Prologue

Last night we had the Prologue, basically a show for the spectators. It was supposed to be 9km but was shortened to 1km due to no snow! Even that trail was slush. But there was a beautiful mist coming from the Lac aux Dames and the crowd were plenty. There were cheers and fireworks and generally a good atmosphere. 

Knowing the stage would not be timed we decided to take out all the inexperienced dogs so they could get their first taste of the crowds and incredible noise at the start of every stage. If anything were to go wrong this would be a good time. Whereas you might think the dogs would be scared, it just seemed to get them more excited. Hannalore was going crazy jumping and screaming to go. I don't normally like them doing that but on this occasion it was great to see they were fired up. 

The weather here is abysmal. We had rain storms through the night although we are now increasing elevation driving to the start and it has been snowing up here (thankfully). Still, today's stage has been halved to 25km which isn't great for us. There are much faster teams here with houndy dogs and they will surely do well. But it's a long race and we know that we get stronger as time goes on. 

The stage starts at 16.00 and I hope to update you afterwards. 

Arrived at the start in Samoens

Have I told you already that I'm knackered? Well, double it and you're about half way there. We spent another sleepless night in the car driving through storms to get to Samoens. But this time it wasn't snow, it was rain, and wind that would catch you by surprise and blow the car and trailer sideways. I've never been more tense driving.... I mean, imagine it for me driving on the wrong side of the car on the wrong side of the road, with a trailer full of precious cargo and snow or rain storms. Oh, and did I mention being tired? I really didn't know if I would make it but Milos and I had to share the driving as Pavol had driven from Slovakia to Germany during the day and couldn't keep his eyes open! Jan had it easier in his car as Rasto drove and he was relatively fresh. Jan slept all the way! 

So now we're at the start at Lac aux Dames. With no snow. Rumour has it they can't do the race tonight (which is more of a show anyway I think) because of lack of snow but my guess is they'll do something. There's too many people milling around to disappoint them. 

Both Milos and Jan have done the vet check on their teams. We had the vets do a cardiogram (or something like that) on Waf as they heard a whistle in his heart. Turns out he has a tiny little leak in one of his valves. Not a problem now but he may have problems with his heart later in life. Apparently it's not unusual for sled dogs and can go undetected their whole life. But it's no problem for him to run the race which is great because he's still our superstar leader. Milos would be a bit lost without him even though we have some great prospects coming through... Including a team of waf's puppies. :-)

The news wasn't so great for Jan. First, one of his dogs had two microchips (so the first reading registered as wrong to the puzzlement of the vets) but it's one of the yearlings so he thinks she was microchipped by the original owner and then again with Taisto. That all got sorted in the end though. But perhaps worse is that one of his females is pregnant so he will not be able to run her at all. He is already down to a pool of 13 dogs. It's not impossible to do well with one dog down though (last time we had two dogs ill throughout the whole race, running just one stage, and we still managed second place)!! And Jan has taken it in good spirits. He still says he's going to win!

When it comes to tonight it wouldn't surprise me if it wasn't a very short and very tight race between Spissak and maybe Coste. Both teams like to run super fast and having just seen Spissak's dogs who look just like sprint hounds it's easy to see why he might do well initially. But the race is a long one and a lot can happen. Sadly, the absence of Jiri Vondrak from Czech Republic means we're missing one of the best mushers in this race but we still have stiff competition from Radek Hravda, Remy Coste and most likely Spissak. Daniel Juillaguet is an all round nice guy and one to watch too. I'm probably missing someone but have I told you I'm just too tired? ;-) For us, tonight is about stretching the dogs legs. They're not eating very well or drinking as the temperature is so warm for them (about a 30 degree positive difference) and with females in heat too there's not a lot we can do but sit, wait and hope they'll start again soon. 

Well, the mushers meeting is up next and we'll find out what's in store for tonight. Of course I'll let you know how it all goes. I know some of you are having problems to comment but thank you all for trying and following. It means I'm not writing this for myself. ;-)

Gaynor

A welcome respite at Thomas Gut's

Finally we arrived at Thomas Gut's kennel near Sweizel in Germany around 8pm last night. After taking the dogs out, feeding and changing their straw again it was time for a little relaxation ourselves. Thomas had prepared a very welcome and hearty meal for us and it went down a treat! A couple of local beers later and Milos, Jan and I were all snoring away in the luxury of a bed. It was bliss. But morning came way too early. 

