Hello Pedigree Stage Stop Race Fans,
when calling Diane Marquis from St Medard in Quebec I got caught off guard. Between her driving and speaking very limited English and my even more so limited French skills, communication was a bit on the difficult side.
From what I gathered is that she got interested in the Pedigree Stage Stop Race through fellow musher and two time Champion Anny Malo. This will be her first time at the starting line in Wyoming. At 66 years of age the word Rookie does sound a bit on the funny side. Some of her dogs actually go back to the Malo-Rivest Kennel with doing a breeding 2 years ago.
Diane has mainly been training in the 20 to 30 mile range, with the longest distances having been 34 miles. She left her home in Quebec early; to make sure she can get to get her dogs used to higher altitude on some West Yellowstone trails. She is driving a large gooseneck trailer setup and has been posting pictures from her travels along the way.
Diane was pleased with her training situation, although she could only switch to a sled on December 5th. Her whole team is pretty young, with a couple of older 3 and 5 year olds in the mix.
Game time is here soon. One big questions is always: Who will be the favorites to win this year? Undoubtedly Anny Malo and Lina Streeper are strong picks. Matter of fact in my own pick, the Top 4 are all women! Here a fun guessing game Ed Steeper initiated:
