Our In-Depth Recap of Doty 2023

For our last blast from the past newsletter, we have an exciting one for you! Today we are recapping Doty’s Dusty Dog Dryland Race in October of 2023.

Leading up to Doty, we were excited that we now had a lead dog (Pence) to help us and Boo train for fall races. We were only able to get 12 runs in before Doty due to hot temperatures, which is not ideal, but also more than previous years. Each run, we were building up our speeds and distances.

When the race weekend came, we packed up everything we needed. We never know what type of weather we’ll run into during our trips to northern Wisconsin, so we prepare for everything from snow, to pouring rain, to warm temperatures and sunshine. Only one problem - all of that gear, plus two dogs, plus a scooter and two humans doesn’t all fit inside my Jeep.

We realized this about 9 pm or so the night before we were leaving. So I ran to Walmart to get a cargo bag for the top of my Jeep. Early the next morning, we loaded up the cargo bag in the pouring rain, and thankfully everything fit!

We made it to Wisconsin after driving through rain pretty much the entire way.

We spent a few hours on Friday running different pairings of dogs to try and decide who would run which events. Riley and Scott Zastrow were both running 2 dog and 1 dog bike, I was running 2 dog and 1 dog scooter, Beth was running 2 dog scooter, JT was running canicross, and Blair was running 4 dog rig. If you’re counting, that’s 16 dogs! And we had to make sure each event had a lead dog in it.

I LOVE Blizzard’s smiling face in this photo from that day.

Initially, we weren’t planning on running Pence, thinking younger, bigger dogs might be better. However, we needed another lead dog, and she was showing so much excitement and drive, that we decided to run her. Side note - she ended up breaking a toenail completely off right before her first race. Somehow, it didn’t seem to phase her at all, and she was screaming to run still.

We also used this time to make adjustments to bikes and scooters, and put new stems in the tires of the motor-less four wheeler that would be used for the 4 dog rig event.

Day one of races at Doty was a bit chaotic to say the least!

For our group running BraverMountain dogs, 4 dog rig was up first. Blair had initially signed up for the race, hoping to be able to get her twins in their first dogsled race while she was pregnant! Although that was the plan, Blair decided it would be better for her not to race, for her own sake and for the dogs’ sake if for some reason they would get tangled up and she wouldn’t be able to help.

So, Q asked me and Riley if either of us were up for a challenge and would like to try the 4 dog rig race. I jumped at the opportunity. I had never mushed 4 dogs at once before, but I knew I could handle it.

Blair rode the four wheeler up to the start chute with a bib on for photos for their pregnancy announcement - ADORABLE RIGHT?! When they began the countdown, I hopped on for the race. I knew it would be a slow race since the four wheeler was much heavier than typical dryland rigs, but also much safer, which I was thankful for.

I ran with Forrest, Pepe, Slim, and Jelly. We had a nice run through the beautiful 2.25 mile trail with a finishing time of 15 minutes and 25 seconds. We were competing in the sport class with only one other competitor - our friend Melissa Mendelson. Sorry for slowing you down, Melissa, but at least your dogs got some practice passing! Haha.

I recorded our race on my GoPro, and the highlights can be viewed from my perspective here and from the spectators’ perspective here.

On some of the uphill portions of the trail, I hopped off the four wheeler and helped push it up the hill to make it easier on the dogs.

Riley was up next with 2 dog bike also on the 2.25 mile trail, running Leap and Zagat. I (Riley) had never ran with either of these two dogs prior to this weekend, but I knew Zagat was pure power and Leap was fast. This combination was solid all around, one of the best runs I’ve had on a bike ever!

Riley finished with a time of 8 minutes and 28 seconds, only 6 seconds behind the leader out of the 8 competitors in his sportsman class.

It was my turn again after Riley, with 2 dog scooter. I ran Boo and Buffy, again on the 2.25 mile trail. It was starting to rain, but Riley had just finished and said the trail was still mostly dry. We ran a smooth, but conservative run, finishing with a time of 11 minutes and 7 seconds, which was less than 4 seconds behind Beth, who ran 2 dog scooter with Pence and Spike. During this race my suspension line broke, but it didn’t end up impacting my race.

Check out highlights from this race from my perspective here and from the spectators’ perspective here.

