Kalyn Team Recap
/I asked Kalyn to write up a bit about her team, and here it is——————
The race this year was a cold one, if you hadn’t heard. But the Ryno crew hardly seemed to notice. Everybody was absolutely amazing and the 7 that I finished with absolutely blew me away. I’m confident that they could have rested and continued on. Everybody ate everything I threw at them, a few of them maybe even came back a little heavier than when we left.
Sweet Dolly is unassuming when you first meet her - she’s tiny! But she is mighty. Dolly led the entire race with King Louie. She charged though open water without hesitation, blasted past teams when passing without a second look, harness banged if she thought we were stopped too long, and chased rabbits on the last leg with vigor. She was also a champion at resting during checkpoints, she’d curl up in her straw so fast that I had to convince her to reveal her paws to remove booties.
King Louie led the entire Copper Basin race this year. I’m so incredibly amazed and impressed with how much this guy has grown over the last few seasons. Coming into the finish, at checkpoints, or photographers on the trail, Louie gets a big swishy circle tail and a big grin on his face. He LOVES people. He is a very hard worker and rested very well at checkpoints. In moments of underconfidence, such as crossing open water (we had a couple open leads of water to cross) and passing teams, Louie still has some growing to do, but with Dolly by his side giving him pointers, he led an incredible race.
Katy ran in swing with Smoky for the first 74 miles of the race. She looked great during the run and came into the checkpoint happy and ready for a warm meal. I ended up dropping Katy at the first checkpoint due to some pad issues, however, I think she heard the rumored -60F for Sourdough (the next checkpoint) and was quite happy to nestle into a box full a straw.
Smoky spent 4 legs of the race in swing and one with his brother Otis who he ADORES. This was his first 300 mile race and I have to say, FLAWLESS. He ran beautifully, worked hard and was always ready to go.
Lefty is one of those dogs that has an extra special bond with Ryne, which means he’s generally not on my team. However, he also feels much more comfortable running at a slower pace and since my plan was to run the race slower than Ryne, he would be joining me on Copper Basin. I felt honored to have Lefty along with me in the race this year. Watching those ears flop back and forth kept me endlessly entertained on those straight stretches of trail. Lefty had a flawless race. He’s a seasoned champ and knew exactly where we were going and what to do.
Badger had a great run into Point Lodge. As he cooled down from the run into Point Lodge, his right tricep started to bother him a bit. I massaged, stretched, and put some heat on him and let him rest. We were staying our 6 hours plus differential here so I had hopes that we could work it out and keep him running. Getting ready to leave, Badger was perky and felt good, an okay from the vets and we took off. The next run was just over 40 miles. I made sure to stop and stretch him as we warmed into the run. However, with about 15 miles left in the run I ended up giving him a ride in the sled to Sourdough - which he wasn’t too happy about. I left Badger in Sourdough with the handler team. Next time, Badger!
This was Bull’s first 300 mile race. Like Lefty, Bull likes a slower pace, so he ran on my team for this Copper Basin. Aside from being the most restless at checkpoints, Bull did an amazing job. He pulled hard and always had a great attitude!
This was also Otis’ first 300 mile race. He was our team cheerleader throughout the race. Leaving checkpoints and after snacking on the trail he would start with a slow whine and then escalate to harness banging and barking if we didn’t start moving fast enough! He was an exceptional rester at checkpoints and had a flawless race.
Faff had amazing, smooth runs up until she misstepped off the packed trail and sprained her wrist coming into Sourdough. I left her in Sourdough with the handler team where I heard she snuggled up with Badger for awhile.
Yuker did an amazing job on this race. He was an exceptionally hard worker and rested very well in checkpoints. I ended up leaving him in Meier’s Lake checkpoint with the handler team due to a swollen hock. Which I was pretty bummed about because he is a powerhouse.
Amelia is another powerhouse, tiny but strong. She gives 200% every run. And because of this, she often can get quite sore. I stretched her and massaged her at every checkpoint, however at Meier’s Lake I noticed she was a bit stiff on her right side. The next leg coming up was going to be difficult (big ups and downs and a long run) so I decided to play it safe and leave her with the handlers in Meier’s.
I have to say, Mario really surprised me on this race. It was his first 300 mile race and he absolutely crushed it. He got a slightly sore wrist coming into the last checkpoint. But after a good massage and some rest, he was good to go.
