Internet and long distance are dead for Bethel, but our reporter on the trail, Emery Fairbanks, got the details:
Pete Kaiser and the Team of 9 dogs arrived just at 5:47am (Update- Official Time In) and just a minute before John Shandelmeier (5:49am Official Time) to win the 2012 Paul Johnson Memorial 450. The dogs looked great, but Pete, who undoubtedly has been kicking since White Mountain, had to lie down a minute right after the finish.
From KNOM Twitter: Kaiser: “In WMO, I thought Schandelmier was going to pass me … if I could stay ahead of him as we got into [Nome], I could win.”
We followed you right up to the Internet outrage! Whew! That was exciting and the anticipation for the last update was immense. Waking up to the good news is putting big smiles on our faces and we are so proud of you! Congratulations from Mike, Joy & Ruby!!!
Congrats from everyone in Seward! It was great getting updates on the race!!
Congratulations Pete. What a tight race! We couldn’t be happier for you here in Texas.
Way to go Pete!!!
Your Colorado fans are excited! Way to go! Best of Luck for the next race!
Wow Pete! Your OKC fan club is so proud of you. What a nail biter.
Team Kaiser is going strong. Look out Iditerod, here he comes.
Way to go! Congratulations on such a fine run, and I do mean RUN!! Unbelievable that it stayed so close for so long. A great tribute to you and your dogs!