Day 3-A drunk driver had driven down the slough and conveniently 'parked' (got it stuck) their car in the middle of the trail. Rob said, "they thought they were going to have to cancel the 3rd day because it took them a while to clear the track." *Note* This is Rob's Team at 26 miles on the 3rd day--those lines look pretty tight! Great looking team and a great shot!
George Attla and Rob on Day 3 of the ONAC (Attla is a famous champion of both ONAC and Fur Rondy...a true legend for mushing!)
Congratulations Rob on finishing 14th in the Open North American Championship!
Rob received "The Sportsmanship Award," given to him by his fellow open drivers. 11 of 17 open drivers voted for him to get the award. The award was in form of a signed limited addition painting, matted and signed by all the of 2012 ONAC drivers.
"Everyone keeps telling me how great my dogs look coming in. On the 3rd day, I had 9 dogs and 28.2 miles of track ahead of us. I am very proud of these dogs. We had 3 days of clean runs, not having to load a single dog. That is a big deal, considering we haven't had a clean run before then. Kaiya and Austin slowed up a little but not enough to effect our run. At the 24 mile mark Deno (one of the white leaders) turned into a tank. He picked up the pace dramatically and was by far the hardest pulling dog the rest of the way home. I am very happy with their performance and am looking forward to Tok."
Rob's next race will be this weekend (March 24-25) for the Tok Race of Champions.
Fairbanks Scenery!
Rob finished day one with 14 dogs and is in 13th place (2 seconds behind 12th)!
Great finish, team! He will be heading into the chute today at 1:26 AKST and 5:26 EST!
LIVE times courtesy of : http://www.sleddogcentral.com/2012_onac/index.htm
LIVE web cam: http://www.livestream.com/gcimanagedbroadband
Radio station:www.kfar660.com
His times:
Danby out (3 miles): 10:05
Creamer's Out (5 miles): 16:23
Creamer's In (9 miles): 32:02
Henrick Court (14 miles): 46:32
Danby In (17 miles): 58:02
Total Time : 71:18.5
Rob's team for Day 1:
Reads from L to R. Names cut off: Deno and Barney (White Leaders)
Were you happy with the dogs?
I almost missed the start because a volunteer told me the wrong time. So I thought I had 6 minutes but it was more like a minute and a half. So when you have a start like that it can make for a rough day but it didn't effect us. I didn't stop once and I had a clean run [you could hear the smile on his face while saying this]. On a real icy section, I had a dog slip on a curve by the railroads (6 miles out). From there he started loosening up on the lines. We went around the entire course without him pulling. I thought about loading him but he was maintaining our speed at around 17 mph. Had I loaded him, would we have went faster? It's hard to say. "The slough" is a pretty tough spot for the dogs. On the way in, the dogs seems to have a little bit of trouble there. I was given advice not to talk to them much through that area because it causes them to push to hard and injure themselves. Some mushers come up and train specifically at the slough, so they can blow right through it. Our training has been really good, we have had no issues with anything that has been thrown at the dogs, as obstacles. With our trails and (lack of) training back home, I am very proud that my dogs have completed this with little to no effort. We just lack conditioning. Other than that, I am extremely pleased with the dogs performance. ONAC is a harder faster course, and that is better for us. There aren't as many obstacles as the Fur Rondy because I think the trail itself is the biggest obstacle. I was complimented by a top driver behind me in the roster, on our pass, that's always nice to hear. This was the first clean run since I've been here and that was encouraging. The team and I are just starting to come together, two to three more weeks we will be in peak performance.
How are the dogs holding up? Do you think you can keep up the pace?
I've got some pretty big dogs on my team, so we'll have to see. I will be dropping 2 dogs, maybe more, depending on how they look this morning. Bumblebee and Brave will definitely be being dropped. I was making myself keep my mouth shut and letting the dogs do the work. It's hard when you're in a competitive mode, you want to push the dogs and there are times for it (when they are conditioned) and then there are times that it isn't beneficial, which is the case here. As for keeping up the pace, if my dogs hold up, it's a tight race we've got there in the middle of the pack. It looks like there are a couple of drivers within a second from me...We'll see.
Are the fans just as doting up in Fairbanks?
Yes. People love mushers and sled dogs! The street was lined with people on both sides. There are a lot of people in the village, but not as many people as the Fur Rondy. I am actually a little surprised at how many people are routing for me. I had a couple of fans help me water the dogs and asked to help today, as well. A woman told me she would arrange a place for me to stay [in Fairbanks] the next time I come up. Isn't that great? The people of Alaska and the fans of mushing are so generous and caring.
Entrance to University of Alaska: Fairbanks
Rob is in Fairbanks, AK!
He has been training the dogs based on their capabilities and is very optimistic. Rob said, "Deno and Barney are right on and really coming together!" However, there are still two teams being ran. We are not sure as to what race Rob will be entering in next but as soon as I get the word, you will all be the first to know!
Over the past week, Rob has sent me a variety of pictures ranging from the trail viewing for the Fur Rondy to pictures in Fairbanks. I wanted to let you guys in on a few of them!
Fur Rondy Trail Viewing 2012 Left to Right: Egil Ellis, Rob Worden, Ken Chezik And yes, Egil is giving Rob rabbit ears!
The truck is PACKED and they're ready to head NORTH!
Heading north on AK-3/George Parks Highway to Fairbanks!
Rob is in Fairbanks and is wondering, "Where is Santa"?!
Yes, that is a real wooden dog sled! So cool!
Tune in next time for new pictures, videos and updates!
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