I woke with a dreadful head cold. I can't believe the timing but both Jan and Milos have had colds the last few days (and I was still battling the leftovers of one a month ago) so it was hardly surprising it came back. All day I've had my nose in a tissue, sneezing and taking painkillers for my headache. Still, life goes on here and Thomas took us out on his local trails to stretch the dogs legs. We were hoping it might help their appetite as we have a few males not eating. Unfortunately all of our females, bar one, are in heat now and the boys are going crazy. The timing couldn't be worse and it causes us much more work looking after them making sure they can't get at each other. The dogs are more likely to start a fight too so we have to watch that. Anyway, the very short training run was fun and the dogs had to cross an open creek for the first time which was good training - we don't have much of that in Kiruna! But the weather here is pretty bad... What snow there is is melting fast with the +5 temperature and the rain has set in. It's pretty nasty and makes me wonder what we'll be facing in France. I have to say at the moment we're wondering why we left Kiruna - perhaps one of the best dog sledding destinations in the world - to be here in the rain!! 

Now we await our handlers. Pavol (Milos's brother), Rasto and his wife Katy are all coming from Slovakia and meeting us here to drive the last 12 hours to France. It's 5pm now so they should be here soon. We need to leave around 8pm tonight, drive through the night, to arrive in France for 9am and the vet check at Samoens. From there the chaos continues with a prologue stage in the evening... Basically a show for the spectators. Not our favourite bit but again it should be good for the dogs to get out for a short and fast run. 

Whilst we wait I'm taking the opportunity to catch up on some bookings (they don't go on hold during the race!) and if I can, some shut eye. ;-)

More tomorrow at the start of the race! 

Landed in Germany

Oh my, I can't tell you how tired we all feel. Words cannot describe it. Sleep is almost at the point of being involuntary, arriving at any moment and when we least expect it. 

Last night, before boarding we parked up in Trelleborg and let the dogs out one last time. They had been fed earlier but we took the opportunity to change their straw in the box (some of it was wet from the snow kicking up off the wheels and getting through the gaps in the box doors) and cutting their nails. It's just the first thing in a long line of "spa treatments" the dogs have to look forward to on the race. They get massaged, muscles stretched, paws moisturised and much more every day during the race, which I'm sure means they enjoy it much more than we do! Milos always lines up for his massage at the end of the day too but somehow he always misses out. ;-)

Once all that had been done we lay down in the back of the van for a quick one-hour nap before boarding. We were almost too tired to sleep so ended up talking about how fantastic it is to have our VW Transporter van for this kind of thing. We bought it from the winnings of LGO in 2011 and it was a great buy! Milos (randomly) bid on and won his first ever eBay auction item shortly after - a rock n roll camper bed - not realising it was in Wales and rather a long way to get a bed but we did it anyway and it's brilliant!! We can take it in and out with ease and also a cupboard with gas and small sink that we had made in Slovakia. It means the van can be used to pick up our guests (tourists) at the airport one day and the next it's a mobile home for racing! Such versatility is a necessity for us and the Transporter was a great choice with its high top and long wheel base. However, we did start to dream during our discussion and decided that the next upgrades would be a slightly larger van (that we could get a 12 dog team inside), a driver (volunteers welcome) and a handler to feed and care for the dogs during the drive! And if they have massage qualifications, all the better. Lol. Yeah, that would be nice. 

Anyway, we soon put those dreams to rest and got a few minutes sleep before the ferry. The journey went well and wasn't rocky at all - or perhaps it's because we were all comatose snug in our little cabin. This was a treat for us as we normally spend our ferry nights strewn across hard plastic chairs and wake with numb limbs from awkward sleeping positions. But weirdly we all woke much more tired than before. I guess our adrenalin crashed. Three or four coffees later we can now talk sense and we're on our way again. 

The dogs are doing really well. But now they're getting very energetic. They haven't run for a couple of days now and anyone with sled dogs will tell you that's a long enough break to get their motivation back for anything! Strangely, we find that their first run after being in the trailer and resting so much is usually pretty lethargic so we will visit our friend in Germany and rest there for one night to try and get one training run in to stretch their legs a bit. Only about 800km to his place and we're already a couple of hundred KM's down. 

Ooo... It's breakfast time for dogs so I have to go now... Updates later. :-)

Arrived in Trelleborg!

