Gin Gin 200 Race Updates

Gin Gin 200, Dec. 28th 2009

2009-12-27T23:17:00.003-09:00

Hello Gin Gin 200 fans!

It's that time of year again!

The 5th running of the Gin Gin sled dog race will begin tomorrow with the women's division setting off in a mass start at 11am-sharp. The men will mass start just one hour later. We're here now at Wolverine Lodge - it's 11:15pm and mushers are still arriving. Mackey's are all checked in, Abbie West was cheerful and Mike Ellis seems to be looking forward to the trail.

There's been thick fog on the Lake Louise for the past 2 days making visibility quite poor. John went down the trail by snow machine to mark the trail and turns as needed. His report; Very Foggy for 16 miles. There's hope it might clear off by tomorrow afternoon. It's warm tonight (19F) and cloudy. We arrived this afternoon & stayed busy checking rabies cert on dog teams arriving, checking the outbound trail and ....preparing our own team for tomorrows 200 mile race.

We are always excited to put on a quality race with safe and well marked trails. Good Luck to all the Gin Gin 200 dogs and mushers!

Fast facts:

There's a women's and men's division

The top three places in each division will be paid and given a special Gin Gin 200 medal- gold, silver and bronze.

The entire trail is pretty much flat running on a river system: Lake Louise to the Tyone to the Su to the Maclaren.

One way: Wolverine to Maclaren: 109 miles

There's a mandatory 8 hr layover at Maclaren Lodge.

10 dogs per team

The Gin Gin 200 is an Iditarod and Yukon Quest qualifier.

The Gin Gin sled dog race was named after a special dog I fell for after having fallen for my husband:) His dog, Gin Gin. She was old and dying of cancer the year I had put this thing together. She was on some of John's best and most memorable dog races...the most worthy to note; his winning Quest team in 96. Gin Gin was kind, independent, a tough ol thing with perseverance and determination. She never felt sorry for herself even as she grew weak and more fragile. She took care of the yard. Dogs had respect for her. I admired her. She would now be the great grandmother (and grandmother) to some of my more talented racing dogs. Gin Gin lives on.....

*special note- she would be grandmother to Storey who is on the team and great-grandmother to Fender. Fender is just over a year old and this will be her first race.

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John will do his best to write updates on this journal. Bare with us-John is our race marshal this year and our dropped dog driver for the race running between Paxson and Wolverine.

Thanks for your support! Happy Trails!

Zoya

Winner Brent Sass of the mens division

2008-12-31T16:01:00.001-09:00

a few snaps the night before the race

2008-12-31T15:25:00.009-09:00

Theresa Daily and Peter Kamper

Musher Yuka Honda giving us the thumbs up.

Watch for Yuka in the 2009 Yukon Quest!

Zoya & Jona Checking mushers in

Gin Gin 200 race volunteers

say "cheese"

Trail boss John Schandelmeoer holds meeting with the Army on how they plan to help during the Gin Gin 200 sled dog race. Zoya and baby Jona listen closely.

Musher Finish Times

2008-12-30T13:28:00.008-09:00

Womens Division

1: Jodi Bailey (12-28-08) 23:55
2: Colleen Robertia (12-29-08) 01:28
3: Michelle Phillips 07:26
4: Aliy Zirkle 07:34
5: Abbie West 10:40
6: Yuka Honda 13:41
7: Bridget Watkins 13:46
8: Ava Lindner 13:55
9: Judy Currier 13:57
10: Marie Claude 14:40
11: Jen Seavey 16:34
12: Deb Moderow 16:40
13: Tamara Rose 17:42
14: Jen Brown 17:50
15: Simi Morrison 18:57
16. Jillian Rogers Tuesday 4:35pm

