Clear Lake Sled Dog Race

The results are in!

The Small 'N' Mighty Racing Team placed 4th in the Clear Lake Sled Dog Race!

The dogs after we got off the trail on Saturday.

I ran 4 dogs in the 5-dog class and we were the 22nd team to go out in a class of 26.

To put it plainly, the scenery was gorgeous! The trail was softer than I like it but considering the winter we've been having so far it was in good shape. The trail groomers did a great job!

We got to pass a few teams which my dogs did excellent with! I'm always a little nervous about passing in the first race of the season as we don't get the chance to practice passing very often during training. I'm always unsure of how my dogs will react but they did a superb job!

We finished the 5 mile trail on Saturday in 5th place with a time of 26 minutes (can't remember how many seconds).

On Sunday we were the 5th team to hit the trail and and we finished in 4th place with a time of 24 minutes.

I'm extremely proud of my dogs and how well they did! They never cease to amaze me.

Jacob, my 10 year old leader, seems to sense that this is his last year racing so he is giving it all he's got!

Over all we had a great time this weekend. It was our first M.U.S.H. (Mid Union Sled Haulers) race so there were lots of new people to meet. We usually run with GLSDA (Great Lakes Sled Dog Association) but since the first 2 GLSDA races were cancelled, we decided to try a M.U.S.H. race. We're glad we did! All of the people were so friendly and relaxed--you could tell that fun was the priority for the weekend...not winning, which made for a friendly and fun filled atmosphere.

Well, after a few days rest and a run or two this week, we'll be ready for next weekend! Look out Indian River, here we come!

Side note...

As a part of Rory, the new dogs', training I brought her along with us for the weekend so she could witness all of the action. That way when she is ready to race next year, she will know what a race site looks and sounds like.

After I got done racing today I put a harness on Rory and clipped a leash to the end of it and walked her down a small trail leading away from the race site. She listened to my 'Hike!' command and lead me down the trail. I'm pretty confident that she is going to make a good leader!

A reporter for 9&10 News came out to the race site and shot some video of the races. Click here to watch...