Tight Pack Of Mushers Arrive At 2021 Bogus Creek 150 Halfway Checkpoint

Updated: 9:37 p.m.

All of the mushers racing in the 2021 Bogus Creek 150 have arrived at the halfway checkpoint at Hangar Lake near Bethel. The first half of the race proved to be electrifying, with less than a half-mile separating the five leading mushers for much of the first half of the race.

Fr. Alexander Larson from Napaskiak narrowly edged out Aniak musher Richie Diehl by two minutes to become the first musher into Hangar Lake at 6:26 p.m; Diehl arrived at 6:28 p.m. Following them were the two mushers racing for Bethel's Kaiser Racing Kennel. Ron Kaiser arrived first at 6:32 p.m., followed by his son, 2019 Iditarod Champion and five time K300 Champion, Pete Kaiser at 6:33 p.m. Rounding out the first five mushers was Jason Pavila, the 2019 Bogus Creek Champion, who arrived at the checkpoint at 6:38 p.m.

One of the biggest storylines of the 2021 Bogus Creek 150 has been how the two mushers who have run the Iditarod, a 1,000-mile race, would fare in a shorter 150-mile race. At the beginning of the race, Pete Kaiser and Diehl hung back near the middle of the pack. Then, about four hours after mushers took off from Bethel in a mass start, both crept up the pack, appearing fourth and fifth in the standings according to the live GPS tracker. So far, both longer-distance mushers are showing that they can keep up with the sprint mushers in a shorter 150-mile race.

At the same time, teams from the villages are showing they can compete with a former Iditarod champion. Fr. Larson, racing out of PKA Larson Kennel, is doing it at 59-years-old. He won the Bogus Creek 150 in 2004, and is coming off a fourth place finish in the 2020 Bogus Creek 150.

Kwethluk's Pavila, 17, has also proven he can win this race, having done so as a 15-year-old rookie in 2019. However, after he arrived in Hangar Lake, he reported that his dogs were throwing up during the race and that he might have to drop some at the checkpoint. He said that his goal for the remainder of the race would be to maintain the health of his dogs.

Mushers will be required to rest for four hours at Hangar Lake before completing the 75-mile loop again, finishing in Bethel. Fr. Larson will finish his mandatory rest first, and is expected to lead the group out of Bethel at 10:26 p.m.

Here are the arrival times for mushers into the Hangar Lake checkpoint:

1. Fr. Alexander Larson (Napaskiak) 6:26 p.m.
2. Richie Diehl (Aniak) 6:28 p.m.
3. Ron Kaiser (Bethel) 6:32 p.m.
4. Pete Kaiser (Bethel) 6:33 p.m.
5. Jason Pavila (Kwethluk) 6:38 p.m.
6. Raymond Alexie (Kwethluk) 6:42 p.m.
7. Jackie Larson (Napaskiak) 6:46 p.m.
8. Jim George (Akiachak/Kwethluk) 6:47 p.m.
9. Isaac Underwood (Aniak) 6:48 p.m.
10. Matt Scott (Bethel) 6:48 p.m.
11. Terrell Andrews (Bethel) 6:58 p.m.
12. Solomon Olick (Kwethluk) 7:05 p.m.
13. Jason Larson (Napaskiak) 7:29 p.m.
14. Carl Ekamrak (Akiachak) 8:03 p.m.
15. Twyla Elhardt (Bethel) 8:14 p.m.
16. John Snyder (Akiachak) 8:36 p.m.
17. Christopher Nicolai (Kwethluk) 8:36 p.m.