Scratches;
Maclaren outbound: Cristina Roaloff, Iris Sutton

Mens Division

1: Brent Sass 01:58
2: Ken Anderson 04:27
3: Ed Hopkins 07:42
4: Lance Mackey 10:44
5: Harry Alexie 10:48
6: Braxton Peterson 10:50
7: Sebastion Schnuelle 10:58
8: Hugh Neff 11:08
9. Tom Lesatz 11:52
10: Darrin Lee 12:23
11: Rick Casillo 12:32
12: Mark Sleighthome 13:13
13: Allen Moore 13:40
14: Chris Boyer 13:41
15: Sonny Lindner 13:55
16: Chad Lindner 13:55
17: Louis Bissonette 14:29
18: Mitch Seavey 14:30
19: Dallas Seavey 14:33
20: Jake Lysyhyn 14:34
21: Yuho Ylipiesse 19:04

Scratches;
Maclaren outbound: Bill McKee, Colin Morrison, Mike Ellis
Maclaren inbound; Jason Reppart, Jeff King

Overall

1. Jodi Bailey; 36 hours 55 mins.
2. Brent Sass; 37 hours 58 mins.
3. Colleen Robertia; 38 hours 28 mins.
4. Ken Anderson; 40 hours 27 mins.
5. Ed Hopkins; 43 hours 42 mins.
6. Michelle Phillips 44 hours 26 mins.
7. Aliy Zirkle 44 hours 34 mins.

The Final Leg

2008-12-29T17:50:00.005-09:00

The mushers award banquet is starting now at the Paxson Lodge with a room full of red faced happy- to- be finished mushers. Teams are still coming in as far as I know. We had to push back the award time from 2 to 5 with trail boss John Schandelmeier barley making it in time himself as he ran back from Maclaren with the last group of dropped dogs, 42 miles in with wind and cooling temps. It's sitting at -32 on Paxson Lake.

As race organizer and director this year working from the Paxson end with minimal information coming in throughout the race, I did my best to keep concerned mothers, fathers, husbands. wives, friends and fans informed as you called in on the phone. It was Very cold out there for the mushers this year and with some brutal conditions. Theresa Daily posted some great photo's from the Maclaren checkpoint.

Congrats Jodi Bailey! 2 time Champion of the 2008 Gin Gin 200! Her team was smoking hot when they arrived the finish line, still pulling hard and ready to go. I was there anxiously awaiting to check her in ---- with this bad bug I caught over the weekend, I didn't dare give her the hug I wanted to give.

CONGRATS TO ALL THE MUSHERS OF THE 2008 GIN GIN 200.

zd

Today there are no frogs

2008-12-29T10:23:00.002-09:00

Too cold for frogs. Minus 44 on the Maclaren. This place is emptying quickly as teams head for balmy, 20 below, Paxson. Still blowing on 13 mile, though not as hard. A load of dropped dogs just arrived in Paxson. 7 teams are in--- with another 25 or so on the trail. Jodi Bailey was the fastest overall for the 2nd year in a row---Brent Sass is the fastest guy and 2nd overall. Colleen Robertia; 3rd overall. Congratulations to these 3 teams in particular for staying focused and moving steadily in extremely adverse conditions.
john

2008-12-28T22:55:00.002-09:00

Only three teams are out as of 11:00 pm. Quite a few teams are preparing to leave within the next hour. Teams are not all leaving at their designated times----mostly due to weather issues. There are winds in the 30mph. range in the Tangle Lakes area and over 13 mile hill. The current Maclaren temperature is 39 below at 11:00 pm. There are still 5 teams out on the 110 mile loop; one is reported several miles out.
john Schandelmeier