Finally! We've arrived at the ferry terminal. Milos and I are both totally shattered but safe and sound. And the dogs are good too. It's getting a little interesting with them however with 5 out of 7 females now in heat!! Er, this could be fun. Not! Toby and Waf are already more interested in the girls than their food and our trailer is turning into a full on brothel with the girls teasing the boys. We can't let them run loose together now. Still we're hoping if we use the girls in lead on the race the boys will run super fast to catch them. :-)

The ferry to Rostock takes six hours so this should give us a chance to sleep, at least for a couple hours. Then it's a 10 hour drive to our friends mushing school in Germany where we'll take a 24 hour break before the final slog to Samoens in France. It already sounds like a tough race and we haven't even started yet!! 

Next update from Germany. :-)

50km to Stockholm...

Wow! What a night. Whilst most of you have been tucked up in bed we've been behind the wheel. Milos mostly to be fair as I am really struggling with getting any sleep and just feel so tired. I've had one hours sleep from 5.30-6.30am. But Milos has probably had the same and is still driving. My hero! Not only that but he's still got a smile on his face and a good morning kiss for his (grumpy) wife!! ;-)

The weather didn't get any better and we've battled snow and winds all the way. Thank goodness for stud tyres... The rest of Europe could learn a few things about that! Of course we can't have studs in Germany or France so our next challenge is to change tyres and find a "tyre hotel" to store them whilst we're away. We'll change them again on the way back. 

Our driving effort non stop through the night means we're only 50km from Stockholm... At the worst possible time to drive through the capital. We're surrounded by commuters all in a hurry to get to work. Our van and trailer is quite out of place. At least it's stopped snowing. It's raining instead! We don't normally see that over the winter. We don't normally see the sun either (we're so far north that the sun doesn't rise for a whole month between mid December and mid January) so we're looking forward to seeing the sun again soon. It's still pitch black for now and other than an hour at the beginning it has been for the whole journey. The sun will bless us soon enough. :-)

We haven't contacted Jan overnight as we didn't know if he would be sleeping at some point but soon we'll give him a morning wake up call. My bet is that he's also driven through the night... And is probably waiting for us at Trelleborg already!!

Stormy weather hits!

Finally we finished packing around 13.00 today, quickly loaded the dogs in the trailer (who were very happy to be loaded into boxes with plenty of fluffy new straw!) and were on the road at 13.30. The sat nav said 1830km to Trelleborg where we'll catch the ferry to Rostock. 

It wasn't long before our progress was slowed to about 50kmph due to fresh winds blowing in off the coast. Wisps of sugar snow swept across the road at first but that soon turned to heavy wet snow with warmer weather and lots of wind! It was super scary to be driving with a trailer of precious cargo!! The van and trailer would slip and slide with gusts of cross winds and no grip on the road. 

Now my shoulders ache from being so tense at the wheel! And Milos (who's turn it was to sleep) wasn't so successful in that and jumped awake every time he felt the van tyres lose grip or he heard me gasping as I tightened my fists over the steering wheel fighting the effects of the wind. 

We're now in Umea and in touch with Jan who's ahead of us in his own vehicle. He's a single driver so left earlier so he has the option to stop and sleep tonight. Milos and I will most likely drive through the night. 1258km left to go and the snow has turned to rain and plus 2 degrees!!! It feels like we're in France already. Lol. 

Here's hoping we can get through this first challenge to meet our midnight ferry tomorrow. 

Oh, and just incase you were wondering... The dogs are fine, all loving it in their snug beds... :-)

Gaynor

Here we go again!!!

A 4000km drive beckons tomorrow as we depart for our big journey to France to compete in this year's Grande Odyssee sled dog race. With over 750km of trails through the French and Swiss Alps and a total altitude gain of over 30,000 metres - yes, metres! - it has to be the toughest sled dog stage race out there!!

Be sure to visit our blog for updates of the race which starts on Saturday 10th January. I'll be reporting on two team's this year - Milos Gonda and Jan Slosar. Jan is Milos's cousin and is racing LGO for the first time. He runs with a fantastic team from Taisto Torneus's kennel where he works during the winter. We've seen him training and the team is definitely one to watch! Milos is reported as one of the favourites too but with many good teams taking part we just hope we can avoid problems and let the dogs run to their full potential.

Wish us all luck! And we hope to see you here every day! ;-)

Check out the race website at: www.grandeodyssee.com

Gaynor.

We wish to thank our sponsors Royal Canin and Canada Goose for their support.

Champion of Finnmarkslopet 500 in 2013!!!!

