To be eligible to race in the Iditirod in March, you have to qualify in another qualifying race, and the Tustamena 200, or T-200, is one of those races. It's a 200 mile dog sled race in and around the area of Tustamena Lake. The start of this race is only about 10 miles down the road from us so on this beautiful Saturday, we decided to head down there to watch the start.
There is another shorter race that one of Shayne's nurses/co-workers was racing in so we went to see Jane as well. The weather was incredible for spectators...I think it was above freezing, but was not so nice for the dogs racing. They are conditioned and trained for below freezing, and below 0 degree weather. Can you imagine running 200+ miles with a fur coat in warm weather? It also makes the trail hard to race on b/c the snow is starting to melt and doesn't support a dog sled as well. So, while we were enjoying it, not everyone was feeling the same as us. :)
But...it still made for some good pictures and fun times. Tiny was loving on Jane's dogs. Shordy was ok with them...not nearly as interested in getting licked by them as she was.
We saw quite a few people we knew watching the start, and over-all had a really good time. So glad we went!
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