Joy Davis, Educational Journalist, IN
Sue Allen of Wasilla, Alaska, has completed 2 Iditarods.
In 2004, she ran her own dog team to Nome. Maintaining a large kennel was expensive. After much thought, Sue decided to not keep the kennel. Sue said, “All of our dogs are either continuing to run in other teams, with junior mushers, or living out their retirement here with us.”
In 2007 Martin Buser, 4 time Iditarod Champion and a friend of Sue’s, offered her the opportunity to train and run his yearlings. She took them to Nome in 2008. She is taking a new group of yearlings to Nome in 2010.
Through her years in racing and training, Sue has gained experience in what works and what doesn’t. Both Iditarods have taught her how to prepare for the next race. She said, “I’ve developed more confidence over the years. I’m more willing to try new things in training that challenge me and the dogs. I’ve learned that I can accomplish anything if I’m willing to work hard, be uncomfortable, and persevere.”
By day, Sue is a high school physical education teacher. At 50 years old, she says her motivation is that she is ‘innately lazy.’ She needs to have goals to keep moving towards. She said, “In winter I set goals for dog races. Each summer I set myself some goal that keeps me fit…bike rides, running races, triathlons…If I don’t set goals, it’s too easy for me to sit around and wait for tomorrow to do anything. I realize Iditarod is a rather large challenge in some people’s eyes, but the tougher the challenge, the greater the reward.”
For Sue, the Iditarod is largely funded by Happy Trails Kennel. As the dogs belong to Martin, he pays for dog food, vet bills, and provides the necessary equipment. Sue pays for entry fees, flights, and shipping the food drop. She has family and friends who help sponsor her.
The trail is full of adventure and sometimes misfortune. Of the 2008 Iditarod Sue said, “We were nearly half way between Ophir and Cripple near a place called Wolfkill Slough. There was lots of overflow on the slough and by the time I saw where the trail breakers had cut a trail through the trees to reroute us, most of the team was past that trail. I got my leaders into the new trail, but not without a small tangle. As the team straightened out, I heard an awful scream. One of the dogs had caught his forearm on a snap and ended up with a pretty nasty injury. I gave him the best first aid I could, and carried him into Cripple. The vets there performed surgery to repair the damage and he was flown home where he underwent some more surgeries. We all know that when you and 16 dogs are traveling through remote areas of Alaska, that injuries can happen. However, those little lives are my responsibility and any injury to any of the dogs is tough to take.”
Good times also happen on the trail. Sue said that her proudest moment was driving the team down Front Street for the first time. She had an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment.
Sue has a full schedule. She’s up and feeding the dogs by 4:30 a.m. Then she arrives at school by 5:30. Her school day is over at 1 p.m. When she gets home she feeds the dogs fish soup. The kennel gets cleaned if her husband, Rich, hasn’t already taken care of it. Then the dogs go for a run. When they return, the dogs are watered and snacked. Sue puts the gear away, starts dinner, and keeps up with paperwork. An hour later she feeds the dogs and cleans the yard. Then it’s time for her to eat and unwind before calling it a day.
She keeps 16 of Martin Buser’s dogs at her kennel. Her husband, Rich, is helping her keep the kennel clean. However, she does all of the feeding and caring for the team. Sue gets to know the dogs better this way and the dogs learn to count on her. Trust will be essential on the trail.
When asked where she sees herself in 5 years, Sue said that she plans on staying in shape, to be loving life, and still be involved with sled dogs in some fashion. Racing is costly, stressful, and hard on an aging body. She said, “I often question why I would run this race again. It’s a huge commitment of time, energy, money, and comfort. The tougher question for me, the one I can’t answer is…why wouldn’t I?”
Please visit Sue’s website at www.nosnowkennels.com
Safe trails, Sue.
