Sunday, February 9, 2025

Pete Kaiser wins his 9th Kusko

Photo courtesy of Kuskokwim 300 facebook page.
At 1:57am Sunday Pete Kaiser and his exhuberant team of Alaskan Huskies crossed the finish line in bethel tying Jeff King for the most wins on the Kusko. The Bethel local was greeted by many excited fans, friends, and family as well as a little rain. The trail was said to be fast and even with the changes to the trail and the start time it felt like just another Kusko for the champion musher. The musher will take home at least $30,000.

"I'm pretty proud of our efforts after the challenge of our training this year," Pete told the local media.

It wasn't easy for Kaiser to get to the starting line this year. With the warm winter most of Alaska has seen, Kaiser wasn't even sure he would make it to the race this year. "We managed to do it," Kaiser said, "and I was just really happy we were able to get the dogs to the starting line." He said while the weather wasn't anything they weren't used to in the area, it just went on forever. "Just not ideal training conditions."

Kaiser noted that the fast trail meant that he'd have to run fast early in the race and stick with the front runners if he wanted to manage a chance to win. He was very proud of his team and his race. "It played out almost perfectly," he stated. 

When asked about the trail Pete had nothing but good things to say. It was a fast trail, not a lot of snow drift, no slogging through overflow or open water. "Overall one of the best trails I've ever been on in the Kusko." The musher, who didn't wear his traditional orange parka and fur ruff - he didn't need it when it was 32 degrees overnight on the trail - commented on the beauty of this year's trail. "One of the most beautiful trails we've ever mushed on," he said, "we're going to be spoiled for next year."

Riley Dyche who battled with Kaiser for most of the race came in second place 18 minutes behind the champion. Riley said he had to carry a dog for most of the way from Kalskag to Tuluksak on the inbound trail and he believed that was what sealed Pete's lead for the finishing run. When asked if he planned to be back for future races Riley didn't hesitate to say yes, "this is my new favorite race," he said.

Third place Cody Strathe, who caught a bug on the trail and had very little voice at the finish line. Strathe managed to say that most of the dogs on his team had not run the Kusko before. 

Next up for the Bethel area and Pete specifically will be the Bogus Creek 150. It was another race that had to be postponed, and Kaiser told media this morning his plan was to race in that one. With the warm up starting Sunday it's anyone's guess what the rest of his season will be. His social media team noted that beccause of the poor training season that Pete made the decision not to sign up for Iditarod, so the Kusko will be his "big" race of the year.

Pete gave credit to his dogs for doing so well, surprising their musher. "I'm pretty proud of our efforts after the challenge of our training this year," he said. He mentioned that he asked them for speed for the whole of the race to keep the pace with the front runners and they delivered, as he looked down the line of his happy and alert team in the finish line - tails wagging, "they're just incredible."


Four teams are now into the finish, with thirteen teams still on the trail. 

Saturday, February 8, 2025

Top ten are into Tuluksak

As of 7:10pm AKST on Saturday, the top ten are into the final checkpoint of Tuluksak and are on their final four hour mandatory rest. From Tuluksak it's roughly a fifty mile sprint to the finish line back in Bethel. There are several bunches within the top ten of teams close together. The final placement is anything but certain for just about any team.

First into Tuluksak Saturday was eight-time Kusko champion Pete Kaiser. The veteran musher arrived at 5:15pm and had the checkpoint all to themselves for just twenty minutes before Riley Dyche and his team of Dark Horse dogs charged in. Dyche is a dark horse in more ways than one, the musher chose last year to leave social media entirely and so no one really knew what to expect as there was almost nothing in the way of training reports on the musher. He ran a couple of races, but it was anyone's guess would Dyche would be doing ahead of Iditarod. Riley bought many of Brent Sass's main team last year when Sass decided to get out of dogs (in Alaska, he's been in Europe running dogs). Riley brought 8 of the Wild and Free dogs with him to the Kusko.