Well, if you haven't heard by now, Milos was crowned Champion of Finnmarkslopet 500 yesterday afternoon after a steady last leg from Jergul to Jotka then on to Alta. It was a nail biting wait at the finish line as the last 50km seemed to take forever but he actually managed an average speed of 14.2km/h on what is considered to be the hardest part of the race for the dogs, not just because its the end but because they go through the same checkpoint as at the start of the race and its often a mental challenge for them to keep going at this point. More than once I've heard that you have to keep the dogs going through Jotka 2 because if you even stop for 5 minutes the dogs think they are stopping for a good rest and will often not get up again. Milos planned this well and snacked the dogs just a couple of km before the checkpoint to give them a mental boost to carry on straight through.

He arrived just after 3pm, half an hour after Eline Lihagen who along with Katy Meier had both managed to over take Ole Wingren who had trouble with his dogs wanting to stop on the final river run towards Alta. It proves anything can happen in the race, even at the end, and he went from second place to fourth in those last few km. Eventually he finished with 6 dogs whereas Eline had 8 dogs in really good shape at the end and Milos and Katy both had 7.

It was a stunning performance from the team, all in their first 500km race. Waf out-performed himself again, proving his worth as a fantastic leader especially through the mountain storms. He was invaluable to the team. But the team isn't just abut leaders and all the dogs did a great job. They were even ready to go again at the end but I think were very pleased that they only had to go as far as the car!!! Yes, they were tired, but there's no way they were ever going to give up.

Since finishing, we have been treated like kings... We were given a suite at the Rica Hotel in Alta (courtesy of the hotel) and managed to get a fantastic nights sleep in a full size bed! Milos was especially grateful as we were staying at the campsite before and he is 20cm longer than the bunk bed he slept in!!! And of course we've all been sleeping in the van the last couple of nights although all three if us have only managed 2 hours a night. So now, we are off to the local spa in Alta thanks to NRK, a Norwegian television channel. They have given brilliant coverage of the race including some live reports which can be seen on the website via the Finnmarkslopet site.

After that we have the prize ceremony and banquet. Milos won First Place and Rookie of the Year, and there are rumours that he also won Best non-Scandinavian... He has been recognised as the first non-Scandinavian to ever win the race. So it should be a good night... But we can't forget those teams that are still out on the trail and will not even make the banquet! We wish them luck in finishing the race.

Finally, I'd like to thank everyone for their support. We've seen many messages and comments on Facebook and on the Finnmarkslopet website etc and its great to see so many people enthusiastic about the race. We would also like to thank Jason De Carteret, our friend and entertainer throughout the race, who travelled all the way from London to help us on the race. Thank you also to Royal Canin who as always keep our dogs in good shape with their premium range of dry food that is most definitely our food of choice for the dogs. They love it and we had no problems with dogs eating on the race.

I will try and be back with some pictures and hopefully a word from Milos in a final update before we head home tomorrow.

Thanks for following!!!

On the last leg!!!!

Sorry if my posts aren't being published, I'm having trouble getting Internet! But it's all happening here despite my silence. :-)

Milos has been going really well. He managed to extend his lead on Ole from 4 to 12 minutes last night between Karasjok and Jergul. At Jergul there was a 6 hour mandatory rest period so he was out again at 07.00. He left with 7 dogs as Gina was dehydrated and tired. Ole and Katy also had 7 dogs, Eline 8. On this downhill stretch we hope it won't make too much of a difference. Milos himself was in good shape after a few hours sleep too.

Ole was really pushing for quite some time on the trail with Katy and Eline sticking together just a few minutes behind him. But then Ole started to slow a little and it looked like Eline was gaining time on him. Now we have the results from Jotka, the last checkpoint 50km from Alta, and it shows Ole was having trouble with a dog and dropped one more. He now has only six dogs so will find it hard to catch Milos now (unless something goes wrong). But all three behind Milos still pose a threat and I know he will want to just maintain this steady, natural pace for the dogs all the way in. Just 50km of 500km to go!!!!!

The stats show that Milos is running 16.1kmph, Eline is running 16, Katy 15.8 and Ole 15.7. It's a fast race.

Come on Milos!!!!!!!!! How proud I am of him and the dogs whatever happens.

A pic of Milos leaving Jergul this morning.

Fastest into Karasjok!!!

Wow, wow and wow. I can't quite believe it. I couldn't be more proud of Milos and the dogs right now. They had the fastest time between Skoganvarre and Levajok as well as Levajok to Karasjok. Although Ole Wingren was behind Milos by one minute into Karasjok. Katy Meier and Eline Lihagen also had good times on this last section just a few minutes behind Milos.

