Sunday afternoon brought on a finish "in the light" for the first time in years as Peter Kaiser's team crossed the finish line for a 7th championship for the kennel. Kaiser's race time was the slowest time for a winner in over fifteen years. The hometown hero, who won the Iditarod in 2019, battled "mashed potato" like trails in sometimes pouring rain while fighting back several top teams to take the top prize.
The race was all set to be its normal cold windy self when Mother Nature decided to throw a curve ball. The week of the race, warm winds blew in and the snow storm turned into rain and ice. There was water on top of the trail, and open water on the rivers. This was going to be more of a KuskoSWIM on the Kuskokwim Delta. Still, the trail was passable, and everyone was excited.
This was the first race since 2020 that fans were able to mingle with the teams and that race headquarters was stationed at the Longhouse Hotel where mushers, fans, and officials all gathered. With Covid making social distancing a must in 2021 and 2022, things felt more normal this year. The only hiccup race planners had were the fireworks traditionally set of after the last team takes to the trail. They'd not applied for the permit in time and were pretty sure they weren't happening this year, but thanks to a call into US Representative Mary Peltola they were able to get an expedited permit and just two days before the race the fireworks were back on.
Teams took off Friday night under rainy skies, they made their way to the Gweek River and to the first checkpoint in mostly normal fashion. There were spots of open water on the Gweek, and race officials marked them with lighted trail markers so teams knew where not to go. From the first checkpoint the teams began to hit bad trail. The "mashed potato" snow made for slow going, especially for those further back in the race. Eddie Burke and Isaac Underwood would lead the way for much of the night, with Peter Kaiser hot on their heels.
By Saturday afternoon, Peter Kaiser had taken the lead and was first into Aniak which marks the unofficial halfway point of the race (which this year, due to trail route it's actually just a little more than halfway). Kaiser would not relinquish his lead for the rest of the race. On the return trip from Aniak back to the same trail to the finish, the front runners would report that the trail had set up thanks to cooling temps and the rain holding off. By the time the chase pack and back of the pack would run the trail they could not report the same. Teams would report "it got worse" to each others social media posts after the race.
Though Kaiser never lost his lead, he was far from safely in first. By the time he reached the final checkpoint, Matthew Failor (the 2019 Kusko champ) was a mere eight minutes behind him. It would become a battle on the final leg between the two champions, but that 8 minute lead grew to a 10 minute lead and Kaiser held on to the win. Kaiser would tell the media at the finish that these trails were Pete's trails and there was "no way to beat Pete if he is out ahead of you." For their efforts, Pete won $25,500, and Matt came away with $17,500. Huge take-aways for a race of this size.
Even with the trail being difficult, there were only two scratches. Twyla Elhardt called it quits for her team in Aniak. There was no real report as to why, other than to say they were happily headed home. With trail conditions being what they were, and Twyla being at the back of the pack, it would not be surprising that she decided to end her race early to remain on a positive note for the team. The other scratch was last year's rookie of the year, Jason Pavila. Jason took a fall on his sled out on the trail and injured his shoulder, unable to properly hang onto the sled or take care of his team he was forced to end his race early.
The awards banquet was open to the public and was in person this year for the first time since the Covid-19 Pandemic. It was a great turn out that appeared to be close to standing room only. While mushers for the Akiak Dash and Bogus Creek 150 were not all in attendance due to the increasingly unstable river conditions making travel unsafe, there were still many locals in attendance to celebrate the mushers.
Each musher from each race was given the opportunity to speak, and most did. Those for the Kusko 300 all made sure to not just thank their sponsors and families back home but their host families in Bethel. Some shared stories, others just said thank you and took their seats as with many mushers speaking in public isn't really why they got into the sport.
Jeff Deeter, who came in 7th place after having passed Dave Turner in the last mile (known as "No Man's Land") of the race, was awarded the Humanitarian Award given to the team that showed exemplary dog care. Deeter said he was shocked by the award, and that the thanks and credit go to the dogs and also to his wife KattiJo.
Sixth place finisher Will Rhodes spoke at length about the history of the race and his family's part in it. Rhodes is married to Brenda Mackey (who he credited as his heart and soul) whose father is the 1982 Iditarod Champion, Rick Mackey. Rhodes pointed out that Rick won the Kusko twice, in 1985 and again in 1987. He spoke with a lot of emotion as he also noted that the last year has been hard for his family as they said goodbye to Uncle Lance [Mackey] this past summer. He noted just two weeks after Lance's celebration of life his father in law Rick was diagnosed with Lung Cancer. He choked up as he said he's thought a lot about Rick while running this year's Kusko.
Rookie of the year went to fourth place finisher Jacob Witkop who spoke about how great it was to come to Bethel where he didn't have much in the way of cell service so "work couldn't get ahold" of him. He also spoke at length at the kindness and generosity of the locals. He also noted that his host family kept him so well fed he wasn't ready to go home.
Eddie Burke Jr maybe the most improved musher this year as he found himself finishing in a strong third place. Burke is a relative newcomer as he's only been serious about mushing at a high level for the last three years. He gave credit to his mentors Aaron Burmeister, though he said Aaron's been busy being a family man this year and not spending time on the runners, but gave most of the credit to mentor Tony Browning.
Matthew Failor shared stories of dreaming of Richie Diehl's mom's pizza (it's "awesome") and when he ran into her during the race he let her know just how much he thinks about her pizza. He caught a nap and woke up to fresh, hot pizza slices waiting for him. I mean, I think pizza would be the highlight of my race, too. He also praised the "new bathroom facilities" in Aniak, though he got to see a little too much of a couple of his fellow mushers (the stalls don't have doors).
Then it was Pete Kaiser's turn at the mic. He of course praised the race, thanked his sponsors, and gave a shoutout to all of those that travel from outside of the Kusko-Delta, "we love sharing our trails with everyone." The seven time champion said the only story he had to share was how technology has improved the race in so many ways, and how it's leaps and bounds what it was just a few years ago. As he was coming off the Gweek to head back to the finish he noticed some fans in the distance and he decided he needed to "take a leak" before getting any closer. As he was doing his business he heard a weird sound coming from above him, looked up and caught site of a drone! He spoke out to the crowd to "whoever has that footage, you'll need to do some editing... or don't." Mushers and bathroom humor, it's a thing. Trust me.
Overall, the Kusko once again lived up to the hype. This is definitely one for the record books.
How'd your favorite place? Did you come across a favorite story from the trail? Share your thoughts below!
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