Pushing through deep snow and strong winds, Mike Williams Jr. and his son Kohle finished first in the 2024 February 50 Doubles race on Feb. 24. Second-place team Darren George and Jed Nose finished 10 minutes later, and another 10 minutes later, Robert Charles Jr. and Paden Lott took third place.
As teams trotted to the finish, friends and family gathered around to congratulate the two-person teams.
The doubles is unique among the races put on by the Kuskokwim 300 Race Committee. Instead of the usual lone musher, each team consists of up to 12 dogs and a pair of mushers. Mushers can either ride on the same sled or drag two sleds.
In total, 10 teams ran this year’s February 50 Doubles. The route led mushers down the Kuskokwim to Oscarville, upstream on Napaskiak Slough, overland to Kwethluk, and then back to Bethel along the same route.
As the top finisher, Williams Jr. took home $3,700. He also wins points in the five-race Delta Championship Series.
The current series leader, Raymond Alexie, didn’t run the February 50 Doubles this year, and neither did a team representing his kennel. That puts several other local teams within striking distance of the Delta Championship Series title, including third-place finisher Darren George, who’s just two points behind Alexie in the series with one race to go.
The last race in the second annual Delta Championship Series is the Campout Race, scheduled for March 16 and 17.
