Hank Debruin

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Hank Debruin

Postby jplife » Fri Mar 12, 2010 5:22 pm

Canadian Rookie Hank Debruin>Winterdance dog sled tours, Iditarod bound, race team "Watching men who love their jobs work is like watching the stars come out when the world is muffled by snow and you can almost hear them sing. DeBruin is one of those men. He gets a bigger rush out of running the dogs than racing his V-Max motorcycle at 180 miles per hour DeBruin walked between the teams of dogs asking them if they were ready to run. He knelt down, his face even with Dixie and Chinook, my lead dogs, as he worked them up and ruffled their fur. All the dogs started barking like a pack of teenagers at a concert when a hot singer yells, "Are you ready to rock?" The excitement built as DeBruin worked his way down the gangline. Energy flowed from DeBruin to the dogs and back. It crackled in the air and seeped through multiple layers of clothes to infuse me with excitement."Man one with his dogs :D
Taken off their facebook page.
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Re: Hank Debruin

Postby Di* » Fri Mar 12, 2010 9:42 pm

Very cool JP!
Dogs...What they lack in manners, they make up for in Sincerity!
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Re: Hank Debruin

Postby Moose » Sat Mar 13, 2010 4:39 am

Very cool. By any chance, JP, is that a Swanny quote? :D
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Re: Hank Debruin

Postby jplife » Sat Mar 13, 2010 9:18 am

I believe his wife wrote this :D back in Oct
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Re: Hank Debruin

Postby jplife » Sat Mar 13, 2010 9:19 am

Hi everyone from VERY chilly McGrath, thanks Ward for updating this site today in my silent absense, sorry for the delay in info but I have had no phone service, but someone just gave me a laptop for a bit so I will get as much info into this post as I can. It has been an amazing day!!! Gorgeous flight to McGrath, stunning view of the Alaska Range, looking down at it, it makes you wonder how dog teams could ever get over it.... Landed in a sunny, very chilly McGrath, no wind though and did the 1 mile walk to the checkpoint. Hank's team was parked along the back of the checkpoint so he didn't see me. He was bent over looking at a dog with a vet so he didn't see me until I bumped into him, I wish I had a camera to capture the look on his face. He looked at me, looked around and said "how did you get here!!??" We had a great few hours, I spent a lot of time with the dogs playing with them, petting them and just being happy. He was in the process of dropping Saphire, Ebony & Strider. All are fine, Ebony was just not wanting to go anymore, as Ward said Saph had a sore wrist and Strider while seeming pretty happy the vets thought he had a sore stomach which is bad for a distance dog so he went home too. Hank was fine with sending them and I assured him I would go look after them until they were on their wayto Anchorage. The village people are incredible!!!! Everyone that goes by stops and talks and offers advice, wisdom & encouragement. Hank pulled out on schedule in great spirits on a lovely day. When he called the dogs off their straw they went nuts, howling, barking looking excited to go. Lily & Loretto are the only ones he is worried about now, they aren't their normal happy selves but seemed happy enough to run today. His plan right now as per a village elders suggestion is to run as long as it feels right to him and the dogs, enjoy the journey. It was great seeing him and definately put my mind at ease that he is fine! He said the high's and lows in this race are extreme and fast, one minute you are on top of the world the next the world is crashing around you. Coming into McGrath he had all 3 dogs that he dropped in and out of the sled, put 2 in than take one out and put another in that is why it took him so long....

