Current Iditarod Champion Pete Kaiser is gearing up for another bid at winning the 1,000 mile sled dog race.
While Pete's busy schedule didn’t allow him to sit down for an interview before he headed off to Anchorage, he did give a hint of how training was going for him just before the start of the Kuskokwim 300 sled dog race in January.
"It’s been a good, enjoyable year. Definitely more recognition and opportunity, but we’ve tried to stay as focused as possible on our main goal of putting together a good dog team this year and not be distracted with things that come with winning the Iditarod," said Pete.
Winter started slowly in Bethel. Icy rain coated the streets and tundra in November, keeping Pete indoors for much of the month. Finally, around mid-December, temperatures dipped way below zero and stayed there, freezing pipes and the Kuskokwim River, the main race route for the K300. For the main part of January, Pete trained with his father, Ron Kaiser, on snowmachines.
"I had a new snowmachine this year that had zero miles on in November when we started using it," said Pete. "I think I’ve got 1,400 on it [now], and that’s exclusively from dog mushing."
Pete hasn’t had a handler this year, so Ron stepped in to help him out. Ron says that nothing has really changed since Pete’s Iditarod win, but he wants to make sure that his son gets that second Iditarod championship
"I wanted him to be as strong with his team in defending his championship. I just didn’t want him to be behind the 8-ball training-wise," said Ron.
Ron ran some of Pete’s dogs in the Bogus Creek 150 while Pete ran the Kuskokwim 300. Pete won that race for the fifth time while maintaining a comfortable lead in front of 2019 K300 champion Matt Failor. Now it remains to be seen if Pete and his team can earn a second Iditarod championship amid a very competitive field that includes fellow Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta mushers Richie Diehl and Jessica Klejka, as well as the best trail conditions that race officials say the Iditarod has seen in years.