Gin Gin race start pic's

2008-12-28T11:07:00.013-09:00

The GG200 2008 Start

The Army National Guard assisting the GG200

Getting cozy in Paxson

GG200

Yuka Honda Team

Paxson Lodge

John, Becca, Chris and Zoya all working the start of 2008 Gin Gin 200

Hugh Neff gearing up to go

Michelle Phillips and Ed Hopkins teams

Ken Anderson & teams

Aliy Zirkle at the start of the 2008 GG200

Colleen Robetia & team

New Trail Report

2008-12-28T02:57:00.002-09:00

The trail crew just came in off of the 110 mile loop----It is 35 below at
the Maclaren checkpoint---the best guess is that the temperatures on the Lower Maclaren and along the Susitna are at least 10 degrees colder. Winds are calm. The trail on the Maclaren from the Lodge to the mouth is hard and fast. When we turned on the Sue we found it drifted and slower traveling; some areas aren't too bad, other sections will be punchy and tough going. The closer teams get to the Denali Highway, the better the trail will be. The Denali from the Bridge to the checkpoint is excellent; there have been quite a few machines over that part of the trail---it is smooth and fast. Expect times in the range of 12-13 hours for the fastest teams.
John Schandelmeier

The Gin Gin 200 off to a WINDYstart.....

2008-12-27T16:55:00.004-09:00

The 2008 Gin Gin 200 kicks off to a rough and windy ride for mushers and their teams. The women's division started at 11am with Yukon Quest musher and past Gin Gin finisher, Michelle Phillips first out of the chute. One after another, the women teams left in 2 minute intervals. Last years Gin Gin 200 champion Jodi Bailey left in good spirits with a good sense of humor seeming confident in her team. Aliy Zirkle was all smiles as she pulled up to the chute and Yuka Honda left in a hurry barely having a minute to spare! It was nice to see Colleen Robertia's team pull up ready to roll --a happy healthy bunch of dogs. I recognised her leaders from 2 years ago when they led her to 3rd place. They are back and looking good. Jen Seavey's team rolled up nice looking very professional.

The temps were hanging around -2 with minimal wind in Paxson. It's amazing how fast things can change once you head out of Paxson town and into the mountains.

With unforgiving winds just over an hour out, the trail had been beaten down to a mere sheet of thin ice making it a total scramble for the teams as they head up and over 13 mile summit, not to mention some exposed pavement creating more excitement for mushers as they are forced to drive their sled with total precision and skill. Just what they needed ---more excitement right? With winds blowing at 40 mph and the wind chill factor, we're looking at -55 out there.

They have a long way to go and a cold night ahead of them. -25 at Maclaren right now. Looks like it may get down to -35.

Teams all departed fairly smooth and almost on time. With a very short break, we barley had enough time to run in for a cup of coffee and to warm the toes. The men rolled out in a blur..teams were lining up and heading out in an orderly fashion. Iditarod and Yukon Quest musher Sonny Linders team looked focused eyes staring down the trail, Allen Moore was smiling ear to ear, & Tom Lesatz was ready to get going by the time we counted down 4, 3, 2, 1........the longest 4 seconds....and then there's Lance Mackey. His team looked beautiful---very happy and lively.

About 3pm, we got word that some of the teams had turned around- dogs were shutting down in the hellacious winds. more to come soon....with pic's

ZD

Wind

2008-12-26T11:00:00.002-09:00

11-26-08
Paxson, AK

After a warm front and a new snow fall, there is always WIND.

The wind is howling like hell on wheels here in Paxson. Gusts up to 65-70 mph. The wind shakes & rattles the house. The trail in front of our kennel has been wiped clean of any trace. It could last 1-3 days. 7F at present, but this too may change. Colder temperatures are in the forecast. They are calling for -30's race weekend. Sections of the race trail may blow in due to the wind storm however the lead snow machines will be ahead of the mushers by at least an hour covering the trail once again and mushers will have trail markers to help guide the way. Those markers become your lifeline out there when racing.

Wind------------13 mile hill on the Denali is a tough place to have wind with a team, there's no cover on top of the summit and teams have been blown off the Denali. Last year coming back on that last leg of the Gin Gin 200 to the Finish line, we had a heck of a time fighting our way through a little wind storm with gusts up to 45 mph. I could barely see the headlamp of Jodi Bailey in front and more times than not, I could hardly see my leaders Sebe and Bridle. We were literally being pushed off the highway by the incredible wind. This lasted for me, 11 miles. A long 11 miles. Wind can be unforgiving, you just do your best to get your team through it as fast and safe as possible.