The time gets equalised at Karajok. That means all the different starting times are accounted for and each musher is given a start time to leave Karasjok. From here on, first on the trail means first in the race.

Milos left at 20.40 with Ole Wingren just 4 minutes behind. This small but vital time advantage had been gained last night in stormy conditions through the mountains. Today's run along the river was a much better and faster trail which allowed all the mushers to push the speed a bit and things were pretty equal between the top teams. I think Milos was really pleased to be going at a more natural pace for the dogs and to be on the trail for only 5 hours on the longest stretch of the race (85km).

All the dogs look good and went off in fine form tonight (out of Karasjok towards Jergul 67km away). Grony and Gina are perhaps showing a few signs of being tired but he can give them a longer rest here at at Jergul as there's a six hour mandatory rest for all the teams. Toby is performing great after his little blip earlier in the race.

So we are waiting for Milos now. The stage follows some hills and mountains through the valley so we know that this is a place Milos can gain some time on his competitors... And it looks like he's taken the chance. Although the live GPS tracking can give a slightly confusing picture with different GPS's being updated at different times it looks like Milos is doing well. I'm glad, as he looked in worse shape than the dogs at the start line tonight! I think the lack of sleep is taking a toll on him now but he will also get a break on arriving later this evening.

Meanwhile it looks like Taisto is struggling a bit. He's down to 7 dogs and the weather and storms have definitely made the trail more challenging and he's finding himself out for longer periods of time. This in turn adds to his exhaustion. But he skipped some rest at Skoganvarre so maybe he can add some rest time at Karasjok and recover a little.

So, we're in a position we never thought possible right now... Although we have heard so many people say "the race starts at Jergul" so it is a really long way to go still and the competition is fierce!

Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Pictures of Milos arriving at Karasjok and leaving a few hours later.

Levajok - 3rd checkpoint

It was pretty hard to see Milos leaving at around 11.15pm last night. Having had Toby in the sled at the end of the trail from Skoganvarre, Milos wasn't sure whether to take him further. But Toby seemed to enjoy his time in the sled and made a good speedy recovery so he left with the rest of the team towards Levajok. Cliff took a little encouragement to get out of the checkpoint but once he was out he was also doing well.

Milos said the trail was really hard going... Or rather soft going! Lots of new snow and bitterly cold wind on the mountain top. He couldn't wait for it to be over. But luckily the team were in good shape responding well to the 4hrs 17min break they had at Skoganvarre. For this section/stage Milos was fastest on the trail with a time of 6 hours 6 minutes. For now, that puts him in 2nd place (looking at trail time only) behind Leif Wilhelmsen. He came into the checkpoint fifth in front of Katy Meier, Ole Wingren and Elisabeth Edland. There's some really tough, new, competition in the race it seems - Eline Lihagen to name just one - although I think all the well known mushers must be pleased with their performance. It's a super long race that's only just begun and its all to play for.

For those that are following, Taisto was almost 8 hours on the trail and he said it was really tough. He was having problems with one of his lead dogs who would keep going off the trail. But he can rest longer here having only taken a couple of hours rest at Skoganvarre.

Milos is now sleeping in the van and the dogs are resting. Although he's due to take 6 hours break here, he only gets a couple of hours sleep by the time he's heated water for the dog food, settled them down to sleep with straw, fed them and so on... Then of course feed himself when he gets to the van (although I help there of course!). Soon the routine of feeding, booties, moisturising feet etc will start again. A special thank you to Milos's mum at this point because all he wants to eat are her homemade sausages!! i have a car full of other things to eat but when i ask what he wants I only get "sausages" as a reply. :-)

I think (hope) he will be leaving with 8 dogs again but Gina and Grony look like they are starting to tire. But to be quite honest, there's not a dog here that isn't tired! But they are very well looked after by their mushers.

I hope you are also following on www.finnmarkslopet.no. You can see live GPS tracking if you go to the main menu then click on GPS Tracking. The results service is also a good choice as it shows information from the checkpoints (including detailed breakdowns of stats).

Be back soon!!!!

Skoganvarre - 2nd checkpoint

I'm sitting in a cafe in the far north of Norway not far from the northern coastline that leads straight to the North Pole... And it's warm!!! By that I mean about -5 degrees and of course it's snowing heavily.