Fifteen minutes after Riley checked in, Cody Strathe was next into the checkpoint. The Squids ate up some time on Dyche. At 6:09pm Mike Williams Jr. made it to Tuluksak. Williams is having a fantastic race and has many fans and mushers statewide cheering him on. One of the local heroes of sorts, Mike is a favorite in any race he enters. Williams' best finish was 2nd in 2011 according to the K300 archives, and he last ran the race in 2019. Hunter Keefe rounds out the top five, coming in just eight minutes behind Willliams. 

At 6:26pm, teen phenom Emily Robinson rode into the checkpoint. Saturday afternoon Robinson crossed the 200 mile mark - the furthest she's ever raced. Sitting now at roughly 226 miles, the junior musher is now in unfamiliar territory. Last year Robinson nervously laughed when reporters asked her if she was ready for Iditarod, she mentioned that 300 miles intimidated her. The teen who didn't seem to be intimidated by Iditarod champions as she ran them down in 100 and 200 mile races was intimidated by 300 miles. Well, this weekend she took that challenge on and she's minutes from cracking the top five. The only teen, only female, and only rookie in this race looks anything but intimidated.

Lev Shvarts is ten minutes behind Robinson to hold the seventh slot. Behind Shvarts came Matt Failor, giving Shvarts a seventeen minute cushion. Sitting in 9th and 10th place are Cim Smyth and Bailey Vitello who came in at the same time. There should be some very close finishes Sunday morning.

First and fifth are separated by just over an hour. Right now Peter Kaiser has the lead, but it's not a fully comfortable one. We've seen the Kusko throw a curveball for the leaders in the final stretch (Failor's win was helped by such curveballs). The top three are not set in stone. And then there are the chase pack just waiting in the wings. Hunter Keefe will have to pull out the stops to keep Emily Robinson behind him. Several teams could easily end up leap frogging in this last sprint.

At the back, Isaac Underwood and Ebbe Pederson are both resting in Kalskag. 

Top 10

Pete Kaiser at 5:15pm - can leave at 9:15pm Saturday
Riley Dyche at 5:35pm - can leave at 9:35pm 
Cody Strathe at 5:50pm - can leave at 9:50pm
Mike Williams Jr at 6:09pm - can leave at 10:08pm
Hunter Keefe at 6:17pm - can leave at 10:16pm
Emily Robinson at 6:26pm - can leave at 10:26pm
Lev Shvarts at 6:36pm - can leave at 10:36pm
Matthew Failor at 6:53pm - can leave at 10:53pm
Cim Smyth at 7:10pm - can leave at 11:10pm
Bailey Vitello at 7:10pm - can leave at 11:10pm


With roughly fifty miles to the finish and Peter Kaiser leaving at 9:15pm Saturday, expect a finish around 2am AKST on Sunday. 




Do you think we're going to see another re-PETE? Do you think we'll see any surprise placements? Who do you think will end up winning the Red Lantern? Comment below with your thoughts!

Kaiser takes the lead!

Saturday afternoon saw a new leader on the Kusko. Somewhere between Kalskag and Tuluksak on the inbound trail, eight-time Kusko Champion Peter Kaiser passed race leader Riley Dyche to take the lead. With just 18 miles to go until the last checkpoint, Kaiser should be tucking his team in for their final mandatory four hour rest around 5:30pm AKST.

Riley Dyche has spent most of the Kusko leading the race (the only time he wasn't first into a checkpoint was when Mike Williams Jr. was first to hit Aniak). Dyche pulled the hook in Kalskag about a minute before Pete came into the checkpoint. His team was coming off a three hour rest and looked strong as they took off down the trail. Still, fans noticed the energy of Kaiser's team and the musher's calm as he signed in and out and followed Dyche out of the checkpoint.

Riley managed to keep a mile or so between he and Pete for several miles before the champion musher managed to overtake him. Teams are required to yield trail to the faster moving team if the musher calls for it (normally with just a loud bellow of "TRAIL!"). Mushers must then allow several miles to pass before they can yell to retake the lead if the teams are still "on top of" one another. One mile from the finishline, however, is considered "No Man's Land" and all bets are off. Yielding trail is not required and can make for an exciting finish (still hoping for a skipole joust into the finish some day).

The chase pack has seen a bit of shake up as some have slingshot ahead of others out of Kalskag. Junior musher Emily Robinson was running around near 8th or 9th Saturday morning coming into Kalskag and has now picked off a few teams and shows on the tracker as currently running with Lev Shvarts bringing her to 5th or 6th place. The teenager is a rooke in this race in more ways than one, it's not just her first Kusko - it's her first 300 mile race. For the Kusko it's the fact that a team hasn't done 300 miles that qualifies them as a rookie, and Emily is the only one who qualifies for that honor this year.

The back of the pack remains unchanged. Current red lantern Ebbe Pederson is into the checkpoint of Aniak at 3:30pm AKST and is currently resting. The musher has planned to take his time in the race, but it's unknown how long he plans to enjoy the hospitality of Aniak.

Kaiser Racing has been giving its usual fantasic updates on the race again this year and put out a quick but informative breakdown of the purse payout. This year everyone's in the money. Highly recommend you give them a read.

If Kaiser and Dyche make it in at the estimated 5:30pm mark they will be able to head for the finish at 9:30pm giving us a potential 2am finish for the winner. Gear up, fans, consider this good training for next month's Iditarod (less than a month away now!)




Who do you have coming into Tuluksak first? Think Emily will make a move and start picking off the leaders? Comment below with your thoughts on the race!

Riley Dyche leads the Kusko

The Dark Horse has dark horsed quite well so far on the Kuskokwim. Riley Dyche and his team blazed up the trail Friday night and into Saturday morning. Dyche currently sits in the checkpoint of Kalskag on the return/inbound trail. He is required to take three hours of rest here to complete his mandatory 6 hour rest for the loop. Dyche isn't alone as Cody Strathe of Squid Acres is also sitting in Kalskag finishing up his mandatory rest, but Dyche has about a half hour lead on Cody.

Dyche took an early lead Friday being the first into the first checkpoint of Tuluksak blowing through that checkpoint and on down the trail. He was then first into the Kalskag outbound checkpoint where he elected to take a three hour rest as part of his mandatory six hour. Dyche was not first out of Kalskag nor was he first into the halfway point of Aniak, but he took the lead when he elected to not stay in Aniak on his arrival and continued on the trail loop back to Kalskag.

Dyche's race plan is similar to the one Strathe chose to run. This is the first Kusko for Strathe, it's Dyche's second. As the two leaders rest, a wave of teams who are fully rested are on their way to the checkpoint. The chase pack include Pete Kaiser, Matt Failor, Hunter Keefe, Mike Williams Jr., Lev Shvarts, and Emily Robinson. Yes, that's right, the junior musher running her first 300 miler is comfortably in the top ten and is fully rested. The teen has done a fantastic job of maintaining her team and sticking with the big dogs.

Also in the chase pack are Cim Smyth and Nicolas Petit both of whom still need to complete their six hour mandatory rest. Smyth looks to need two hours of rest having elected to rest for two hours in Kalskag Outbound and Aniak - Petit looks to have one hour. They are currently running in third and fourth position with about a nine mile (one hour-ish) cushion of the chase pack. Well, at least Cim does. Nic's tracker isn't behaving.

Current red lantern is Ebbe Pederson who planned to run a slower race with a lot of extra rest according to a post by Turning Heads Kennel - who Pederson is running dogs from. He is the only team still on the outbound trail on his way to Aniak. Issac Underwood is the only team currently resting in Aniak.

Judging by the tracker, it looks like Pete Kaiser will hit Kalskag right around the time Riley Dyche should be able to pull the hook and take off from his rest (if the math is correct and we all know how often that happens for this blogger). Kaiser has taken all of his mandatory rest on the loop so he could continue on down the trail, but Dyche's team will have had a three hour break and it could be that Dyche has just timed everything perfectly to keep control of this race.

Don't count any of the chase pack out yet, and especially not Kaiser as these are his home trails. It's going to be an epic race to the finish.



What do you think will happen when the chase pack makes it to Kalskag? Can Dyche and Strathe hold them off? Comment below with your thoughts!