When it was time to go he pulled the hook and went out at a good speed, doing a big drop onto the Kusko River and off he went. Several villagers were on hand taking pictures and one (Toby??) took a video of the team heading out. Once Hank left I headed to the dropped dog area. They are still looking for Justin's dog, the good news is he has been seen in the village of McGrath several times so they know he is close they just have to catch him. People are so kind here, walking to the dog lot, a snowmobiler stopped to give me a ride turned out he was Craig from Alaska Dispatch what a great guy, with some nice frostbite on his nose! Someone else offered me a ride in their truck. Got to the airport to see tons of dropped dogs about 60 in total. It was quite an eye opener and I take my hat off to everyone who volunteers for this race, the care the dogs get is incredible. I helped look after our 3 dogs and loaded them into the dog boxes, our dogs were lucky they got to ride on a large Northern Air Cargo plane right in a big dog box that would go on a truck. I have some great pictures that I will get up soon. They would have been back in Anchorage in 40 minutes for Ward to meet. A vet checks them over in the dog lot and another vet before they are released again in Anchorage. Since I'm here until tomorrow morning anyway I offered to help with the dog lot and had a blast. If Hank ever runs Iditarod again this is the way to do it volunteer out on the trail you keep busy are in the action and don't worry so much because you are busy. Jane Faulker's partner is helping with dogs too.

Well I need to turn the computer back over again so will sign off. I have many other wonderful stories to share about incredible people we met in McGrath and stories from folks here and Hank. I can't tell you all how much your support means to Hank, he can't believe there are so many people following his team especially when he is at the back of the pack. One thing I have heard more times than I can count today is the surprise on new volunteer/vet's faces coming into McGrath that there are no teams left here. As Hank was told it isn't that he is that slow, it is just that the race is fast this year and the other teams that should be with him or back further are out. Looking at stats the last 2 years there have been many teams slower than Hank at this point that still finished. Good night all and thanks again for making Hank feel so supported
written by Tanya
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Re: Hank Debruin

Postby fladogfan » Sat Mar 13, 2010 4:01 pm

jp, thanks for posting that. It's just jam packed with interesting news. So nice to hear good things about villagers, vets and volunteers.
Good luck Hank and enjoy the trip.
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Re: Hank Debruin

Postby Moose » Sat Mar 13, 2010 4:22 pm

Great story. Thanks, jp, for posting. Looks like Hank left Ophir within minutes of Emil Churchin. Way to go, guys! You're moving along the Iditarod Trail! Can it get any better than that?
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Re: Hank Debruin

Postby jplife » Sat Mar 13, 2010 6:21 pm

Hank's moving great! Talked to several people this morning including the Takotna checkers who saw him yesterday and they said he and the team were moving beautifully and looked happy. Apprently he came into Takotna had a couple of buritos and kept going! He was planning on staying in Ophir for 6-8 hours but seems to have decided to take that rest away from the checkpoint, not sure why unless the dogs were still moving well and he wanted to go on a bit further in the nice weather in order to make the remainder of the run to cripple in one leg today.

Talk at the cafe is can Jeff hold off Lance and the pack, it would seem since than Lance has taken the lead! To answer questions, Barron's GPS seems to be lost, Churkin is travelling close to Hank and also has no GPS, Jane Faulker has had 2 GPS and neither are working she is running with Davis, Adams from Tanya :D
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Re: Hank Debruin

Postby jplife » Sun May 02, 2010 5:15 pm

Winterdance dog sled tours, Iditarod bound, race team Gift from a Champion - Somewhere between Haliburton and Anchorage Hank misplaced his laddle that he uses to feed dogs. After searching numerous stores for the correct size, one morning dropping dogs beside Lance Mackey, Hank asked him if he knew where he could find a laddle in Anchorage. Lance said he would get back ...to him on it. T...hat night when Hank went out to drop dogs there was a brand new laddle on the hood of our truck. Lance would take no money for it, saying only pay me back by getting to Nome. One of the first things Hank said when he called from Unalakleet is "I won't be able to keep my promise to Lance.....". An amazing, down to earth, humble man, enough can't be said about Lance Mackey, his family and their kindness to all of us. :D
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Re: Hank Debruin

Postby fladogfan » Tue May 04, 2010 4:32 am

Don't you just love hearing good things about people you admire?
Thanks for posting this jp :D
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