Skoganvarre is 108km from Alta and the 2nd checkpoint in the race. Everyone goes straight through Jotka as its too early to rest and the facilities are limited so Skoganvarre is the first real break. With about 160 dog teams, 1350 dogs, there's a lot going on although teams are already starting to spread out on the trail.

Milos said it went really well to Jotka, braking quite hard, dogs doing good, they even liked the hills. But then the snow came, the trails got soft and the wind struck up a storm. These conditions are the worst for our dogs who are used to the hard trails of kiruna and the problem is they work too hard to get through the snow. It shows in the average speed: 18kmph to Jotka then down to 12.3kmph to Skoganvarre.

Most of the team coped well but unfortunately Milos came to the checkpoint with Toby in the sled - our biggest dog in the team! With no visible signs of anything wrong other than being tired the vets also cleared him of any ailments. But it's a bit strange. I don't think I've ever known Toby to go in the sled. This is the dog that did every stage of LGO this year with much longer and harder stages. Maybe it's just not a good day for him but Milos's worry is that the other 7 dogs had to work harder because Toby was missing.

In this case Milos has done sooooo well coming from 9th place in Jotka to 6th place in Sloganvarre. But when you look at the fastest times and account for starting differences he did drop some places and lost time. He's gone from 3rd to 8th - and a minute slower than Taisto in 7th. Leif Wilhelmsen seems to be fastest on the trail so far followed by ole wingren, Eline Lihagen, Katy Meier, Roy-Age Jensen Ugseth, Elisabeth Edland, Taisto then Milos.

So, it's only a quick stop here and I have to wake Milos from his nap in 20 minutes to go again. I think this will be a slow hard stage for the team but I hope they can make it ok. Traditionally this can be the slowest stage for most of the "good" teams.

I attach a photo of Skoganvarre before the teams came in... It's now dark so you don't see so much now!! ;-)

And we're off!!!

Milos left the starting line at 11.33am. :-) He almost didn't start on time as he was going down the line giving the dogs a cuddle and the commentator had been so busy introducing this "Rookie who is after the Championship" that they only gave him a countdown from 4 seconds to run back to his sled. But all went well at the start line and I will now meet him at the second checkpoint at Skoganvarre (108km) as the first checkpoint is not accessible by road.

We've left Patch in the car and he's taken Gina. Thank goodness we bought a spare dog with us. Patch had her toe nail ripped off somehow and it's sensitive in the soft tissue underneath so she's limping. It's not hurting her now but the snow is cold on it even with a bootie. I think it knocked Milos's confidence a bit because Patch has been the top performer on the races this year so he's gutted he's had to leave her. But it's so important for him to try and keep 8 dogs as long as possible (he's a big guy with the same number of dogs as female competitors 30kg lighter than him) that is just wasn't worth the gamble taking her.

So our team are below in pics (in order): Waf and Cliff in lead, Grony and Wuf, Balto and Toby, then Gina and Spendrup in wheel position.

You can take a look at the results/tracking live on http:/www.finnmarkslopet.no. Remember the starting time is equalised at Karasjok.

Preparing for our longest race yet!!!!

Some might say that we're no strangers to racing and it's certainly true that Milos has managed some pretty great results in the last three years but our latest challenge is something out of the ordinary for us: a long distance (500km) sled dog race. The Finnmarkslopet.

This is no ordinary sled dog race. This is the world's most northern sled dog race, starting in Alta, Norway, high up in the Arctic. Despite what you may think, the weather is usually a little warmer up there (not far from the coast) than it is at our base in Kiruna, Sweden, but temperatures can still plummet to a record-breaking minus 46 degrees C!!!! As a comparison, your freezer at home is a mere minus 18 degrees C. But we hope it won't get that cold this year. Minus 15/20 degrees C would be great as it will make for better (harder) trails and fresh dogs.

There are two disciplines for this race: 8-dog (limited) class and 12-dog+ (open) class. The 8-dog class is restricted to the 500km trail whereas the open class is a staggering 1000km long! Not for us, not this time, probably not ever, we'll stick to the 500km trail. The farthest our dogs have ever run in one go before is 300km. (Not to be confused with La Grande Odyssee where the whole race is close to 1000km but over 10 days and with overnights rests at a base, dogs in trailer, mushers in beds!). These long distance races are a test of the musher as much as the dog as once the race starts they are on their own with the dogs, stopping only to complete mandatory rest stops. They drive through the day and through the night, in all weathers, getting weary and pushing themselves to the limit, physically and emotionally. 500km is likely to take between 50 and 55 hours (and that's for the faster teams!). It starts at 11am on Saturday 9th March.

