Bib Number 30 – Follow Pete through the Drawing

In a new twist for the Musher Drawing, Iditarod Organizers decided to separate the Meet and Greet from the Musher Banquet and Drawing. It was a little disorganized, but all in all Mushers seemed to like the new format.

Pete started the day with the mandatory Musher Meeting, which he said was the shortest he has attended. At 4:00pm fans met the Mushers for autographs and one on one time. The room was packed for the 2 hour visit session and then it was off to the main ballroom where dinner was waiting and positions were ready to be pulled from the traditional mukluk.

A steak dinner with friends and sponsors Boyuk and Lee Ryan was followed by Pete heading to the stage to draw bib 30. Pete said he would have preferred a little closer to the front of the pack, but 30 will do nicely. In an interesting twist, Pete will be joined by Richie Diehl in position 29 and Mike Williams Jr. in position 27.

Bib 30 will put Pete and the Team at the Starting Line at 11:00 am sharp, so don’t be late on Saturday morning!!

Here are the photos from the banquet and also a little taste of what it’s like for Pete as I film his walk through the crowd as he introduces our 2018 Iditarider, Monika (I’ll get her last name soon) to the Kaiser Racing Table.

Iditarod Number 9 for Team Kaiser is underway! Go Team Kaiser!!

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Iditarod 2018 is Here!!

Welcome to Iditarod 2018!

Pete and the Team made their way down the highway yesterday from “Kaiser North” between Nenana and Fairbanks. Due to poor training conditions in Bethel, the Team was up there for about 9 days. Unlike Bethel, there was snow aplenty! Bethel got a dusting of snow after he left, but in the north country, it was SNOW SNOW SNOW!! I got a chance to run up and spend a day with the Team and it was really fun! The dogs were happy, Pete was relaxed, and I can see why he loves it up there.

This morning (Thursday) starts the activity that will culminate Sunday afternoon with the Restart in Willow. This morning Pete is with all of the other mushers at the mandatory meeting in Anchorage. This afternoon the Iditarod has changed up the events a bit and there will be a Meet and Greet at 4pm followed by the drawing and fundraiser banquet at 6pm.

Here are a few photos of the snow up north and also the schedule of events for this weekend.

Go Team Kaiser!!

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