North Carolina State University Athletics
Chris Kollar in Alaska
1/21/2009 12:00:00 AM | Pack Athletics
Editor's Note: NC State graduate assistant coach Chris Kollar, a former All-ACC selection and scholar-athlete for the Wolfpack track and cross country teams, is in Alaska working on research for his graduate work. He will be checking in with GoPack.com with updates on the blog.
By Chris Kollar
On Thursday, January 15th, Dr. Shannon Pratt and I left for our Alaskan sled dog research study. Our travel to Alaska was about as crazy as I expected. Our flight was delayed from RDU to New York City (same day and time of the crash into the Hudson River) and we missed all of our connecting flights. Somehow we managed to get to Seattle and spent the night there. With a few hours of sleep we made our way to Anchorage and then finally to Fairbanks.
The flights in Alaska were like being on roller coasters at 15000 feet but the views were incredible. Once Dr. Pratt and I arrived in Fairbanks we were picked up by Dr. Mike Davis and Dr. Ray Geor and went straight to work. We drove outside of Fairbanks to a place called Two Rivers that is known for housing ten of the top Iditarod sled dog kennels. There are musher (dog sled) trails signs and moose crossing signs everywhere.
The kennel we are working at is owned by Ally Zirkle and Alan Moore. Both have won many of the prestigous dog sled races here in Alaska. The first thing we did was meet all of the dogs and then started setting up for the initial muscle biopsies. These dogs are like none I have ever seen before. They are so obedient and were very willing patients.
The experiment called for an exercise bout of twenty miles so Ally and Alan took Dr. Pratt and I out for the run. It was six in the afternoon and pitch black outside. We were on very remote trails back in the woods of Alaska! You could see no lights and hear nothing but the panting of the dogs. It was amazing.
Unfortunately the weather in Fairbanks is unusually warm, 55 degrees, so the dogs were having a hard time cooling off. It was still an amazing experience to be pulled by these dogs at nine to ten miles an hour, up and down steep hills for over two hours.
We finished the rest of the muscle biopsies after the exercise bout and finished off the night with some moose stew! It was a struggle getting out here but it was made up to us ten fold in the first day.
