Archives for 2011

Shake off the party from the night before and join ASPA for a trail tour to start the new year! You need to be an ASPA member to participate. Let’s meet at 1 pm at the pullout on Ballaine road (approx 3/4 of the way down the hill on the right if you are headed into Goldstream Valley. ) If it is colder than -15 degrees F. at 11:30 that morning (458-3745 ext 1113 weather) we will cancel. We’ll travel a 9 mile loop on various kinds of trails. This is a good route for a mellow two dog team or one strong dog. Encounters with other trail users, overflow, moose, and ungroomed trails are all possible. No loose dogs, please. If you have any questions please contact Sara Tabbert at 479 0456 or stabbert@hotmail.com.

Today’s Fun Race is on! Temperatures are way above minimums–and way above normal, to the point of being on the verge of setting new records.

Be aware of the warm temperatures at race time and take care to keep both you and your dogs hydrated and safe. Slow down if you need to, particularly at the longer distances.

See you at Creamer’s!

The Alaska Skijoring and Pulk Association will host a fun race on Sunday, December 18 at Creamer’s Field. Registration begins at 10:00 am and ends at 10:30 am, with the race starting at 11:00 am. Distances include 1/2 mile with 1 dog, and 1.4, 2.7, and 3.6 miles (approximately) with one, two, and three dog classes. If there is interest, we could add a longer distance class, depending on the state of the ADMA trails and if they are holding a race of their own that day.

Pre-registration by Saturday, December 17 at 5 pm is $5/race for ASPA members, and all participants must be members (you can join at registration). To pre-register, e-mail me at donkiely@computer.org (please don’t reply to the entire list) with the name of the person racing, dog name(s), and distance to run. Race day registration is an additional $5 for each category. We’ll hold the race if there are at least 10 pre-registrations by the cutoff on Saturday. So please respond right now to ensure the race happens! I’m hoping that everyone can take time out from holiday preparations to come out and have fun with their dogs!

Please pre-register if you want to run more than one race. It complicates things to try and get this organized on race day!

If the temperature is below -15 at 9:15 am on race morning, the race will be canceled, based on temperatures at the airport, 458-3745 ext 1113. The ASPA Web site at https://www.alaskaskijoring.org and the ASPA hotline will have the updated info shortly after 9:15, and I’ll send an email to the list.

For additional information, contact race director Don Kiely at 455-6749 or donkiely@computer.org.

Remember, this is a FUN race. So come on out and have some fun with your dogs!

There is a trail tour at 1PM the same day, so consider doing another run around the fields with the group!

Join us this Sunday at 1:00 PM for a four to five mile loop.  All participants must be ASPA members.  If it is colder than -15 degrees F. at 11:30 that morning (458-3745 ext 1113 weather) we will cancel.  For more info, contact Janna Miller at 479-5585 or janna@alaska.net.

Unfortunately, we didn’t get enough snow soon enough to get the trails groomed and ready for races on Sunday, so we’re going to postpone them until the first weekend that we can make them work.

The scheduled trail tour also isn’t going to happen, so stay tuned to when those will be starting up for the season!