Saturday, March 3, 2012

Why You Won't See Me Running In The Iditarod This Year

The Iditarod starts today!
Karen Ramstead and Siberian Huskies in the Iditarod
I LOVE the Iditarod and long distance sled dog racing.
Not because I've done it before - I haven't.
But I once rode on a quad behind my friend Karen's Iditarod finishing team,
and it was an honor to have two of them take me on a scooter ride.
My guardian dogs, Togo and Alaska are named after a famous sled dog and the state that is the home of the Iditarod.
The sled dog community is very helpful  on how to keep active working dogs happy and we have copied several of their ideas.
Our dog truck is based on theirs, and our dog yard is similar.
Our dogs seem to like it and, in fact, they often hang out at the dog houses, even when they aren't chained up.

So, if I love the Iditarod so much, why haven't I switched sports ?
 I have the answer for you:

TOP 10 REASONS WHY I'LL NEVER RACE IN THE IDITAROD
by Jenny Glen

1. It's cold in Alaska
2. They frown on taking "little dogs" on the race trail
I'm ready
3. The Border Collies might leave the trail to try to herd a moose
4. It's cold in the snow
5. You don't get to sleep late when you are doing a race
6. You can't bathe or shave your legs for more than a couple of weeks
7. They often have cold storms during the race
8. I can't fit the harness over Togo's head

9. There are no Taco Bell stops along the route
10. It's cold in Alaska

However, I will be glued to my computer for the next couple of weeks following the race on line.
If you need someone to root for, and you are looking for a border collie connection to the race, my friend Karen Ramstead is racing her Siberians this year and her kennel mascot, Bet, is a border collie and  half sister to Scott's Don.
So jump over to the official Iditarod site, sign up for the "insider", and follow along with me from inside our warm houses!

11 comments:

KarenTX said...

ROTFLMAO!!! Poor Togo!

onecollie said...

thanks for the link!
You know why I won't be in the Iditerod??? It's tooooo hard!!!! :)

Wendy said...

I take it you don't like the cold.

Camp said...

terrific...cant wait to follow it! and skid...you stole the show as always!

Monique said...

HAHAHAHAHAHA the Togo one killed me.

manymuddypaws said...

poor togo. lol. I better bring extra tim bits next time.

and I'm with you on the cold. and I agree with Jo...it kinda hurts.

Bet said...

Hi Jenny! Thanks for watching my Musher and Pretty Curly Tails. Hope all is well, and I told the Cartoonist that you liked her cartoon of you.

Teanna Byerts said...

I've been following Karen's...er...Bet's blogs for some time, awesome!

I love your "why I won't run the Iditarod" reasons (sharing!). I just participated in a local TV station's "I Like Winter" series ( a couple of minutes in the news/weather); we put the weather guy on a rig behind my three Siberian rescue dogs ("that bar thingie by your feet is the brake, you'll need it") and had a blast. Then I had to explain that I HATE winter... but these darn Siberians found me, and they do not walk politely on a leash (boooooooring), so we hook'em up and go for a ride. A cure for the winter blahs, SAD, and hibernation!

I like that your page promotes mushing tools (scootering etc) as a great, healthy, sanity preserving exercise for active dogs (and dog people who should get off the couch more)! I try to excourage people to try this with one or two dogs and a bike or scooter. We have an inordinate number of pitbulls in rescues here in York County PA, and they make awesome "urban mushing" teams.

Togo is adorable! (ok, they all are).

Susan said...

I think Togo needs to meet Cricket!

thecrazysheeplady said...

I'm enjoying follow Bet's updates :-)

gvmama said...

NOW that's FUNNY! Great post; even greater pictures!