Ken Anderson

[Skip95]

Last year there were some friends and relatives of Ken that were pretty active on the boards, but I've been unsuccessful in finding them...probably my own ignorance. Regardless, I think Ken deserves his own thread, he's put himself in a great position and is looking fantastic. Been following Gwen's blog at http://www.windycreekkennel.com and she has such good insight. Ken's time, his schedule, his dogs and even the sparse words from the trail about him all seem very encouraging. I'm thinking he's extremely well placed to land in the top 5. Any thoughts from the more experts folks out there?

E

[Di*]

Hi Skip
I'm no expert but I agree with you, Ken deserves a thread in here. I think his quiet personality tends to hide his real competitiveness and ability, he doesn't toot his own horn!

Way to go Ken and also a great rookie run of the Quest! Looking forward to him running that again next year.

[Skip95]

I totally agree. He is pretty low-key, which many folks mistake as not competitive. Make no mistake, this guy is an athlete and he's pretty doggone competitive...on many levels. He wants to win the race, he wants to beat his best time, and I'll bet he wants to beat his neighbor as well for local bragging rights. I don't know, like I said, don't really know him, but that's the feeling I get. Anyhow, I think he's put himself in a great spot and his team was gaining speed. Out of the Cripple bunch, I'd say he and DeeDee probably have the best shot now. Still, King is going to be hard to catch, he might run away with it this year.

[jsk]

I'm Baaack! One of the reasons I haven't posted sooner is that I was in Anchorage and Willow for the start and restart.

Anyway, WHAT HAPPENED to Ken's GPS? Did he throw it into the snow at Ruby or something? Did some batteries die? The GPS has shown him as being at Ruby all day, when in fact he breezed through Galena this afternoon!

[jsk]

Wait...wait...it appears his GPS has reappeared!

[Di*]

There has been some of that on and off all race...seems it isn't foolproof yet!

[jsk]

It's tough to select favorites from among dog teams, but this guy--Haakon--was only two years old and embarking on his first I'rod. I'm not sure if he ran the Quest with Ken or not, but it seems likely. Anyway, I gave him a special kiss shortly before the start in Willow.

[jsk]

There has been some of that on and off all race...seems it isn't foolproof yet!

It was driving me crazy for awhile! I guess the best thing to do at this point is to check the GPS against the I'rod board. That's all I could figure out!

[Skip95]

JSK,
Are you one of Ken and Gwen's handlers or one of his handlers' mothers by any chance? I thought you might be Julie, but I thought she went back to Fox with Gwen. Anyhow, I knew Ken a millon years ago in high school. Bumped into him once in Fox while I was stationed at Eielson AFB back in 96. But that's about it. Sounds like you have some excellent first-hand insight. How's the trail from Galena to Nulato. Ken still hasn't done his man 8 right? So, he's taking that in Nulato, right? By my rough math, that puts him somewhere between 12th and 16th place or so. I'm guessing he's banking on trying to use his speed once the trail firms up a bit. He's had some really quick runs, think his run to Takotna is still the fastest this year...and still has a good string of 15. Still, I'm concerned that nobody might catch Jeff this year. Their lead seems to be growing. Your thoughts?

[Skip95]

BTW, that's a really cute pic of you lovin' on one of the doggies.