SuperFinn

Well. It looks like Sebastian is going to take 2nd. I consider that to be practically winning. Therefore I will allow myself to say that I knew I picked a winner when I picked him to follow during the Iditarod. Granted I chose him by his crazy appearance, but still. A woman knows.

Lance Mackey is just 77 miles from the finish in Nome. Unless something catastrophic happens to his sled, or his dogs decide they prefer a nice stroll rather than a steady run, it looks like he will win for the third straight year. Greedy greedy greedy....

Sebastian is just hours behind Mackey, and apparantely in a very good spot, as he is hours in front of everyone else, who have been trapped in a very nasty wind storm which has created 40 mile per hour winds and temperatures going as low as 50 below. No thank you.

Schnuelle said the 48-mile run Tuesday from Koyuk to Elim was a dream compared to what he had just gone through with his dog team the day before. At times the wind was blowing so hard out of Shaktoolik (where his dogs were photographed sleeping, see my post from yesterday) that his dog team was blown sideways, he said. After two of his lead dogs sat down on him (meaning, they gave him the OHHH HELLLL TOOO THE NNNOOOO WE AREN'T RUNNING IN THIS), he put an ornery and very young dog named Finn (see photo above) into lead to get them to the next checkpoint. "I sweet talked him more than I've ever sweet talked a dog," he said. Apparantely Finn saved the day, running solo as the lead dog, when the others refused to run into the wind. When I checked Sebastian's website, Finn's biography reads: Finn is a yearling and I never expected him to race this winter, never mind finishing the Iditarod. He was always somewhat timid but has gained so much confidence this run that his nature changed altogether.

I am sad it's almost over! Running dogs are so much more interesting than running humans.