Goblin- 4-year-old Quest rookie. For those of you who followed our Iditarod last year, you'll probably recognize this name. Goblin officially joined Ryno Kennel a couple weeks ago from Sebastian Schnuelle. Since running in the 2016 Iditarod and falling in love with his shy but affectionate personality, I've been pestering Sebastian about Goblin. I can't wait to run another 1000-miles with him.
And there you have it! The final 14!
You might notice that some big names are missing from the roster this year. Truthfully, I was pretty devastated when I made the call for them to sit out this race because they're some of my main leaders and core teammates. I have so much trust and faith in them that it's hard to imagine traveling 1000-miles without them, but dogs ALWAYS come first. We might have to run a slower pace, and we might not be as competitive, but the entire reason we run is to share this adventure with the dogs. They come first!
Fire's sore shoulder came back. I babied her in training, hoping that I could keep her healthy to run the Quest, but I'm afraid her shoulder issue is becoming more common as she ages. Fire will forever be one of the best leaders that I've ever had the honor of following. Fingers crossed that next year, she'll be healthy. If not, she'll be the BEST puppy trainer around!
Ham believes that he should be on the team, but the vets and I say no. During the Copper Basin, Ham developed a bump about the size of a dime just above the middle toe on his back paw. It never seemed to cause him discomfort, but I wanted to get it checked out before embarking on a 1000-mile race. Sure enough, the bump formed due to an agitated toe tendon (the vets have a much more complicated phrase, but that's my dumbed down understanding). Even if they aren't causing pain, tendons take several months to heal. Ham is unhappily resting the remainder of the season, but he'll be glad when he's 100% next year!
Cartel's tricep has been a little tight the past couple of weeks. Typically, long massages and heat packs are enough to loosen up triceps, but her's has been very persistent. Cartel has started every race with me, so it was a very hard decision to leave her behind.
Perm has a tight pectoral muscle. Like a tricep, you can often work out the knots. Most people would never know that anything was bothering Perm; however, after the last long run before Quest, If I rubbed her pectoral in just the right way, I could see that she was a little uncomfortable. She was another one that was yelling "Put me in coach!" but she unfortunately has to sit this one out.
Boone, ahh Boone. If a human, Boone would be an athletic supermodel. The reason I say supermodel is because she occasionally likes to watch her weight and skips meals. The Copper Basin was a trial run to see if she could maintain her weight. While she did eat pretty well during the Copper Basin, she skipped a few meals at the kennel after the race and doesn't have enough reserves to start a 1000-mile race where she'll be burning 10,000-12,000 calories a day. I'm working on finding out exactly what kinds of food Boone craves at different times so that she'll be ready for a 1000-miler in the future.
So while I'm disappointed that these amazing athletes won't be in the team, I'm very very excited to give some of the less proven dogs an opportunity to shine! We can't wait to hit the trail tomorrow!
