In January, 2000 Don Bowers—author, airman, dog driver—started a combined 200/300 mile dog race in Willow.
Following his death that year, a group of volunteers continued that race, now renamed in his memory. The race is a qualifier for the Iditarod and Yukon Quest.
The 2012 Races
Blogging Bowers/2012: Aliy Zirkle Karen Ramstead Radio: Justin/Aliy interview KTNA Talkeetna
2/1 12:00pm: Banquet Postscript. More funny stories than I have space to recount here, both from those running teams and those managing checkpoints and radio’s, at last nights banquet. Sadly our friends from Fairbanks were not present having rushed off to colder climes and the start of the Quest. As with past years, we issued special awards honoring some of the less experienced teams. This year—
- Roy and Leslie Monk Humanitarian Award: Dallas Seavey
- Sportsmanship Award (sponsored by Pat Madigan): Jeff Hemann
Roy and Leslie monitored the race from England. Finally, a special thanks to Phenie and Fred Miller who opened Sheep Creek Lodge for our banquet, and who cook the best spaghetti in the Valley. [mrb: Willow 12°F!]
1/30 0826 Bob Chlupath Has arrived at Kershners.. THE RACE IS NOW OVER….CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE MUSHERS.. JOB WELL DONE. We had a wonderful Race, Fantastic Race.. Once again we are soo blessed with the Great group of Volunteers who come through for us year after year after year… We could not do this without our Ham radio operators, our Trail gurus and our checkpoint volunteers, our race Veterinarian and the folks at Eagle Quest. A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL FROM THE RACE MARSHALL.. When our web Guru arises from his turn on stanby (sleepytown) he will be updating the standings page. CHECKPOINTS CAN STAND DOWN. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR ALL THE HARD WORK BEFORE DURING AND THEN THE CLEAN UP AFTER.
1/30 0631 Jan Steves has arrived at the Finish… The dogs look great and the Musher looks well good She is smiling and happy:) Bobs arrival should be in an hour or so… The Kershners has had a changing of the guard, Jim was on duty and woke Jayne and Beth who were on standby…(meaning sleeping on the couch and on the floor). We do not have an Out time from Morgans as They are taking a much needed rest.
1/29 11:28 Jan Steves has arrived at Morgans and departed and will be taking a rest further down the trail. Its a Lovely Night at the Kershner Place, no one is stirring except the Ladies of the house, never fear Cathy and Beth are here:)Oh and Jayne is on standby.
1/29 11:35: I expect Jan into Morgans any time now, then just under three hours until she reaches the finish. Bob will likely not finish until around 7am tomorrow. I will leave it to others to post arrival times, and catch up with Standings etc., in the morning. [mrb] [Willow −25°, Talkeetna −19.7°F]
1/29 5:51pm: Bob is through Nowhere(3) at 16:50.
1/29 4:44pm: Dallas is over the finish line at 4:16 for third place in the 300, elapsed 52h14m.
1/29 4:00pm: Jan’s through Nowhere(3) at 3:35pm. And now for the weather: The nicest day this winter: Willow −19°, Talkeetna −8.3°F
1/29 2:23pm: And Ryne is second, coming in 14 minutes behind Aliy. In other news, Dallas is through Morgans (13:43) with one dog in the basket, Bob has left Eaglequest, and the 200 if officially over with Philip into Eaglequest at 2:05. [Blue sky, Willow −15°, Talkeetna −11°F]
Edit: I have worked out the secret of Skunk’s Place Kennel dog teams—it’s the red leggings. BTW, for a mushers perspective on the race, check out Aliy’s blog. [mrb]
1/29 1:29pm: Surprise! Aliy Zirkle wins the DBMR/300 finishing at 1:24pm [total elapsed time 49h22m].
1/29 12:44pm: Now caught up with Standings etc., (except Jan/Bob Nowhere(2), and Philip/Wilmotte Morgan(2) times are dummies). Jan has left Eaglequest.
Edit: Dummy times have unforeseen consequences; Bob managed to complete the last stage into Eaglequest at 1300 mph.