2025 Race to the Sky musher rosters

Sorry everyone, we ran out of time to get this blog updated. Illness threw off the schedule big time. No race preview or big introduction, but these teams deserve to get some love from armchair mushers as they run the race this weekend. Give this Montana race some love and cheer on all the teams running the 300 and 100 mile races.

The bib draw was yesterday, however they have not published the numbers. May have to wait until they pop up on trackleaders to see who is what. The first musher in the 300 mile race to leave the starting line will be Leon Church, but that's all this blogger knows. 

300 Mile

MusherKennelLinkLinkLink
Charmayne MorrisonMorrison Racing KennelWebsiteFacebookInstagram
Leon ChurchChurch KennelsFacebook
Clayton PerryTSA KennelsFacebook
Kirk WeberCindy Gallea?Facebook
Wade DonaldsonBear Ridge AdventuresWebsiteFacebookInstagram

100 Mile

Michael TarverCall of the WYldWebsiteFacebookInstagram
Christina Gibson
Nicole Lombardi?Race Bio
Madeline RubidaNicole Lombardi's KennelFacebookInstagram
Hanna Hurt?
Rebekah WalshCindy Gallea?
Frank WalshCindy Gallea?
Cindy GalleaGallea KennelFacebook
Alexandra NessKukenai Sled DogsFacebookInstagram
Jesika ReimerThe Reimer PackWebsiteFacebookInstagram
Ari SigglinSnowcone KennelWebsiteFacebookInstagram
Trace DrakeTSA KennelsFacebook
Misheala RobertsonMorrison Racing KennelFacebook
Kayson JuddBear Ridge AdventuresFacebook
Bino Fowler?Facebook
Sean de WolskiBouncing Bumbles???
Roster as of February 4, 2025.

These rosters probably aren't the most accurate and they are in the order of how the website listed them. Hopefully there will be time to put them in start order once the race takes off on Saturday (2pm montana time for the 300 mile).

Are you watching? Who are you cheering for? Comment below!



If you like what you see and want to support my addiction (I mean HOBBY) of following these races and stalking (I mean cheering on) the mushers, you can buy me a slice of pizza (that really goes to paying for my internet/web expenses).

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

2025 Kuskokwim 300 race preview

 

Someone cue up the chorus from Andy Williams' "It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year", because that's exactly where we are in the mushing season. The Kuskokwim 300 is upon us! 

After having to postpone the race by a couple of weeks due to the insanely warm weather Alaska suffered for most of December and January destroying trail, the Kusko is ready to go. The cold snap that settled on Alaska at the end of January helped stabalize several areas along the river route for the promise of a safe, yet tough, trail.

With much of Alaska still without snow (from Willow to Anchorage and points in between there's ice but very little of the white stuff), the West Coast has finally seen a little bit of snow along with the more normal winter temperatures.

Currently, Accuweather forecasts 20F at the start of the Kusko on Friday with wind gusts of up to 20mph. A tad warmer than last year's frigid Kusko, but the Coastal Winds of Alaska are no joke. For most of the race, teams will run on or along the river before hitting a portage of sorts that is known to be a difficult stretch as the terrain is reminiscent of the Iditarod's "burn" section with exposed tussoks for miles. With all of the river trail, there is always the threat of overflow for the teams (several years ago we saw the finish slow significantly as winds brought warm air and rain that turned the end of the race into an absolute slog). 

The Kusko saw quite a few teams withdraw in the last few days. Some withdrew after the race was postponed because they had other races lined up already for February. Some withdrew as late as Tuesday. With all of the unknowns both with the weather as well as not being able to get all of the training in with lack of trails close to home, it's any wonder the seventeen teams still signed up are still ready to go!

Teams have already made their way to Anchorage to fly out to Bethel with most arrivals scheduled for Wednesday. The Kusko knows how to put on a dog race and it's a full on celebration that rivals the Beargrease and the Scandinavian Races as far as the excitement surrounding it. It's rock concert level. Bethel hosts the start and finish of the Kusko and acts as a major hub for the region. The entire community takes part in the festivities and cheering on the mushers, each team is hosted by a family who offer up their yard for the dogs and their home for the handlers. 