That afternoon, Riley competed in the 1 dog bike sport class with Blizzard. Might sound like a broken record, but Blizzard is a total badass! If you ever need one dog to carry you, my first choice will always be Blizzard.

They finished with a time of 6 minutes and 10 seconds on the 1.4 mile trail, which put them in 5th out of 9. The rain had really picked up at this point too.

I was the last wheeled class to race for the day with 1 dog scooter and I also ran with Blizzard. It had been raining for a few hours at this point, and the trail was very slick with mud and standing water. I remember along the second straight away seeing water fly up off my tires like wakes on a boat.

When we came to the first down hill, I tried to use my brakes to slow us down but skidded across the wet grass instead. I had zero control. My handlebars snapped around and my back tire slid out from under me. Somehow, I stayed on my feet, but Blizzard and the scooter continued on down the hill. At this point, I was very nervous about the trail conditions, but I got back on the scooter and we continued our race.

On the far back side of the trail was another, but smaller, downhill section. Once again, I wasn’t able to slow down, my handlebars snapped around on me, and I flew off the scooter. I was completely fine, by the way. But this time, the scooter was not rideable. The front tire was jammed at a 90 degree angle. I took a few minutes to try and fix it, but had no luck.

I started yelling for help, but no one could hear me as I was on the far side of the trail and pretty much everyone had retreated into the shelter due to the rain. I couldn’t ride or push the scooter, so I resorted to throwing it over my back and carrying it. Blizzard was still trying to pull, making it very hard to keep my footing while carrying the scooter. I made the decision to let him off the lead. I knew we were the last competitors on the course, so it wouldn’t disrupt anyone behind me. I thought maybe if he ran ahead, he could alert someone to come help me.

As I kept walking the trail toward the finish, I occasionally yelled for help. I was very tired from carrying the scooter, let alone up the hills to the finish. When I was maybe a quarter mile or so from the finish, Blizzard had run ahead and Riley found him. Riley immediately started running down the trail to find me.

He found me. He asked if I wanted him to carry the scooter the rest of the way and I said yes, of course. But in doing so, I knew I would be disqualified because I received help during my race. But I didn’t care at that point. I was safe, and Blizzard was safe, and that’s all that mattered.

We caught Blizzard and made our way back to the dog truck. Riley, Scott, and a couple others started looking at the scooter. They were able to get the wheel straightened back out and worked on the brakes.

Check out the video highlights from this race here.

What an eventful day, and it was only day one! We were definitely ready to get out of the rain though.

Day two of Doty was warmer and sunny. I was glad to be running the 4 dog rig race first thing in the morning to check out the trail conditions. Thankfully, the trail was dry except a couple damp turns. We were able to shave a whole 4 seconds off our time compared to the previous day. A highlight video from this race can be found here.

Riley was one second faster on his 2 dog bike run on day 2, and ended up placing first overall in his class!

With much better trail conditions and more confidence, we was able to knock one minute off our time for 2 dog scooter. The race was neck and neck with Beth. We passed each other multiple times. My competitive side definitely came out, and I was kicking the scooter more to help the dogs. The dogs’ competitive sides also came out in this race as they were chasing the dogs ahead of them. We ended up placing first in our class. Check out the video from this eventful race here.

Riley’s 1 dog bike run was 22 seconds faster on day 2, and he ended up placing 4th overall out of 9.

Because I did not finish my 1 dog scooter race on day 1 and was disqualified, I was not able to run the race on day 2.

Overall, it was one of our most eventful and busiest race weekends yet. It was a blast though! We met so many new Uglydogs and friends that weekend, and reunited with old friends as well. We hung out with some of the coolest dogs ever too.

Riley was also able to record a podcast with Q, where they talked about social media and sled dogs. If you missed the podcast, check it out here.

Before we hit the road to head south, Q sent us home with our very own dog sled! Remember how I said earlier that my Jeep was packed full inside and out? Well, we sent one dog and some of our belongings back with Beth and JT. That allowed us to put our roof cargo inside my Jeep, and tie the sled down on top. I’m sure we got some funny looks driving through Illinois and Indiana lol.

Doty is always one of our favorite weekends of the year. It’s too far out to even start considering what we’ll be doing at Doty 2024, but we know that if the race is happening, we’ll be there for sure.