1/29 11:42am: We have communications again. Summary—
- Aliy through Morgan’s at 10:27 (leader);
- Dallas through Nowhere at 6:10;
- Wilmotte through Nowhere at 9:40 en route to Eaglequest;
- Philip Walters through Nowhere at 9:50 en route to Eaglequest;
- Jan and Bob preparing to leave Eaglequest.
Cannot update Standings etc., yet, since my system prohibits entering times for a checkpoint without the prior checkpoints leaving time (cannot calculate time on trail etc).
1/29 11:42am: Just in, Ryne Olson through Morgans at 10:45. We have something of a communications snafu, so no new information about others yet. [Willow −25°F; Talkeetna −18.8°F]
1/29 08:37am: Some times now bought up to date (Nowhere time for Dee Dee is a “dummy” time). [Dark, Willow −31°F]
1/29 06:20am Aliy, Ryne, and Dallas have all gone back through nowhere checkpoint headed to there finish!!!
1/29 05:38am Bob is in now for his layover.
1/29 04:52am Jan is in at eagle quest for her 6 hour layover.
1/29 04:49am Karen’s 3rd, Tamara is 4th, Jeff is 5th, Joe is 6th, Dee Dee is 7th. Great job guys :)
1/28 11:49pm: Jerry is second into Eaglequest for the 200 finish.
1/28 10:54pm: Jerry Sousa is through Nowhere—23 miles till warm. It looks like we missed him passing at 8:32pm. [Willow −32°F]
1/28 9:41pm: Dallas has reached Eaglequest. And Tamara is through Nowhere (tardy email my screw up, I think).
1/28 9:31pm: Karen is through Nowhere (and I would have expected Tamara to be through as well. Possibly a missed email?).
1/28 9:03pm: And Ryne now gets a six hour rest (after bedding/feeding her team but with hot food at Eaglequest). The rest of teams on the trail are enjoying Willow at −30°F. Dallas and Tamarra next in.
1/28 7:46pm: News! Justin completed the 200 for 1st place for 31:05mins in total (unofficial); Aily in at 19:25. Ryne and Dallas have left Nowhere although an hour apart, with Ryne in the lead. [Willow −29°F]
1/28 5:30pm: The last two teams have left Kershners. And I have heard unofficially that Aily (and Ryne?) have cleared Nowhere. Waiting for confirmation.
1/28 4:50pm: Justin is through Nowhere! At 4pm! He did in 5:31 incoming what took 7:53 outgoing. How can I forecast with differences like that? And Bob’s out of Morgan’s, dropping two dogs.
1/28 3:39pm: Joe and Dee Dee through Morgans. [Talkeetna −3°F!]
1/28 2:41pm: Both Jeff and Jan are now through Morgans, travelling, um, nose to tail? [Willow, warming, −20°F; Talkeetna, tropical, −6°F]
1/28 2:08pm: And Karen’s through Morgans.
1/28 2:00pm: While we wait for further news, let’s try to handicap our leaders into Nowhere on their return to Eaglequest.
Forecast removed before Google indexes [I should know better—mrb]
1/28 1:30pm: And Bob has left Kershners (1:23) leaving two teams still completing their layover.
1/28 1:06pm: Karnen, Jeff, Joe and Dee Dee have all left Kershners starting their run for the 200. [Willow −26°F, Talkeetna −16°F]
1/28 12:13pm: Jan’s left Kershners, Tamarra is through Morgans.
1/28 12:00pm: From Ham Central re Steve Geiger:
Just wanted you to be aware that Steve Geiger informed us about great race sportsmanship! Jeff Hemann spent 6 hours with Steve while he was sick. Jeff refused to continue in the race until he knew that Steve would be alright! Steve convinced him to continue on, but he refused, watching in the trees and covering his headlamp monitoring Steve until he was able to continued on. He then reported Steve’s condition to the officials when he arrived in the next checkpoint! That’s a caring musher, who would sacrifice his place in the race for a fellow musher.
1/28 11:52am: Justin is through Morgans, followed by Jerry Sousa as our 200 leaders; Dallas Seavey is through Morgans running third in the 300. [Sunny and clear: Willow −27°F, Talkeetna −23°F]
1/28 10:25am: Standings etc., now up-to-date (Wilmotte excepted). [Willow −33°F, Talkeetna −27°F]
01/28 10:23am Wilmotte Arnaud has made it to Kershner`s!!
