Brent's Blog

Hello from Eureka where things are amazing we came back here to a foot of new snow rthen it snowed another few inches got up to 25 degrees the training is better then ever. on top of all of that the food drops are all packed lots of hard work from my dad, Kyla and i got them all done with a few days to spare. The dogs are all looking great, I am fired up and cant wait for the race start this is going to be one hell of a race. MY computer crashed so I have not been able to update much and have no email until today so sorry if i havent gotten backto anyone since the CB thanks for all the support there. also make sure to check out Sigrid in the Tustumena 200 this weekend she is coming off an amazing race at the CB and is sure to turn some heads again. ok gotta run thanks for stopping by I will be heading in to town on the 1st of Feb for my Quest Vet checks that i will be the next update, unil then

Bwildandfree

Well as they seem to do alot these days plans have changed. I woke up last night in a sweat thinking I didnt get my food drops done in time. Then i spent the rest of the night thinking about everything i still had to do and then decided i needed to head back to Eureka today. I can put a hundred on them up there and get working on my Food drops ASAP. So were off back to Paradise. My laptoop crashed so we will probably be totally out of contact until we head back to town on the 1st of Feb. Man it crept up on us fast, the Quest is less then three weeks away. I am pretty fired up, the Copper Basin really gave me and the dogs some great confidence, were going to go into the Quest with flames behind us. Cant wait. Talk to ya all in a couple weeks

Bwildandfree

We finally got some snow the night we got back from the Copper basin it snowed close to 8 inches. Probably the biggest snowfall I have scene in fairbanks in a few years it is awesome. We are back in the swing of things here, with food drops due in just 9 days I am doing my final shopping and getting ready to head back up to Eureka for the final 2 weeks of training. I decided to stay in town through the weekend and do the Solstice 100 in Two Rvers. It will be a great race for the dogs who didnt go on the Copper Basin and it is always good to get the dogs fired up to race. On a sad note While we were down at the Copper Basin one of my first Sled Dogs "Brent" Passed away. Brent is responsible for getting things started for me, he was my first leader and helped make Silver and my other leaders what they are today. He was vital part of my Kennel and will be remebered forever. He did spread his seed around, he is the father of The Dude, Donny, Muade and Walter so his blood is running strong in the Kennel. He will be remebered for his boundless energy and constant begging for attention. We had a big fire last night to remember him. Brent was 13 and died peacefully in his house. Ok I better get going Kyla and I are heading out to the Tannana River today to do a short run before the race tomarrow. Check back for results from the race tomarrow night. thanks for checking in

Bwildandfree

Wow thanks to everybody who followed my progress in the CB300 this year it was a great race I couldnt of asked for more fromthe dogs. These guys may of been inexpereinced but they arent anymore. Walter, Maude and Heckel were all amazing, Having never raced before they really showed what it takes and if they stay healthy it looks like they will round out the Quest team. I had a grea time as well kick pulled and ran the enter way an am feeling that now but I love it. A huge thanks goes outto m,y dad and Aren G. for keeping the blog updated I know you all aprreicated that. Again thanks for all or your support. will write more about the race when i get back to town. O and JOEE R it was really wet and wild out there!!!!!!!

Bwildandfree

Just heard from Brent. He is very pleased with his run. He learned what he needed to know to get the best team for the Yukon Quest. All the dogs are in good shape. Rocky, Vorlox and Toolik were dropped during the race but they are fine, nothing serious, just tiredness.
Sigrid did get lost, that is why she ended up 4th. She really deserved to win but anything can happen.
The Yukon Quest starts Feb 9th in Fairbanks!

Brent finishes!
5th place, right behind Sigrid. No word yet from Brent at the finish or about what happened to Sigrid that she fell back to 4th. I am sure he will write an update on the blog when he gets back to town. Good job Brent and dogs!

Allen Moore is the first across the finish line. It took him 4+ hours to go 20 miles from Tolsona. If Brent follows that pace he will finish around 4:15-30. Thats 5 mph, well below the pace of the race to this point. The trail must be slow or perhaps Allen and Sigrid did get lost. You will know when I do.

The leaders, Sigrid and Allen, were expected in to the finish by now but they have not arrived. They cannot be found along the road either. The trail runs next to the road for the last 20-30 miles. They may have taken a wrong turn and lost the trail....
Brent is in 5th place right now and should be in to the finish in an hour (about 2:30-45 AK time).

Brent has left Wolverine behind Sigrid, Lance, and Allen Moore. Shortly behind Brent is Ally Zirkle. Toolik was dropped in Sourdough due to just being tired, no injuries. All the other dogs are doing great. He had a bit of trouble getting out of Wolverine because Willow is in heat and Ling Ling and Walter were distracted by her and lost their focus on the race and wanted to turn around and put the moves on. Brent got that sorted out and is now on his way, with short stops if any, to the finish. Based on the CB300 website Allen Moore stills needs 40 minutes of rest so that will help Brent catch him. And Lance is now down to 8 dogs so the 26 minute lead he has on Brent can certainly be overcome. Sigrid looks to be running away with the win.

