2009 Dryland Race Results

Apparently the surest way to get a good dump of September snow in Fairbanks is to schedule a dryland skijoring race! Despite several inches of sloppy snow and below freezing temperatures, sixteen competitors, twenty-eight dogs, seven volunteers, two photographers and an unknown number of spectators turned out for the Alaska Skijoring and Pulk Association’s 2nd Annual Dryland Race.

The race course followed a very muddy gravel trail on the Army Corp of Engineers Chena Flood Control Project. Racers traveled out to their designated half-way point, turned around and returned to the start/finish line, giving dogs and drivers lots of challenging head-on passing. There were three events, with 2 classes in each event.

The first event, Canicross or Run-joring, featured a mass start of runners using 1 or 2 dogs. Runners could go two, four or six miles. Hilary Schwafel with Wizard & Frieda easily outdistanced the competition in the 2-mile class with a time of 14:13. Sara Elzey with Ayla and Carol Kleckner with Ivy and Yanert rounded out the class. The 6-mile class was more closely contested. Janna Miller with Roy and Lily finished ahead of Jodi Bailey and Jake with times of 42:03 and 43:52 respectively. Lisa Stuby and Killae also completed 6 miles but due a stop watch malfunction their final time was not recorded. Bruce Miller took Roy and Lily for a second run after his wife Janna finished, completing "around 4 miles" in 19:57.

The Bike-joring Event had the most competitors. In this event bikers competed in an interval start race using 1 or 2 dogs. There were two distance classes, 3 or 6 miles. In the 3-mile class Curtis McNeill with Rouen and Brown raced away from the competition in a time of 11:30. Hilary Schwafel with Oliver and Sara Elzey with Dylan finished in 15:19 and 17:39 respectively. The 6-mile class had two competitors, Tom St Clair with Indy and Ben Good with Bull and Piper. They finished in 27:32 and 37:45 respectively.

The final event of the day was the 3-mile Cart class. Competitors could compete with up to 4-dogs pulling a non-motorized wheeled vehicle or cart. Andy Warwick with Zip, Boots, Licorice, and Joba finish first in 13:01. Don Morton with Cocoa, Reeses, and Toffee finished second in 24:35. Lynn Orbison with Scooby Doo and Regime was "having so much fun" that she went an "extra mile or so" and finished in 19:55.

This event could not have happened with the work of volunteers! Thanks so much to race organizers Andy Warwick and Sara Elzey; event timers Sara Tabbert, Janet Smith, and Lisa St Clair; handlers and helpers Wallace Bandeff, Tom & Tanka; and to Cindy Bachert for helping with registration. Also thanks to Scott Chesney for taking photographs and to the Army Corp of Engineers for hosting the event. Race prizes were donated by Alaska Skijoring & Pulk Association sponsors, Howling Dog Enterprises, Cold Spot Feeds, and Canine Caviar.

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Please send corrections or comments to Don Kiely.