by elsietee » Mon Mar 16, 2020 2:15 pm
From Bruce's description of the camping spots in the Blueberry Hills, I had visions of Brent nestled in a nice little sheltered hollow behind some trees. But no - this is a pic of where he rested after Unk yesterday evening:
Brent in the Blueberry Hills after Unk:
Said the dogs have been eating amazing - he's stoked about that because it means he can race. He likes that him going through Unk made the other mushers have to guess - and maybe cut their rest slightly, which can only help him.
Thomas is trying to be the ghost [witness leaving Unk before the others arrive, then leaves Shak and Koyuk before the Jessie], and not letting anyone see him. Brent says he'd do the same in his shoes.
Have to see if that 12 hour run from Kaltag to Unk catches up with Thomas' team.
There are still 10 teams behind him, it's anybody's race right now - familiar faces up front running together, but faster teams coming up from behind. Going to be fun.
Resting past the checkpoint gives him a little more control - seeing what time people go by, which teams to watch out for... at this point in the race you can tell if a team is doing good, if they're going to be able to push on.
Still focusing on his team, and has a plan and hopes to be able to execute the plan. Feels great - feels like he's exactly where he wanted to be - in the top 5-8 - which is where he's sitting. It puts him in a position to maybe have a shot at winning it, but hopefully be in the top spots. Top 5 was his goal for the race, and he thinks that's within reach. But there's still a lot of work to do, no guarantees - still a lot of race left. But he's put himself in a position at this point to be able to make that happen.
He's watching out for Paige - fastest and strongest team out of everyone. Also Mitch always has a good team at this point in the race. Aaron and Jessie travelling the same speed as Brent. Feels like if he sticks with his plan, he can battle them out, and work harder and maybe pass them. But Paige is really well rested and fast. She did a great job managing her team. Everyone's really in the hunt still. Exciting for the race - usually by now it's narrowed down to just 2-3 teams.
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elsietee AT ponyhill DOT org
Repotted english person in the Sierra foothills, CA
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