The Kusko is also one of the races that you can create a Fantasy Mushing team (for free) to help bring another element of excitement for armchair mushers as they follow along. So let's take a look at some of the mushers that have a good chance of scoring high for your team. (This year we're doing a top ten because, reasons.)

Who to Watch

Cody Strathe - Did you watch the Copper Basin? You should have. Cody gave eventual winner Jessie Holmes a run for his money. Cody is a late entry to the Kusko roster, and it's a very good guess that it's in large part due to how the team did in the Copper. This team will also be going to the Iditarod in March (a very late addition) with Cody's wife Paige. This could mean that Cody runs a more conservative race, but.... either way he's a great choice for Fantasy Mushing.

Emily Robinson - Originally, Emily was going to be an honorable mention, but as the list of who to watch grew, she made it on the list because we were so close to having a top ten. This teenage phenom is on everyone's "to watch" list. Robinson has proven last year was not a fluke when she took down Iditarod champions in several "grown up races" when she repeated her wins this season. Robinson chose the Kusko over the WillowJr 100 which is also set for this weekend. This will be her first 300 mile race. Last year Robinson made comments stating 300 milers seemed daunting. She's a confident and smart musher (and she's a steal of a deal for Fantasy Mushing). Expect her to run a smart race, but if she's near the front, don't be surprised if she lets loose. (And did we mention that she's the only junior musher running?)

Hunter Keefe - It'd probably be a good guess that Hunter is using this as a training run for Iditarod, but Hunter also tries to keep from being back of the pack. He runs a very strong team out of Raymie Redington's kennel, and they've proven themselves time and again that they can be in the mix. Hunter would be a solid bet for your Fantasy Team, and we're just here to see Hunter have a fantastic Kusko experience!

Jeff King - Is Jeff still the winningest musher in history? Even if King no longer holds that title, he's no slouch. He may be retired from the Iditarod, he's not retired from racing. King also currently holds the most wins on the Kusko with nine championships. Perhaps that has motivated his return to the Kusko, his title is in danger of being tied this year, and perhaps he feels he has a chance to win just that one more. There are few mushers in this race as seasoned as Mr. The King, and it's always a joy to see him and his team of Husky Homesteaders on the trail.

Matthew Failor - He won in 2019, he knows how to run this race, but his focus is most likely on the Iditarod, so if the race proves to be very challenging - physically or mentally - for the dogs he could end up using this as a training run. However, Failor has worked hard to take the title again the last few races, so don't be surprised if he's one of the ones battling the reigning champion to stop him from repeating yet again. 

Nicolas Petit - This is one of the few 300s in Alaska that Nicolas has not won. This is also the first race we've seen Petit run this season. The musher posted to his social media earlier this season that he was "taking a break" from the mid-distance scene this year, except for the Kusko. Everyone loves the Kusko! Petit typically enjoys speed over following a schedule, though he has tried recently to change it up and use strategy. This will be our first real view of Petit's team ahead of Iditarod, one thing to expect is it's going to be anything but predictable with Nic.

Pete Kaiser - The current King of the Kusko, Pete is looking to tie for the most wins this year. The Bethel local who won the Iditarod in 2019 won his 8th Kusko title last year. Kaiser is not signed up for the Iditarod this year, so the Kusko is his big race of 2025. These are his home trails, he has a lot of knowledge of the area, his team is used to the weather and wind. He has the advantage in so many ways, but as we've seen before - anything can happen. (Plus he is a nice guy and gives his competition information on the trails and tips.)

Riley Dyche - Riley's really starting to climb the ranks this season in the mid-distance races. His team is really gelling (though some say it's due to having bought quite a few of Brent Sass's top dogs). This is Dyche's SECOND Kusko (he signed up for the 2022 race but withdrew) his rookie year he ended up in the top ten which for this race can be quite the accomplishment as the roster is typically stacked with the best of the best and is highly competitive. (Many thanks to those that pointed out that he ran last year, an earlier version of this post had Riley listed as a rookie by mistake.)