01/28 10:02am Ryne has now made it through Morgan`s checkpoint too!!
01/28 09:46am We have our first team in and out of Morgan`s checkpoint!!! Way to go Aliy!!
01/28 08:15am Ryne and Justin have joined Aily on the trip south! Dallas is scheduled to leave next! They will encounter Philip and Wilmotte on their way to Morgan’s! We wish them safe passage!
01/28 07:27am Our last musher has finally passed through Morgan’s checkpoint and our first musher has left Kershner’s heading south…Aily’s on her way south!
01/28 06:47am Philip Walters has left Morgan`s checkpoint at 5:25am.
01/28 06:11am Steve, Joe, and Dee Dee are all in… Only 2 still to come.
01/28 05:19am Jeff Hemann has just checked in at Kershner`s!
01/28 05:07am Bob Chlupath has arrived at Kershner`s. Mushers are taking care of their dogs and eatting and taking their naps.
01/28 04:26am Karen Ramstead has just checked in at Kershner`s checkpoint!! We are getting closer to getting them all in.
01/28 04:13am Jan Steves has now joined us at Kershner`s! All seem to be enjoying the trail so far!
01/28 03:19am Justin, Jerry and Tamara have joined the others at Kershner`s.
01/28 03:15am All mushers are through Morgan`s cabin except Wilmotte and Philip.
01/28 02:15 Ryne & Dallas into Kershner’s! Bob Chlupach and Jeff Hemann have passed through Morgan’s!
1/28 01:39am: Aliy first into Kershers for the 300 at 1:12am, Karen through Morgan’s at the same time.
I will retire now, so Standings will not be updated until I rise; progress should be reported on this page though, throughout the night. [mrb]
1/28 12:32am: Sousa and Rose through Morgan’s 23:56—00:20. Fast and Furious! [Willow −21°F, Talkeetna −9°F]
1/27 11:56pm: Dallas Seavey is through Morgan’s as is Justin Savidis, although he dropped two dogs while retaining the lead for the 200.
1/27 11:21pm: And Ryne Olson is also through Morgan’s.
1/27 10:51: Just in from Ham Central—Aliy blew through Morgans at 22:38 without stopping. So my last eta was lousy (but the Nowhere checkpoint was good). Aily has 22 miles to go to Jim (Kershner’s) and a six hour rest. [Willow −22°F, Talkeetna −9°F]
1/27 9:22pm: Philip Walters is now out of Nowhere. [One° warmer: Willow −21°F, Talkeetna −10°F]
1/27 8:21pm: As you were…times are right, order is not! When we find the problem we will fix it; until then please bear with us. Update: I have hacked a fix so at least current standings are correct. Order for the “checkpoint” report remains, um, unusual. 2ndUpdate (11:23) The problem is now fixed.
1/27 5:57pm: All times now posted. Wilmotte plans a rest outside of Nowhere (what?).
1/27 4:44pm: Ham crew having radio problems but, just in, all teams are either through or resting at Nowhere checkpoint. Aliy and Dallas in the lead (300), Tamarra and Justin in the 200 (before offsets). Philip Walters intends to rest at Nowhere. Will post exact times shortly. Eta Hal Morgan’s probably around 7:15pm. [Clear, Willow −22°F, Talkeetna −6°F]
1/27 3:33pm: Comes from Donna Quante some nice photographs of the race start.
1/27 1:29pm: All teams have left the start. Tony Angelo could not get his truck to start and had to scratch; Tamarra Rose made a late switch from the 200 to the 300. The start was a little more eventful than we would have wished (don’t ask). Earliest eta at Nowhere checkpoint circa 3pm? [Sunny, −24°F]
1/27 9:33am: Sixteen teams in total signed up, eight each for the 200 and 300. No teams running the 100. A couple of teams switched to the 200 from the 300. Final vet and mandatory equipment checks, with the start set for noon. Should be slightly warmer then. [Partly cloudy, −33°F]
