Kyla Boivin's expectations for the 2009 Yukon Quest aren't as high as they have been in previous years, but that doesn't mean the veteran dog musher isn't optimistic heading into February's race.

The 26-year-old Whitehorse resident plans on running an all-rookie team for the first time and hopes to use the race as a training ground for the 2010 Yukon Quest.

"My goal is to get my pups to the finish line in the best shape they can, so they are going to be awesome to race with next year," she said. "The main thing is to keep all of my babies happy and get them there."

Boivin has been training 22 dogs and while some of them are Quest vets, the majority of the team is between one and two years old.

"They are a fresh, little dog team that I don't really know what they can do, but they look awesome," she said.

In the 2008 Yukon Quest, Boivin ran a mixed team of older and younger dogs, which she had been using since the 2005-06 season. The team placed 15th, helping Boivin achieve her best Quest finish in the six years she has participated in the 1,600-km race.

Boivin finished in Whitehorse in 14 days, four hours and 17 minutes, taking home $4,000 for her efforts.

She said it was great finishing in 15th place.

"I was glad to be in the money even though it was kind of by default because everybody else scratched," Boivin said. "If there had been more teams that finished the race, I probably would have been behind them, but I just drove (my dogs) a little too hard in the first half, so I had to go slower so I could get to the finish line."

Last year was the first time that she finished a Yukon Quest when it started in Fairbanks and concluded in Whitehorse. The race alternates its start and finish lines between the two cities.

Boivin said the race is more challenging when it starts in Alaska because that is where some of the more difficult trails are located, which last year included a tough stretch of jumble ice.

Boivin had to send a few of her dogs home after getting to Slaven, Alaska as a result of the jumble ice.

This year, former Yukon Quest competitor John Schandelmeier has been employed as the Alaskan trail co-ordinator and Boivin is confident that he will help fix those types of problems.

"John Schandelmeier has run the Quest so many times and he is a really good dog musher," she said. "He knows what's a passable trail and what's not, so if he is kind of overseeing things, I have absolute confidence the Alaskan side is going to be better."

In addition to the money, Boivin also earned the red lantern award, which is given out to the final musher to cross the finish line. She joked about hoping she never wins the award again.

"That was my first and only one and I am never getting another red lantern in the Quest again," Boivin said. "It's a promise to me and everybody that I know and I'm going to scratch before I get another red lantern, I don't care. I'll scratch like a mile from the finish line," she added laughing.

Boivin has increased her training in the past couple weeks and likes how the team is looking in terms of their overall speed.

Boivin said every year she has run the Quest she has learned something and that, along with the challenge of running 1,600-km, is what keeps her coming back year after year.

"Whenever you stop learning things become boring," she said. "I just really love going that long distance with dogs, so I just keep coming back and the Quest has such a good atmosphere about it."

Boivin said each and every lesson is just as valuable and there one is no more important than another.

"Every lesson is totally important because it's something that makes you better," she said. "It's something that gets you there and quicker. Every lesson you learn gets you somewhere and they are all valuable ones."

Despite loving the Quest as much as she does, Boivin said she is hoping to have a breakthrough result in the next couple of years, which is why she is training the team of pups.

"These next couple of years it's time to get serious or otherwise go home," she said.

In addition to her training, Boivin is also making full use of the local dog mushing competitions, which have included the Copper Haul Twister League races and this past weekend's Reach for the Sky and Take the Beer poker run.

She said there are some real advantages to running small dog teams in the local races.

"You can really work with the dogs because you are right there and you have full control," Boivin said. "With a young team it is a big help doing these races. I'm taking advantage fully and it's good to get them in a race."