Ryan Redington - The 2023 Iditarod Champion, multiple time Beargrease champion. If Ryan's in a race, he's most likely running to win (though he blew that out of the water earlier this season during the Knik when he took the puppy team and let one of his handlers run the main team!). There's no sharing with other handlers/team members so expect Ryan to be in this for more than just a training run (though Iditarod is his main focus, no doubt). Ryan, like Petit, likes to run fast right out of the gate and try to get a large gap between him and the rest of the field and hope the gap is enough that no one catches him towards the end.

Wade Marrs - Okay, so Redington isn't "sharing" a team with a handler, but he IS sharing a few (four) dogs with Wade. Marrs is running mainly with dogs from his Stump Jumpin' Kennel, but did post to social media Tuesday night that he would be taking four dogs from Ryan's kennel that he bonded with over the summer doing tours on the Panhandle. Wade would be considered an outside chance for a win, but it's not out of the realm of possibility. We haven't seen much of Wade this season as he's been doing the family thing in the lower 48 waiting for the weather to cooperate for races closer to home.

Now that we know who has the biggest chance of winning the thing, how can we make sure to follow along with the race?

How to Watch

While many of the other mid distance races rely on fan videos and Kale Casey LIVE to cover their races, the Kusko is unique in that the local grade school runs a program where they film the start and finish of the races. They go live on Facebook with race coverage done mainly by the students. It's fantastic and well worth a watch. Last year the students were unable to film due to tech difficulties, so the official facebook page and the radio station took over the duties.

Official Website

The Kusko's website is pretty slick. You can follow all of the races, fundraising and news from their site. It's easy to navigate and they have great musher bios. And this is where you will find those ever important in and out times from the checkpoints. Be sure to check it out.

GPS Tracker

Real time updates will come through the trackers as always. With the cold there may be more glitches than we'd like (blame the aliens!) but there's not much we can do. Cold and technology don't get along. The link for trackleaders hasn't gone live yet, so this will get edited once it does. Once it goes live you should be able to view them here.

Radio Broadcast

KYUK Radio will broadcast the start which begins at 8:00pm (start listening at 7:30pm for pre-race info). You can listen to the broadcast online through this link.

Social Media

Updates will most likely be posted on the race's Facebook page, and possibly their twitter account. Photo updates should come from Instagram. They typically try to have a Facebook live feed. If you are tweeting, instagramming, etc. the traditional hashtag is #K300.

KYUK is also plans to post updates on their Facebook page, including Facebook interviews with the mushers from the last week or so.

Most mushers have facebook these days, and many of them have someone monitoring and posting to those pages during the race. To find and follow all mushers in this year's race, check out the 2025 Kusko 300 musher roster on this blog where all socials are linked.


Schedule of Events

Wednesday, February 5
Vet Checks

Thursday, February 6
Vet Checks
5pm - Musher Meeting
7pm - Bib Draw 

Friday, February 7
8:00pm 1:00pm - Kuskokwim 300 START*
8:40pm 7:30pm- FIREWORKS*

Saturday, February 8
NOON - Akiak Dash Mass Start

Monday, February 9
6pm - Musher Awards

*Schedule changed due to forecasted warm up on Sunday.


Who do you think will cross the finish line first? Who do you expect to beat every expectation? Can Pete Kaiser win his 9th title? How about that Emily Robinson? Comment below with your thoughts!



If you like what you see and want to support my addiction (I mean HOBBY) of following these races and stalking (I mean cheering on) the mushers, you can buy me a slice of pizza (that really goes to paying for my internet/web expenses).

Monday, February 3, 2025

2025 Kuskokwim 300 musher roster

It's here! It's really here! After having to postpone by two weeks, it's here! The Kuskokwim 300 should have taken off on January 24, but due to extremely warm temperatures and lack of snow pack, the race had to pivot and announced late on January 15 that they would postpone. The forecast was promising and there was hope that waiting would mean a safe trail for all athletes (four legged as well as two).

And it apparently is.

The Kusko is always one of the most well attended events with mushers from the Kusko Delta meeting up with some of the most well known mushers from the road system. Yes, the Iditarod is the big enchilada, but the Kusko is a feast for mushing enthusiasts.

