In Nome on Wednesday (March 18) evening, Bethel musher Pete Kaiser came in ninth place in the 2026 Iditarod.
It’s the 38-year-old musher's 15th running of the race and a return to the roster after taking last year off.
The ninth place victory is another notch in Kaiser’s history of consistently ranking within the top 10 finishers in the field. Seven years ago, Kaiser pulled even farther ahead, taking first place as the Iditarod champion. This year’s title went to Brushkana musher Jessie Holmes, who secured his second consecutive win of the race late on March 17.
Earlier in the day, Kaiser appeared poised for a tenth place finish. In the final half hour of his ten day race, Kaiser ran head-to-head with Canadian musher Michelle Phillips. Kaiser began to close the gap along the final two miles of Bering Sea ice trail before ultimately pulling ahead of Phillips. He secured a ninth place finish after a week and a half traversing Alaska's interior and Seward Peninsula.
At the Unalakleet checkpoint along the second half of the trail, Kaiser told Iditarod Insider that the race had shaped up to be "a tough Iditarod" for his team. Along the trail, several dogs on Kaiser's team became sick. Kaiser began dropping dogs one day into the race and appeared to supplement by taking extra rest at or between checkpoints to allow his reduced team to recoup.
As the evening sun dazzled and dipped along Front Street, Kaiser passed the Nome finish arch with half of his starting team on the line.
But the eight-dog team appeared perky and were soon rewarded for their 1000-mile triumph as Kaiser dispersed chunks of meat soon after crossing through the finish.
Kaiser was greeted in the finish chute by family, close friends, and a small gathering of race fans.
It was Kaiser’s first Iditarod run since becoming a title holder champion of his hometown race, the Kuskokwim 300. His decision to register in the Iditarod came shortly after his victory, and just three weeks before the Iditarod was slated to start. He told KYUK he “felt like going down the trail again." Kaiser said he felt confident in his team and the training they had under their belt, working hard for the K300 and in mostly favorable conditions along the Y-K Delta.
