship Sled Dog Race at 4:11 PM Sunday afternoon were simply perfect.

Long may you run young man, and thank you.