Category Archives: 2023 Kuskokwim 300

Thanks to Cindy Andrecheck for the last 5 family photos! 🙂

It was quite a crowd that gathered today to cheer Pete and the Team across the Finish line.

Pete and his Team of 11 dogs arrived at 12:27pm to claim his seventh Kuskokwim 300 Championship.

It was a tight race and not too long after the photos and interviews before Pete had to clear the chute to see second place finisher Matt Failor arrive exactly 10 minutes later. After leaving Tuluksak 8 minutes in front of Matt, Pete and the Team maintained only a 10 minute interval for the entire 50 mile trail to Bethel. It was really a nail biter for me, but Pete was confident, cool, and collected at the finish line, “It’s much nicer to have a good lead, but it is what it is,” he told me later.

Many Teams crossed the Finish Line very close to one another making for a real celebration of the event. Fans stuck around for the Teams crossing which often doesn’t happen when it’s brutally cold. Today though, people were anxious to see Teams and each other. After all of the Covid situation, it was good to see one another.

Here are the stats, photos and video coming shortly.

Go Team Kaiser! Congratulations Pete and the Team!!

Good morning race fans! It was a close one last night and a nail biter at Kaiser Racing HQ.

As all eyes were glued to the tracker Pete and the Team saw a 21 minute lead steadily decrease over the miles between Kalskag and Tuluksak. Pete could see Matt Failor as we all could slowly gain ground mile by mile. In the end Pete narrowly arrived ahead of Matt with an 8 minute lead going into the Tuluksak checkpoint and a four hour rest and veterinary check.

Pete arrived into Tuluksak at 3:39am with an elapsed trail time from Kalskag of  5hrs 35 min. Matt arrived at 3:47am with an elapsed time of  5hrs 22 min.

It’s going to be a close one for Team Kaiser and one of the most exciting races in a long time!

Pete is prepping to leave right now and can return to the trail at 7:39am. Let’s hope he got some coffee for the early morning run into Bethel and the Finish Line.

Go Team Kaiser!!

(Editor’s note- Originally had written as 12 minute lead. My hardly open eyes can’t do math when the brain isn’t fully going- haha) 8 minute lead

Pete and the Team raced through Kalskag, stopping only for coffee, but unfortunately there was none. No time to make a pot, “We gotta go!”

Iditarod Race Marshall Mark Nordman was on hand to capture the action and shared this video. Thanks Mark! Nice Job!!

Teams are really close together and every minute counts!

Matt Failor has gained on Eddie Burke to move into second position with only a 1.9 mile or 14 minute differential. Stay tuned as it is going to be a really exciting night on the 50 mile run to Tuluksak.

Weather in Bethel is a little warm, but it’s about dead calm and cloudy. I’d imagine Teams will be seeing water and a tough trail in some parts, but other parts could actually be pretty fast. Temperatures are just below freezing.

Here is Pete blowing through Kalskag. Go Team Kaiser!

We call it the Halfway point in the race, but in a Whitefish loop year, it’s actually a bit past half way.

Pete and the Team look to be doing very nicely in the 2023 Kuskokwim 300. Followed closely by Wildstyle Racing’s and Superfan turned competitor Eddie Burke Jr., Pete is first into the “Halfway” checkpoint at 3:11pm with 12 dogs. this afternoon.

Arriving first into Aniak, Pete and the Team will receive $1000 store credit from longtime Kuskokwim 300 sponsor Alaska Commercial! Thank you and way to go! Steaks for the Team! Haha!

Word from the trail is that it is not great, but that doesn’t seem to be holding back our favorite Team!

Weather is a bit better than expected. At least it isn’t raining!!

I’m not sure what to expect here. He could take a 2 hour break and regroup and then head back to the trail and take the last hour in Kalskag. If he takes 3 hours, then it’s an 85 mile run from Aniak to Tuluksak. The reasoning behind taking the layover in Aniak is to rest longer and take advantage of cooler temperatures later in the day. We’ll see what happens, so stay tuned!

Currently in Aniak it is 30 degrees with a 3 knot breeze with high clouds.

It’s snack time for Pete and the Group and a bit of shuteye as well.

It’s going to be a barn burner of a race tonight, so STAY TUNED!!

Go Team Kaiser!!

Good Morning Race Fans!

As we slept the night away, there was exciting action on the Kuskokwim 300 trail last night.

Eddie Burke and his Team were first into Kalskag early this morning at 5:04 am followed 6 minutes later at 5:10 by Pete and the Team.

Elapsed times between Tuluksak to Kalskag are pretty consistent across the board. I would imagine the trail to be holding up so far as the warm temperatures through the night most likely haven’t caused the trail to deteriorate yet.

This morning temperatures are in the 30’s and it is expected to warm dramatically throughout the day. This is the last thing Teams want to see and mushers will be taking great care of feet and making sure their dogs are well hydrated.

Today Teams will head out over the Whitefish Lake Loop. It’s 11 miles longer than the river trail, so I expect mushers to rest a bit longer before heading out on the trail. As veteran watchers will remember, mushers have 6 mandatory hours of rest to “spend” on the three checkpoints, Kalskag UP, Aniak, and Kalskag Down. With the warm temps, I’m expecting a longer layover this morning before the longer trail. Especially due to warm temperatures.

Take a look at this year’s trail here!

So who is Eddie Burke??? Veteran watchers may remember Eddie from way back in 2018 when Eddie and a couple of his friends got a table at the 2018 Iditarod Banquet. They called themselves Table 200 SuperFans! They were quite a hoot and super fun to be around. But there’s a problem… Hang around dog mushing too long and it gets in your blood. Then it becomes a fever and it’s all over! Haha!

Eddie linked up with Aaron Burmeister and here we are! Eddie is just off a Knik 200 win and seems to be having the time of his life. Congrats!!

As for today, the talk of the trail will be weather and trail.

It looks like a warm one! Go Team Kaiser!!

Today’s Mushing Weather Forecast for Aniak: