2019-20 Season

**2019-20 Season** - The 2020 mushing season was one involving a lot of changes. At the beginning of the training season in fall of 2019, it appeared that Blair and Q would be staying in Wisconsin for the winter, focusing on training the yearling pups and attending races in the region. However, that plan got changed quickly when Q was provided the opportunity to run a team from Raymie and Barb Redington in the 2020 Iditarod. When that opportunity arose, Q left for Alaska in January to begin training. Because Q was in Alaska and Blair had limited help to run dogs, several BraverMountain dogs went to winter camp at Nature's Kennel where they were able to run pretty much every day. Although Blair did not run in any races, she did attend the Klondike Dog Derby and received an impromptu promotion to race announcer, providing tons of great information to the crowd.

Meanwhile, in Alaska, Q finished his qualifiers by running in the Willow 300. He also ran the Goose Bay 150 as another prep for the Iditarod, and then hit the starting line for the 2020 Iditarod. I believe Q and/or Blair also had intentions of running in the Kobuk 440 again this year, but the rapidly evolving situation with COVID-19 resulted in a cancellation of that race and the need for Blair and Q to quickly return to Wisconsin after Q's Iditarod ended. All in all, one could say it was a bit of a crazy season but it ended with happy and healthy mushers and dogs and therefore was a 100% success.

**2020 Races:**

**2019 Doty's Dusty Dog Dryland Race:** Blair and Q participated in this hometown event on October 19 and 20, 2019. Several UglyDogs attended and it appears that a great time was had by all. Appearances were made by Pepe, Clem, Spike, Colbert, Zagat, Jules, Slim, Boudica, Boo, Pete, Tenzing, Willow, Grinch (as a non-participant, I think) and Leap. There may have been other BraverMountain dogs there, but those were the ones positively identified. This was the yearlings first real experience with races and crowds so it was all about having fun and giving them a good experience. For details on the race, check out the Facebook page for the race.[1]

Some amazing pictures from @keiththornill from the races are in this thread

And some more from @95hannahlouise are here

**WILLOW 300 -- JANUARY 30, 2020**

Q entered and ran the Willow 300 which started on January 30, 2020 in Willow, Alaska. Some may recall that Q was entered in this race last year, but it was cancelled due to rain and warm weather. Weather was not a problem as there appeared to be decent snow coverage on the trail and temps in the 0 to -20 range throughout the race! Q finished at about 12:15am AST on Sunday, February 2, 2020, completing his final qualifier for the Iditarod. He reported to Blair that everyone was happy and healthy! Congrats to Q and onto the Qditarod in about a month.

**GOOSE BAY 150 -- FEBRUARY 15, 2020**

Q ran the Goose Bay 150. This is the race that Blair ran last year prior to the Iditarod. You can find a recap of that race in the link above for the 2018-19 season. The race started at 2pm AST on February 15, 2020. Q had a quick 8 hour run to the halfway point, rested for 8 hours and then set out for the finish in fourth place. He had a steady run for the second 77 miles, finishing in third place behind the Berington twins, Kristy and Anna. It was a great tune-up for the Iditarod!! Congrats to Q and the team and onto the Iditarod in just three weeks!!

**Q ENTERED THE 2020 IDITAROD**

The announcement was made on December 2, 2019 that Q would be running in the 2020 Iditarod. He announced he would be running a team of dogs mostly from Raymie Redington, but possibly including a BraverMountain dog or two. It was strongly hinted that Helli might be one of those dogs. Q also ran his final qualifier in Alaska prior to the Iditarod. Info on those races can be found above. There was a Go Fund Me set up to help support Q's Iditarod run. Every little bit helped!

**BLAIR ATTENDS, BUT DOES NOT RACE, IN THE KLONDIKE DOG DERBY.**

Blair isigned up for the Klondike Dog Derby in Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota (just outside Minneapolis, MN). It is a one-day, 40 mile race with lots of local mushers participating. The race was February 9, 2020 and all the info can be found at the Klondike Dog Derby website

Unfortunately, Blair was not able to run the Klondike Dog Derby, but did attend and got an on-the-spot job as a color commentator for the race. There was excellent live stream coverage of the race and it appeared that a great time was had by all at this inaugural event.