Matt arrived at the Knik Bar on Sunday afternoon at 3:10 Pm in 11th place out of a VERY competitive field of 36 mushers! The dogs performed even beyond what we expected, and they pushed hard, not only to complete the race in about 27 hours, but also to stick with the top Iditarod and Yukon Quest contenders. He was able to tackle the 200 mile race in two long runs, with a six hour break in between.
The dogs looked strong, and 11 out of 12 crossed the finish line. Pearl, one of our sprint to distance dogs, was dropped out in Skwentna, due to a sore rear end. She was in a group of about 31 dogs, dropped between all 36 teams, who recieved an airplane ride back to the road system in Willow. She is doing great, and doesn't appear sore at all this morning.
The Knik 200 is a fantastic race. Matt and I really appreciate the fact that we are in this area this year, as the races are put on magnificently and the teams are ultra-competitive. Our dogs competed against an Iditarod champion, many top 5 and top 20 Iditarod finishers, and a few of the extra tough Yukon Quest mushers. The dogs' performance proved that they are strong and ready to compete!
We would especially like to thank the Knik 200 folks who helped us out when our truck broke down on the way to the finish line. Jeff King was kind enough to give us a bale of straw to bed our dogs down after the race, since our dog truck was absent.
The BIGGEST thanks goes to CRITTER AND JULIA for bailing us out, yet again. (At least it wasn't 2,000 miles this time!)
