| 2008
SPONSORS
& SUPPORTERS |
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VIDEO
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Great
videos of Mike at the start of the 2006 Sheep Mountain
150
Video taken by Donna Quante
CLICK
HERE
Video by
Theresa Daily
CLICK HERE |
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MEET THE MUSHERS - OPEN HOUSE
Third annual Open House & Meet the mushers hosted
by the Fosters. This year for several mushers on Friday,
February 29 from 1-6 PM.? This year we have expanded our
open house and it will be for Eric Rogers, Sabastian Schunuelle,
Mike Suprenant, Ed Stielstra, Jake Berowitz and Rudi Niggemeier?
It should be a fun time for all.? Three of these guys
are rookies, and 3 are veterans, so there should many,
many different and personal stories to be heard.? The
address is: 20723
Scenic Drive Chugiak, Ak. Call for details at 907 688
0452
Mike & his team launch at the start of the Knik 200
How
to Build a dog house
The Legend’s DOG HOUSE from one sheet of
plywood with overhanging roof
Click
here (PDF)
Mike
at Iditarod HQ 2008 sign-up |
Sights
on Iditarod 2008
The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog
Race, usually just called the "Iditarod", is an
annual dogsled race in Alaska, where mushers and teams of
dogs cover about 1,151 miles (1,853 km) in nine to fifteen
days. The Iditarod began in 1973 as an event to test the
best mushers and teams, evolving into the highly competitive
race it is today. Mike is officially signed up to run the
2008 "Last Great Race" the Iditarod. Follow his
progress as he trains and prepares for this historical sled
dog race.
THANKS TO EVERYONE!
Well it looks like the 2007 racing season is winding down
at the Suprekennel. I am really proud of my team of fantastic
dogs. I want to thank all of the people who came out to my
fund raiser or sponsored a dog or mile.
First the good news is the
team completed the Yukon Quest 300 which was actually 350
miles. My team of 12 dogs did great in the -40 degree temperatures
with all 12 making it to the finish line in 6th place. I
had the only team to finish with a full 12 dog team intact.
The trail was hard and fast most of the way with a few sections
of jumble ice on the Yukon River.
"Tim" & Michael
enjoying the Quest 300 finish |
Every race has its own flavor
and the Yukon Quest likes to bill its self as the toughest
sled dog race. I did not see anything tough from Whitehorse
to Braeburn (except for the mandatory vet check, my dogs don’t
care much for weirdo’s, strangers or people who aren’t
me) I’m not sure which group they thought the vets were
in but I had to hold a few of them to get their checkup. The
next section to Carmacks is a tougher run known as pinball
alley (for the way sleds bounce off the trees). Again the
team did great considering we camped in the -40 degree temperatures.
The last section into Carmacks is a rough ride with a lot
of gulley’s and a drop off on the Yukon that left everyone’s
sled on its side. The nice part about reaching Carmacks is
I knew we could run to all the check points without camping
out. It makes it a lot faster to get the team fed and into
their rest mode with plenty of straw and warm water waiting
for you at a checkpoint. The run from Carmacks to Pelly Crossing
had some long icy sections along with some jumble ice on the
Yukon that knocked me off and busted my sled. Luckily another
piece of ice slowed the dog team enough for me to grab hold
of the sled about 50 yards down the trail. The rest of the
race went smoothly enough with the team keeping a steady strong
pace.
Of course the bad news is
apparent enough and that is we had to drop out of the Iditarod.
With the Klondike 300 not working out the schedule to do
the Iditarod was going to be impossible. The last chance
to qualify for this year’s Iditarod is the Yukon Quest
300, which runs right when Iditarod does their food drop.
Although I didn’t want to I had to withdraw from Iditarod
and pressed on to Canada to run the YQ 300. It will be hard
to wait one more year but the team will be even stronger
if I can imagine that.
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