Dirty Dog Recap, Part 3

Happy Tuesday, frens! We are back with the third part of our Redpaw’s Dirty Dog Dryland Race weekend recap! This was going to be the final part, but we just have too much too share and we couldn’t fit it all in! I promise, Friday’s newsletter will wrap it all up lol.

Day two of the race was on Sunday, November 3rd. The start times were posted and were in a different starting order than the previous day due to day one finish times. The faster finishers start earlier, and slower finishers start later within each event. Our group’s times were as follows:

• 10:19am: Ross - 2 dog bike with Mazzy and Waller

• 10:29am: Riley - 2 dog bike with Boo and Leap

• 11:16am: Blair - 2 dog scooter with Yotam and Dora

• 11:19am: Hannah - 2 dog scooter with Pence and Kiwi

• 12:49pm: Riley - 1 dog bike with Zagat

• 1:00pm: Ross - 1 dog bike with Tenzing

• 1:47pm: Hannah - 1 dog scooter with Lima

Since there was no musher meeting and it was raining, we decided to sleep in a little and arrive to the race site around 9:00am. We were also waiting to hear from race officials if the race would begin on time or not due to the rain.

The crew in charge of making no/go decisions on the trail agreed that the trail was still in good shape and races would proceed on time. After each event, the trail would be reevaluated for safety.

We watched as some of the six and four dog teams came in, completely caked in mud. Of course, they said the trail was a little slick, but better than they expected it would be. They don’t call it Dirty Dog for nothin’!

Here’s how our day went…

We were preparing the two dog bike teams for their races. A few two dog bike teams went out before Ross and Riley, but only took one dog, presumably due to safety concerns. They also mentioned that the course was “slimy” and that they fishtailed on some turns. Using less dogs than the event name suggests is fine, as long as the dog(s) that is racing did compete in that exact event the previous day.

For race officials to be sure that the correct dogs are running the correct events both days, dogs are “marked” on day one. I forgot to mention this last week. Depending on the event, dogs may be marked on the forehead or on a shoulder, using different colors as well.

As you can see in the photo below, Pence was marked with red on her forehead. We did have a few people reach out and ask if she was injured/cut/bleeding: NO she was not! She just had a red mohawk marker for the race lol.

Ross went out with Mazzy and Waller first. They had a great run and shaved about 18 seconds off their time compared to day one, even in more challenging conditions! They ended up with a time of 9 minutes and 46 seconds on day two, and a total time of 19 minutes and 48 seconds for the weekend! That gave them a 5th place finish out of 20, which is fantastic! Especially for Ross’s first dryland race ever, on a challenging course, in the rain, and against a great field of racers.

Riley was up next with Boo and Leap. Remember last week how I mentioned Boo was spooked in the start shoot and took off tangled? I made sure to be the one to walk him up to the chute on day two. The team went off without a hitch and flew down the trail! They ended with a time of 12 minutes and 31 seconds, and a two day total of 24 minutes and 36 seconds, placing them in 11th overall out of 20.

Boo was back to his normal self, pulling hard, running fast, and having fun, which we were so glad to hear!

Leap, on the other hand, was a little slower than she was on Day 1. She kept looking back, slowing down and running to the side of the course. Riley thought she had to take care of business for the first mile or so, but she never ended up doing so. Whatever the issue was, after the first mile, she turned it back on and both the dogs ran full-steam together for the first time that weekend.

Not long after Riley returned, it was time for the two dog scooter event. It was still raining, and I was super nervous. Riley did tell me that the trail wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be. He said there were a couple slick spots but the downhills were not very wet.

Blair went out ahead of me. It looked like she got off to a great start and didn’t have any problems sliding around the first turn. She seemed to have no worries about the race, but she is much more adventurous and brave than I am too. Blair and team finished with a time of 10 minutes and 42 seconds, knocking 46 seconds off their time compared to day one. They finished with a total time of 22 minutes and 10 seconds, and placed 5th out of 11.

I was next.

All that was running through my mind was Doty last year, where I was the last one out on trail in the pouring rain. I hydroplaned on the went grass on two different downhills and wrecked both times. The first time I somehow stayed on my feet and the scooter went flying down the hill. The second time I face-planted because my handlebars got jammed 90 degrees sideways. I had never wrecked before. I was unhurt, but definitely shaken up mentally. There was no trail help, no one could hear me asking for help.