Brent left Glenallen with bib #23, two spots behind Lance Mackay, at 10:45 this morning. After passing many mushers ahead of him he completed the 56 mile run to Chistochina in 4 hours 40 minutes. He was the 12th musher to arrive at Chistochina. He now has a 6 hour layover there then it is on to Paxon, a 70 mile run.Brent reports that the dogs are doing great, everyone is in shape and having fun.next update tommorrow morning (Alaska time).This update by Aren, check back in the morningGo Wild and Free!

Here we go the dogs are all in bed fo the night and I ma headed that way. I drew number 23 so I iwll be going out really late which means I will be passing alot of teams, which is going to be great training for the dogs but could slow me down a little in this first run, but in the end that might be a good thing since they are predicting fast hard trails. The temps are dropping and -35 is forcasted for paxson tomarrow. I ma fired up and rady to go stay tuned for updates thanks for stopping by

Brent and the gang

Here it is the starters for the Copper Basin 300

Ling Ling
Modanna
The Dude
Heckel
Willow
Busta
Toolik
Rocky
Vorlox
Maud
Taco
Walter

So there it is, I am really excited to see who will shine, there are alot of dogs out to prove themselves so it will be very interesting to see whos got what it takes. We are all packed and ready for bed here soon, our 530 AM departer time is going to come fast. Make sure to check back the latest results from the race will be posted right here on my blog. thanksfor checking in

Bwildandfree

Made it back to fairbanks and have not stopped running around yet. although somewhat suprising, everything seems to be in order and we are all set for a early Firday morning departer for Glennallen. It was a bite of a stretch getting all the dogs in place here since when we left here in Oct. we had 8 less chain dogs, but we managed. My friend Greg will be here taking care of the dogs during the race and will be updateing the blog as soon as he hears from my Handlers. Hopefully a couple times a day. So stay tuned here and on the CB300 site for current race standings. The dogs have had a couple days off and are looking happier then ever. Ive got on one last run tomarrow to make my final decision as to who is going. On a little bite of a low note Silver suffered a fairly miner wrist injury and will not be in the CB team, kind of a bummer because the CB is a perfect race for a big powerfull dog liker Silver but ,on the other hand he has tons of miles and is my most experienced dog so missing the race is not that big a deal as far as his training goes, and it will allow me to run another inexperienced dog. This will be a good chance for Ling Ling to Step up if we get into some snowy conditions, I know he has it in him but it would be great to see him in action. So pray for snow!! ok Better run I will post one more update with the full run down of the last run and the starting lineup for the 2008 Copper Basin 300

Thanks for Stopping By

Bwildandfree

The Race has begun. I sent Kyla and 19 dogs down to Fairbanks with Sigrid Yesterday and I will follow in a few days. I have a couple more runs to do, final packing of my food drops and I will be heading down sometime on the 8th. My dad comes into town othe 10th and then we head for Glennallen. The dogs are looking good. I have picked the 14 that will go down with me to the Copper Basin, I will just have to pick the top 12 on race day. the line up is as follows.

-Silver (L)
-Madonna (L)
-Busta (L)
-Ling Ling (L)
-Rocky (L)
-The Dude (L)
-Maude
-Walter
-Willow
-Vorlox
-Rosie (L)
-Heckel
-Dayo
-Taco

The order is of no significans and the (L) stands for leader. Of these dogs Muade, Walter, Heckel, Vorlox, Willow and Rosie are all fighting for the last 3 spots on the Quest team. Pretty Exciting stuff I am really excited to see how they do. Of these dogs Vorlox is the only one with any race experience and that was half the Quest last year. He was droped due to a shoulder in Dawson. Pixie Thunder and Gangus will all sit out the Copper Basin but have already made the Quest Team. Well there ya have it after months of training that is how it stands, right now, it is definetly subject to change (just ask Kyla) but that is how I see it today. I better run I am in Manley now to do my last long run out of the Redingtons place. Stay tuned the Copper Basin is going to be pretty exciting. The next time I write I will be back in Fairbanks and civilization ( a very scary thought!!!!) Happy Trails

Bwildandfree

Its been a rough few days for Kyla, Willow (pet dog) and I, we have all been pretty sick with some nasty flu. But things are looking up after a couple days bed riden we are all feeling better and hopefully will be getting back to a normal day today. New years eve was a great time though. The Douglas’s, Tim, Megan and Jessie were all up for a few days. It had been a while since I had hang out with all of them so it was a great way to ring inthe new year. The dogs have been off for a few days because of my illness but that has been fine, they were due for a couple days off, if I had to get sick this was the time. Just a few more runs before I get things together and head for town and the Copper Basin on the 12th . I am really excited about the race and cant wait to get out there and see all of our training pay off. I will be running all of my questions mark dogs for the quest. As it stands right now I have 11 dogs (baring no injuries) that have made my Quest team. Of the other 11 in training there are about 7 that are competing for the 3 spots left. The Copper Basin is going to be one of the deciding factors in my decision as to who is going to make it. As it stands right now all 7 of those dogs are looking really good, but i think the Copper Basin will give me a better Idea as too who is going to be the best in a race situation. Exciting stuff I cant wait to see what happens. I better get going I cant wait to get back out on the runners after 2 days bed riden. Hope all is well stay tuned things are really going to start heating up.

Bwildandfree