This year is no exception, even with the weird weather that has kept many a musher from getting the training they had planned. This year we have three Kusko champions racing, three mushers are also Iditarod champions. 

This year is also special because the reining Junior Iditarod champion is also in the mix. As many know the teen musher Emily Robinson has been given more and more opportunities to run against the "big names", and she's beaten quite a few of them. This will be her first 300 mile race.

As with all rosters, the list is as up to date as possible, and organized alphabetically until the bib draw.

BibMusherKennelLinkLinkLink
1Ryan RedingtonRedington MushingWebsiteFacebook
2Pete KaiserKaiser RacingWebsiteFacebookInstagram
3Emily RobinsonRobinson Racing KennelWebsiteFacebookInstagram
4Hunter KeefeRedington's Mush AlaskaWebsiteFacebookInstagram
5Riley DycheDark Horse Sled DogsWebsiteFacebookInstagram
6Matthew FailorAlaskan AdventuresWebsiteFacebookInstagram
7Sam BrewerTailwind KennelWebsiteFacebookInstagram
8Cim SmythPerserverance Springs FarmFacebook
9Lev ShvartsTeam OllieWebsiteFacebook
10Isaac UnderwoodUnderwood Kennels
11Ebbe PedersenTurning Heads KennelWebsiteFacebookInstagram
12Nicolas PetitNic Petit RacingWebsiteFacebookInstagram
13Bailey VitelloTeam BaileyWebsiteFacebookInstagram
14Cody StratheSquid AcresWebsiteFacebookInstagram
15Mike Williams Jr.Mike Williams KennelFacebook
16Jeff KingHusky HomesteadWebsiteFacebookInstagram
17Wade MarrsStump Jumpin KennelWebsiteFacebookInstagram
*Edited to add bib numbers and start order Feb 6 @ 8:00pm AKST.


Who are you most excited to see? Who are you cheering for? Comment below!



And, as always, you can Buy me a slice of pizza to help keep the blog up and running. It's always appreciated but never expected.

Saturday, February 1, 2025

2025 Idaho Challenge musher rosters

Alaska isn't the only place races are taking off this weekend, we have several in Canada and the Lower 48 going on. There are so many than this blog cannot keep up with all of them, but let's celebrate at least one of the races not in Alaska (or the Yukon) this weekend.

The Idaho Challenge is an Iditarod Qualifier that is normally a 300mile race, however this year due to wildfires last year the trail was shortened to 200 for this year's race. It still qualifies for the Iditarod and there are a few hopefuls in the mix (including one of this year's rookies).

Because of the lateness getting this posted we'll just shoot right to the lists, sorry, no full race preview this year - but the race's website has tons of information and links to every way you can follow along with the race so be sure to visit it and keep it handy this week as the race moves on. 

No bib numbers yet, but we'll edit those in as soon as they're known.

200 Mile

MusherKennelLinkLinkLink
Charmayne MorrisonMorrison Racing KennelWebsiteFacebookInstagram
Clayton PerryTSA KennelsRace BioFacebook
Wade DonaldsonBear Ridge AdventuresWebsiteFacebookInstagram

100 Mile

MusherKennelLinkLinkLink
Alexandra NessKukenai Sled DogsFacebookInstagram
Dallin DonaldsonBear Ridge AdventuresWebsiteFacebookInstagram
Elizabeth NevillsMiracle Sled DogFacebook
Jesika ReimerThe Reimer PackWebsiteFacebookInstagram
Kelly BartonParadox SiberiansFacebook
Madeline RubidaNicole Lombardi's KennelFacebookInstagram
Michael TarverCall of the WYldWebsiteFacebookInstagram
Natalie Donaldson WilsonBear Ridge AdventuresWebsiteFacebookInstagram
Nicole Lombardi?Race Bio
Redman GlissonTSA KennelFacebookInstagram
Rosters as of Febrary 1, 2025.


Will you be following along? Comment with your thoughts below!



If you like what you see and want to support my addiction (I mean HOBBY) of following these races and stalking (I mean cheering on) the mushers, you can buy me a slice of pizza (that really goes to paying for my internet/web expenses).