I was terrified that would happen again, on an even longer, more challenging trail with many more hills. All morning I was thinking about scratching if I didn’t feel safe running the trail. After Riley raced, his scoop on the trail helped me a little, but I also knew it would be raining more before my race.

I pulled Q aside just minutes before my race and told him I wasn’t sure if I could do it. I told him if I did run the race, maybe I’d just take one dog. That would be easier for me to control if things went sideways (literally).

Q’s response: ABSOLUTELY NOT!

I knew it. I knew he would say that. He said he had all the confidence in me and the dogs to have a great race. He kept telling me that I knew what I was doing, I know how to handle the scooter, the terrain, and the dogs. He did briefly forget about what happened at Doty last year, but reminded me that the conditions were better here, and that nothing would happen. I could take it as slow and steady as I wanted. After all, we aren’t in it for the money, professional race points, etc.

I was still nervous, but feeling a little better.

When we pulled up to the start line, the race marshal told me of two places specifically to slow down for that were getting sloshy. He also told me that the center of the trail where most people’s tires ride was getting full of water and suggested that I may want to ride off to the side for better grip.

We took off and I don’t think I kicked much to get going. I let my left foot dangle off the side of the scooter for a while in case I needed to put a foot down if I started to slide around. The scooter is so light weight and the center of the weight is toward the front wheel, so the back wheel can sometimes kick out when the ground is wet or muddy.

We cautiously went around the first turn and down the straight away. I definitely chose the path of more resistance in the grassier areas to try and gain more traction. We came up to the first big downhill turn that was very muddy, and I brought us to almost a walking pace just to make sure we rounded it safely.

The first area of concern that the race marshal warned me about was right after the hill. And he wasn’t wrong. It was a mud pit. We slowly and steadily got through it, fish tailing back and forth slightly. The dogs listened so well to my every “woahhhh” to slow down.

The trail appeared drier after that, so I let up on the brakes and let the dogs get a nice running start before the big up hill. Following the uphill was a long, gradual decline, where I also squeeze the brakes and brought the dogs to a trot. They were probably thinking what the heck, lady??

After that, my confidence grew a little. I let the dogs pick up more speed. When we came upon the second area of concern, I was able to see it coming and slowed down to get through it with no major problems. Finally, I was clear of the main areas of concern!

I gained more confidence back for the last mile or mile and a half, and started letting the dogs pull at the speed they wanted to. I was kicking on the scooter again to try and take some of the load off the dogs, too. Poor things, they had to be getting tired because I was on the brakes so much, which unfortunately made it harder for them to pull.

I was so relieved when we crossed the finish line. Everyone that was waiting for us was cheering and happy that we finished and stayed upright! They all knew how nervous I was going out.

After the race, Pence and Kiwi (ok and all the other dogs too) got fresh water and a frozen hamburger as a reward. They definitely deserved it. At 11 years old, Pence is still CRUSHING it!

Later on, I went to Q to thank him for pushing me to run my race and not let my fears take over. I was so glad I did the race, and did it with both dogs. I gained my confidence back after last year’s wrecks and know I can handle it again. I just needed someone to push me to do it. So Q, if you are reading this, THANK YOU.

We ended up with a day two time of 14 minutes and 31 seconds. Almost two minutes slower than our time on day one, but I knew we would be slower because I was being waaaay more cautious. Our combined weekend time was 27 minutes and 4 seconds and we placed 9th out of 11. I’m sure that is my slowest time at any race and worst placement yet, but after all, I want the sport to stay fun for myself and the dogs, and we accomplished that!

Alright, so this has gotten longer than I anticipated, so I’m going to leave off today’s newsletter here, at the end of the two dog events on day two. I promise the rest of the race weekend recap will wrap up on Friday! There is just too much to tell, and I’m trying to keep it short and sweet, but clearly I am not doing a great job of it lol.

Regardless, we hope you are enjoying our chronicles of Dirty Dog! Check back Friday for the ending.

-Hannah, Riley, Boo, and Pence