The river trail is in the open, again with no cover from wind.

Most mushers and race officials will be traveling all day today to get here--several hours from their home to ours. Between heavy snow fall, wind and abundant moose....we are asking everyone to drive slow and take good care. Call race headquarters if there's any problems at all.

The 4th running of the Gin Gin 200 begins tomorrow at 11am, Paxson Lodge.
Men will start at noon sharp.

You may email or phone for updates anytime during race weekend.

Zoya
race director
907-347-9013

Dropped Dog pick up

2008-12-25T18:03:00.002-09:00

Mushers,

Dropped dogs will be cared for by Gin Gin race staff in Paxson, there will be 2 designated trucks near the Lodge. Please leave dog food with the dropped dog at Maclaren and special care instructions if any are needed.

Your dropped dog must be paid for at time of pickup in Paxson. Cash or check.

GG200

Gin

2008-12-23T11:26:00.002-09:00

Gin Gin 200 Trail Report---December 23, 2008.

As soon as you arrive check-in for your parking slot.

Race start is 11:00 am, Saturday, Dec. 27th. following the 8:00 am mushers meeting. Women's division starts first in 2 minute intervals. We will break 1/2 hour, then start the Men.
Teams will be brought to the start line with snowmobile support.
Race Director: Zoya DeNure
Head Veterinarian: Jeanne Olson
Race Marshall: Theresa Daily
Judges: John Schandelmeier, Zoya DeNure
Trail/Logistics: John Schandelmeier

The Gin Gin trail leaves Paxson and follows the Denali Highway until Milepost 30.. Expect windy conditions from milepost 7-20. There is wind-pack and a bit of asphalt showing in spots from Mile 9-Mile 15. However, there is good snow to travel on and plenty to hook down everywhere. Follow the highway signs! Moose at 26 mile that like the trail. Teams will depart the Denali on the mountain loop at mile 30.8---turn right at the (pink) markers. You are in open country with the potential for drifting. Deep snow off the trail and overflow in spots. There is potential for punchy trail for later teams. We had to snowshoe some of this. It is 19 miles to the first checkpoint at Maclaren River. The halfway point of this loop is midway thru a large lake. (7 Mile Lake). You are back on the Denali at Milepost 40---2 miles from the checkpoint. When you reach Maclaren---do not cross the bridge; turn right at the markers and check-in under the bridge, you will be directed to parking. You have a 6-hour lay-over plus time differential.
Teams depart Maclaren down the Maclaren. It will be 110 miles before you see another checkpoint. 20 miles down the Maclaren you will begin into the Maclaren canyon. Ice bridges and a short section of trail though a slough with a bit of brush. There is a cabin 25 miles down--the trail goes by this cabin, but there is open water in front of it so you would have to walk around the open lead to get to it. However, it is available in an emergency. Several miles below the cabin you will begin into a jumble ice area. Watch for moose. We did back sloughs where-ever possible and pulled a drag, but watch for cracks and sled getters...... About 6 miles of rougher ice. The Maclaren runs out at 45 mile. Turn right, (North), up the Susitna River. Absolutely perfect going. 10 miles up the Sue, a short halfway thru this run, is a pile of firewood for your heating enjoyment..... Another 23-24 miles gets you back to the Denali Highway-- approximately 8 miles below the Denali Highway bridge you may begin to encounter windblown areas with drifting and overflow. At the Denali, go under the bridge, take an immediate right up the boat ramp onto the Denali---37 miles to Maclaren. You are at milepost 79, Denali Highway.
From this point to Milepost 60 you will encounter as many moose as you will ever see on a dogrun. The snow is good, but not so deep that they tend to challenge for the trail. Use caution and give them room if you can. The trail on the Denali is well-packed and fast. You leave the timber at Mile 65 and are back in the open all of the way to Maclaren. Approximately 1/2 mile before Maclaren you will turn off of the Denali to the right---this takes you back down to the river and parking for your 2nd 6-hour lay-over.
Final 42 miles is down the Denali back to Paxson.

