Paige Drobny at the finish line in Nome Iditarod 2014
Paige Drobny is in for a distance double of 1,000 mile sled dog races for 2016. She’s signed up for the Yukon Quest which begins on February 6th in Fairbanks followed by the Iditarod which begins on March 5th in Anchorage. The remarkable sled dog gains in strength while racing. Doing the distance double brings the canine athlete to it’s prime for Iditarod. Paige won’t be the only Squid Acres musher to attempt the distance double in 2016. Drobny’s husband, Cody Strathe is also registered for both races. Paige is a veteran of both races while Cody is a veteran of the Yukon Quest and an Iditarod rookie. It’s quite possible that Drobny and Strathe will be the first married couple to run both races (Quest and Iditarod) in the same season. Use this link to view Paige Drone’s insider video clip.
Squid Acres is home to Paige, Cody and sixty Alaskan Huskies. The kennel got its name from Paige’s master’s thesis project on squid in the Bering Sea. The couple has been building their kennel and developing their line of dogs for the past eight years. Their kennel wasn’t originally founded with the idea of racing but instead to explore the wild and beautiful places of Alaska by dog team. They have found expeditions by dog team to be an invaluable way to bond with their dogs and train for races.
Drobny thanks one of her dogs at the finish line in Nome 2014
Born in Pennsylvania, Paige acquired a cat at the age of three and has been adding to the livestock count ever since. To say she has a natural love for animals and a love for the out-of-doors would be a bit of an understatement. She has an undergraduate degree from Virginia Tech in Biology and a master’s degree from University of Alaska – Fairbanks in Fisheries Oceanography.
Paige says she got into mushing thanks to a sled Cody built her for Christmas. When asked to comment on what she loves most about running dogs, Paige said, “Being with my best dog companions and the quiet exploration that we get to do together.”
Drobny has finished Iditarod three times since 2013. Her first finish was in 34th place, then in 2014 she moved into the top twenty in 25th place and 27th in 2015. Her best time for Iditarod is 10 days, 4 hours, and 42 minutes. She’s finished the Yukon Quest as a rookie in 2012 in 14th place and received the Quest Sportsmanship Award.
Once Paige and Cody decided to race, they have found their lives have become even more focused on the dogs. Paige considers this is a very good thing. From the racing page of the Squid Acres website, “Races allow us to set goals and then focus on the dogs to reach those goals. The 24/7 attention the dogs require to reach those goals, enriches all of our lives.” Aside from mushing, Paige does biological research through her own company, Spearfish Research.
Noah Pereira at the start of 2015 Northern Lights 300
Nineteen year old, Noah Pereira from Brockport, New York will find his way to Nome in 2016. Nine years ago he became acquainted with mushers who maintained kennels near where he lived. From his meeting with the local mushers, his heart and soul was captured by the notion of running dogs. In 2009, he and his father made their first trip to Alaska and acquired their first sled dogs. Use this link to view Noah pereira’s Insider video clip.
Before coming to Alaska to work with Dallas Seavey in 2013, Pereira focused mainly on sprint races in New York. Accompanied by his father, the younger Pereira spent the winters of 2013, 2014 and 2015 in Alaska learning the ropes of long distance racing with an eye on doing Iditarod. In 2013, Noah was the top finisher in the Junior Iditarod. He was also rookie of the year and the first non-Alaskan musher to win the Junior Iditarod. The race was a close contest between Pereira, Conway Seavey and Jenny Greger. In the end, Noah bested Seavey by four minutes and Greger by thirty-seven minutes.
Noah Pereira heads for gold at the 2013 Junior Iditarod
As the Junior Iditarod Champion, Noah was the musher to lead all teams down 4th Avenue in Anchorage for the Ceremonial Start of Iditarod. Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™, Linda Fenton was his Iditarider. Fenton was impressed with the young man from the moment she met him. Describes Noah, Fenton says, “He’s a calm quiet young man who invokes confidence in the way he converses with people and works with his dogs. After winning the Junior that year in his first attempt, there wasn’t a drop of arrogance, but humble acceptance of what he had accomplished.” Currently, Pereira is sharing his training experiences with Fenton’s third grade students telling them what he’s doing, what Alaska is like and answering their questions. Her students talk about him like he’s a personal friend.
Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™, Linda Fenton, in Pereira’s sled at 2013 Ceremonial Start
At the present time, both Noah and his father are training with Wade Marrs at Stump Jumpin‘ Kennel in Willow, Alaska. Having completed his required qualifiers in 2015, Noah is primed and ready for his first Iditarod. He’ll be running a combination team with his own dogs and young dogs from SJK. Lou, the elder Pereira, is training and running qualifiers this winter, hoping to someday make the trip to Nome by dog team.
Noah’s goal for his rookie Iditarod run is to finish with a happy healthy dog team. When he’s not mushing, he likes archery, hunting and fishing.
Don’t miss even a minute of Iditarod action. New subscribers can use this link to subscribe to Insider. Past subscribers can renew your subscription by logging in to your account and making the 2016 purchase.