For those that follow us regularly, you'll know Milos usually runs 12-dog class (well, he's a big guy of over 6 foot and needs all the 'pulling power' he can muster from the dogs) so having only 8 dogs over this distance is perhaps the most worrying of things for us. You can only drop a maximum of 3 dogs before you're forced to scratch from the race. So now, we're running the farthest we've ever been with fewer dogs than we normally run. And did I mention that we haven't done any specific Finnmark training?? Our dogs have been too busy with tourists. Hmmmm... but not to worry, we gave them excellent Autumn training and the LGO race was also a good warm up, despite being a lot faster than we want for this race.

I think it's safe to say we'll just see how it goes, with no great ambitions. I just hope there aren't too many "eyes" on Milos.

We have nine dogs in mind at the moment so will need to drop one from the start. So far, we have:

Waf (of course - Milos's favourite leader)
Cliff (young leader, great for speed but works hard and prone to exhausting himself)
Grony (one of my favourite girls - so cuddly and obedient! Great leader too)
Patch (another young dog of 3 years, good and steady but prone to tiredness over long distances)
Wuf (also good for speed but great head too so can keep going even when tired)
Spendrup (proven race dog and perhaps more suited to longer distances than speed. He's got a rock hard attitude and never gives up)
Toby (our biggest race dog but also light on his feet. He ran every stage of the LGO this year when the other dogs got sick and didn't even look tired!)
Balto (he missed LGO from sickness - remember him on the drip? - but he's race proven and back to full health. He's strong and lean)
Gina (our 'reserve' dog. Another strong-headed girl but smaller than the boys so with only 8 dogs we may need to choose strength over any other attribute)

With almost 200 teams taking part this is Europe's most popular race bringing people from far and wide. Hugh Neff, the legendary musher from Alaska is also taking part!! He's usually seen in the Iditarod and Yukon Quest so that will be exciting and interesting.

So, wish us luck - again! Thanks for your ongoing support and I hope I can keep you entertained with stories from the trail. :-)

Last stage timings and general rankings

I thought I would upload the final timings from yesterday's stage and general rankings. Milos clearly won the stage yesterday (his first win this year) with a 10.5 minute lead over Pontier. It was excitement all the way for the race and the public and organisers loved it.

Final rankings show Milos ahead by over 6 minutes so it was a convincing win in the end.

At the awards ceremony last night Milos was also given "best climber" as the musher who climbed the three highest and steepest mountain slopes the fastest. Not bad for someone who lives and trains in (flat) Sweden! Our dogs definitely like the up hills!

Now we're on our way back to Slovakia. It was a super early start again, so little more than 4 hours sleep for about the 14th night in a row! The drive should take about 24 hours of constant driving through the day and night. Then we stop for two days before starting the 3000km drive from Slovakia to northern Sweden.

We have a new passenger on board! His name is Terry and he's one of Radek's race team. We bought him from Radek after he was loaded in the sled on the first stage and Radek no longer trusts him to run. I think the race was a bit scary for him as he's a nervous chap but we hope he will make a great tourist dog. I'll try and post some pictures later...

Bye for now.

Final results - Milos storms home for 2nd place!!!!

What an unbelievable turn of events. Last night ended on a knife edge for Pontier and Milos who was only 2 minutes behind him. When on the finish line waiting for Milos I heard from the vets that our dogs slept well not moving under the blankets Milos had put out for them. He had to push hard yesterday to get back some time and he said Sonnie and Heineken looked tired. Heiney wasn't so great as he had been suffering diarrhoea for the two days but he was given five star treatment by the vets and managed to finish the race today. All 10 dogs did. Infact, we didn't load a dog in the sled the entire race.

In contrast, Pontiers dogs had been pushed hard for the entire race and this last stage was just a step too far for them. He had to drop one dog and many were exhausted. The advantage he gained down hill was short lived as Milos caught up on the flat and lost him on the up hill. Then it was just a case of gaining the time difference and getting to the end. Milos said he was on the edge of how hard he is willing to push the dogs but he knew it was the end and he saw the chance for 2nd place.

I don't know the official times yet but Milos won this stage and took 2nd overall in the tightest race the LGO has ever known. I really can't believe it. I never imagined this outcome what with everything that's happened. Milos and the dogs are a special combination and I'm so proud of them all.

In the team were: Waf and Cliff in lead, Foxy and Wuf, Grony and Patch, Toby and Sonnie, Heineken and Spendrup.

