32nd - Martin Buser - 3/16, 3:14 am - 11 dogs<noisy cheering crowd, despite the hour>
<Martin in very good spirits>
Nice welcome! <he then taunts his wife who's glasses are all steamed up> She's all fogged up!
What a great race! What an awesome race!!!
This was a fantastically frustrating race, but it ends a four year streak of finishing with more questions than answers. This year I found a bunch of answers out on the trail, so that's what satistying about this trip - I think I solved about four years of mystery in my team, and in my life, and in my relationships - all kinds of different things that need to be rectified and answers a whole bunch of things that have been going on.
But I've got those old fashioned dogs that like to eat, sleep, and run fast, so I just had to get them well again. And once I got them healthy, they could motor a little bit. But I've got to change a bunch of stuff with them. It's never the dogs' fault of course. They can live up to my expectations if I do it right.
Rohn is here, but the older one is not here. But that's oK, we don't expect them to be at the finish line. And I'd rather have Rohn at the finish line than be suffering out on the trail somewhere.
<complains about the clipboard "nothing is made for left-hander, eh?" <laughs>>
33rd - Melissa Stewart - 3/16, 8:05 am - 12 dogs<fast trotting dogs in blue coats>
<someone hands Melissa a phone>
<dog trying to fit an enormous slab of snack in sideways - jaws gaping>
This was an AWESOME run! Couldn't ask for a better run. These guys are phenomenal. They were just such a pleasure to work with - and this guy <pulls a dog over> is nothing but a super star - he led all but two run. This is Loyalty...
<dogs checking for any leftover snacks as they leave the chute>
34th - Scott Smith - 3/16, 8:26 am - 7 dogs <huge ruff on his parka... filthy white wind pants
>
I'm not happy with this race at all, but we're here.
It's a small crew, but it's a good crew. It's kind of cool driving a small team. I've never had a team this small before, it's pretty impressive to see what they can do. You get down to the nuts and bolts of the dog team - the core or the heart of the team - and this is exactly that.
I lost a lot of young, talented dogs through sickness or injury - or whatever - and they'll be great in the future, but the dogs in this team - except for one little two year old female who made it - they've been with me for a long time, so it's kind of cool "bringing these guys home" so to speak.
<Dogs taking a nap, sitting up in his coat, in harness>