Rob finished 18th the first day of the open class; with a time of 64:16:00. Although they are not used to being at the bottom of the pack, Rob is very happy with the run. "I am exactly where I thought I would be...but bummed because I am not used to being down there. We don't even have our best dogs," Rob stated. There are 9 rookies on his team today, proving this to be a great opportunity for them. Rob said, "The ExxonMobil has been excellent for the dogs!" He went on to talk about the wild excitement of the 21 open teams being hooked up and the moment when he looked back at his team and they "were calm and collected--rookies and all!" This is very important for the PawPower Racing team he explained, "It takes about 45 minutes for me to get 18 dogs ready, harnessed and hooked up. The wait time makes it necessary for the dogs to stay calm; so they don't waste their energy getting all excited for the race." On top of the all the excitement, the spectators, a loose dog on the trail, tunnels, and car passes are just a few more obstacles the team was faced with today! Rob reported, "The trail is closer to 17.5 miles, than 16.5." He is optimistic about tomorrow and is hoping for a clean run!
The open roster:
Jewel Barney
Rose April
Ballsy General Lee
Luke Cooter
Holland Daisy
Name ----
Mrs. Eleanor
*Dogs in green are rookies.
*Dogs being dropped from the team for day 2.
The 6 dog team was pretty impressive, coming in 7th with a time of 0:28:48! Rob wasn't very surprised by their success because, "this is the front end of my open team, bouncing back from small injuries." Rob said excitedly, "I will be running the open class and the 8 dog class from now on, to make sure that all the dogs are kept in shape. But, today's 6 dog looked great, so some dogs on the open team will be out of a job here pretty soon! And I will have my team back!" The 6 dog team did come up against a troubled team on the trail, forcing a small tangle in Rob's team, losing 47 seconds. Here's to making up for it tomorrow!
The 6 dog roster:
Austin Dino
Jed Dallas
Beau Shelby
*Dogs in green are rookies.
Good luck on day 2 teams!