Here's some pictures of the podium and I'll be back later with a final update with times.

Pontier and Milos neck and neck!

Arrrrghhhg!!!!!! With only 2 mins 34 seconds between them at the start, Pontier had caught Milos quickly with some saying Pontier was ahead by 2km or about 6 minutes within 2 hours. But this advantage was surely gained down hill where Pontier is happy to run his dogs faster than Milos.

At 9.45 it was reported Milos had caught Pontier and they were travelling together after about 50km. Is Milos saving the dogs in the hope that he can gain minutes on a hill climb later in the trail? Or is he giving up on 2nd place and happy to bring home the dogs gently for third? I don't know. But I feel sick with nerves. Pavol and I have just left for the finish line as the first teams are expected soon (perhaps around 11.00/11.30).

Whatever happens, I couldn't be more proud of Milos or the dogs. What a spectacular performance by the team under such difficult circumstances. Go Gonda!!

9b start and conclusion from 9a

For most teams last nights stage was about consolidating positions. Jimmy has secured fifth against Juillaguet and Jiri has secured first place. The only fight left is between Milos and Pontier and its proving a really tough one!

Milos was obviously looking to see if he could push the Frenchman last night and put in a really good run getting to the Polar Base first last night. But Pontier stuck to him like glue and let Milos pull him along the whole trail crossing just behind Milos at the top. We haven't had official timings as this is a 2-part stage but it looks like Milos managed to reduce the time difference to Pontier by 1 minute 44 seconds!!! that was an incredible achievement given Pontiers improved performance this year. From what we could see on the trail Pontier was only a minute behind Milos so because of the start time difference he will have been a minute faster so Milos must have taken the extra time on the climb to the Polar Base. Milos is known for his strong performances up hill as much as Pontier is known for fast down hills and as the trail starts with a big down hill, I hope Milos can hold on.

Last night leaves Pontier ahead by a mere 2 minutes. Of course he will want a safe run but he will also take the chance if he sees it and that sort of time difference can easily be made if Pontier has to drop a dog this morning or put one in the sled on this massive 95km trail. (Officially its 88km but Radek measured it on a GPS last year and said it was 95km). It also comes down to dog care as the mushers were alone in caring for the dogs last night and it is a short night so incredibly important that the dogs get as much rest as possible. Both Milos and Pontier are used to being out with the dogs so its just a case of who rested better!

In summary, Pontier has the pressure on him today. Milos's performance last night saw him widen the gap against Radek so his third place looks pretty comfortable now - maybe even as much as 40 minutes. But Pontier also has the advantage of the home crowd and the organisation who openly support him in the race.

In honesty I don't know how Milos feels this morning. I know he has enough of a competitive streak in him to take the chance but whether he'll be pushing to get 2nd today I have no idea... He may just play it safe but with just 2 minutes between them I think it will be impossible not to try.

Whatever happens, it'll be an unbelievably tight finish and my nerves are in tatters already! It's 6.44am and Milos and Pontier have already started the race from Polar Base. They should finish around 11.30am all going well.

A quick note on the dogs... Milos has taken the 10 dogs that have pretty much run the whole race due to sickness. Waf and Toby have done all the stages apart from one! A lucky one at the very start before our sickness troubles arrived. Next in the team with strong performances are Cliff, Patch, Grony, Foxy, Heineken, Spendrup, Wuf and finally Sonnie. All of them have been sick at some point with a diarrhoea bug but have only been out for a couple of days. Balto, Slash, Gina and Falco have done only 2 or 3 stages each due to sickness or injuries from the trailer. We haven't had one running injury the entire time and I hope it stays that way for this stage. But the dogs are really tired now and I can't wait til they get back and we can rest them and spoil them!!!

This is so exciting!!!!

So rarely can we see the teams on the trail but today we've been fortunate to follow them up the valley. It's really exciting to see their progress and see how things change on the way.

We have the whole family with us tonight... Milos's mum and dad, one of his aunts and three cousins plus a cousins husband! See the picture of them taking shelter in the van on this cold night!

We've just seen Milos in Bonneval (half way point) and he crossed just ahead of Pontier. This means Pontier still has an advantage of about a minute on Milos. Some time later Jiri crossed, now ahead of Radek by 30 seconds or so. It seems Pontier is going fastest, Jiri and Milos have about the same time now and Radek is about 2 minutes behind Milos. Jimmy Pettersson also crossed with a good time.

Lets hope Milos can keep it up!