A quarter of the mushers who signed up for this year's Yukon Quest were women. It was a percentage the race officials were proud of and pointed to leading into the start of the 1,600-kilometre odyssey.

But the women of this year's Quest haven't been without their challenges.

Yukoner Catherine Pinard scratched in Pelly Crossing, just 402 km into the race, after dealing with injuries and already only having only eight dogs left on her team. A musher must reach the finish line in Fairbanks with at least six.

Nineteen-year-old Kiara Adams also decided to drop out of the race at Pelly.

'I just can't get them to perk up. I wasn't really expecting this. I thought the dogs would be happier and faster,' said Adams.

Her team just didn't seem to be having fun on the trail.

Adams attempted to move beyond Pelly, but later turned around and brought her team back to the checkpoint and scratched.

Veteran musher Kyla Boivin tried to talk Adams into continuing down the trail.

'I think she's a little jittery, nervous, scared, but that's her call,' said Boivin. 'I've been there, so I may know a thing or two.'

Boivin was battling her own fever and cold at the beginning of the race and quickly dropped to the back of the pack.

'I'm doing this because I'm finishing this race,' said Boivin, who had started taking antibiotics meant for her dogs while out on the trail.

'I've got lots of dog drugs, but no people drugs,' she said.

Boivin was having to stop and sleep a lot on the trail in an effort to get her fever to break and to calm her hacking cough.

Boivin scratched from the 2006 race after dealing with a neck and back injury. She also scratched in 2004. She is bound and determined not to do it again.

Yuka Honda returned to the race this year for a second attempt after having been rescued off of Eagle Summit in 2006 in the winter storm and whiteout conditions.

Honda, however, lost her dog team just outside of Braeburn. By the time she managed to catch up to it, one of her dogs had choked on its own vomit from the speed and stress of the run and died.

Devastated by the loss, Honda was in tears when she arrived into the Carmacks checkpoint. But she decided to continue on, travelling at the back of the pack.

She arrived into the Dawson City checkpoint in position 25 at 6:36 p.m. on Feb. 16, over two days behind front runner Lance Mackey.

It took her 33 hours and 46 minutes to travel from the dog drop in Scroggie Creek.

She rested at the 36-hour layover, but later announced she would be scratching from the race.

Veteran musher Kelley Griffin said she was finding the competition tough this year.

'It's been a work-out. It's hard to keep up with these hot rods,' said Griffin. 'I knew it would be hard to break top 10. I didn't anticipate it to be so hard to break top 15 and get in the money.'

The new talent brought over to the Quest from the Iditarod, attracted to 2007's richer purse, wasn't what her team was used to, said Griffin.

She managed to complete the race in 14th place but not before she lost a dog just kilometres out from the final checkpoint.

After leaving Chena Hot Springs, only 159 km from the finish line, one of Griffin's dogs dropped and was later pronounced dead by race officials.

Regina Wycoff, the 2006 Red Lantern winner, returned to the race again this year and travelled at the back of the pack.

'Women are tough too,' said the veteran of her counterparts on the trail.

Wycoff said she didn't feel her team was looking as solid this year as in 2006, but was using the trail as a learning experience.

Wycoff said she finds what the frontrunners of the race are able to do with their dog teams mind-boggling.

'I'm just blown away by it. I think what my dogs do is amazing, so you can just imagine what those guys are doing,' she said.

The final woman to compete in this year's Quest is Tagish resident Michelle Phillips, whose team pulled into the finish in sixth position.

Phillips had battled it out with 2007 Rookie of the Year Aaron Burmeister for the top five spot. However, a wrong turn on the trail just outside of the final checkpoint caused her to lose some time.

Phillips had entered this race after placing eighth in her last two runs. It was an opportunity to improve on mistakes she made in 2006, she said.

She credited her success on the trail to listening to her heart when making decisions about team and time on the trail.

'You've got to stick to your own game plan and know what's true in your heart,' said Phillips.