The weather forecast for the Gin Gin weekend is; cloudy with light snow--daytime temperatures-0-minus 15, Night temps. minus 15-30. Expect it warmer in the high areas, colder at the Sue and lower Maclaren.

Watch for snowmobile traffic on the Denali; flash your headlamp at approaching machines and at those coming up behind you.

We need one more handler for the dropped dog area in Paxson; if you are interested please e-mail.

John Schandelmeier

2008 GIN GIN 200 RACE POSTERS

2008-12-18T17:52:00.002-09:00

You can order Gin Gin 2008 race Posters today!
Unsigned Posters Available now! $ 8.00
Signed posters $10.00

Proceeds go to the GIN GIN 200 race organization!
email zdenure@yahoo.com
Phone: 907-347-9013

Musher parking, Maclaren checkpoint, etc

2008-12-16T15:09:00.006-09:00

Mushers,

Paxson Lodge has a few rooms left at this time, call 907-822-3330 to reserve your room if you plan to arrive the night before. They have electrical hook-up's for 27 campers, motor homes, etc.

Parking will be tight! Teams will have assigned parking---check in when you arrive at Paxson for your parking number. Teams depart in order of sign up--look at website list and check again in Paxson- I will have it posted on a bulletin board at Paxson Lodge.

Zoya/John will be in Paxson on the 26th from 6-10:00pm
Race official mtg. to be held in the dining room of Paxson Lodge--TBA

Mushers, please check in when you arrive.

IF you have two teams on the same truck and or pulling a trailer and need more room, please make sure to let Zoya/John know.

The 1st 6 hr layover at Maclaren will be hectic--it is only 50 miles--sleeping arrangements will be crowded. Dogs will be restless, plan accordingly. Maclaren is a full service lodge, you are responsible for your own food at Maclaren. Maclaren will likely have hot water available, cold water for sure. Gin Gin 200 will provide mushers with 1/2 bale of straw--mushers will have the option to park in same place on 2nd layover--we'll touch on this at the drivers mtg.

Snow conditions are EXCELLENT with over 3 1/2 feet on the ground.

Stand by for trail pictures on this website to be posted by weekend.

zd

For more information on the Gin Gin 200

2008-12-12T13:48:00.002-09:00

go to http://www.gingin200.com

Team Limit lifts to 55

2008-12-12T12:17:00.005-09:00

www.gingin200.com

Mushers,

This is a nice shot of the Gin Gin 200 mountain loop at mp 30 on the Denali Highway. After you travel 30 miles of the first leg, you'll take a nice gee onto this section for 19 miles. A fun & scenic trail!

We're lifting the team limit to 55 for this years Gin Gin 200. As of today, we're up to 51 mushers. Please send in your signed forms and correct entry fee (check the late deadline fee) and send me an email zdenure@yahoo.com asap if you want to be on the list. We will have a waiting list if we reach 55.

Any questions, please give a call and I will return your message as soon as possible.
907-347-9013

Check back soon for some exciting GG200 News updates, Race Official positions, parking & accomodations in Paxson for the start of race, current weather, trail reports and pictures.

Safe & Speedy trails to all,

Zoya DeNure

Crazy Dog Kennel
Paxson, AK

Welcome to the Gin Gin 200...

2008-11-22T22:06:00.001-09:00

Paxson, Alaska welcomes the 4th annual Gin Gin Sled Dog Race. The Gin Gin 200 is about mushers getting together and having fun. We are confident to say we have some of the best trails in Alaska!