Nic Petit wins Willow 300

Nicolas Petit shortly before the start of the 2018 Willow 300. Photo by Katie Writer – KTNA

Nic Petit has won the 2020 Willow 300 with a total time of forty-seven hours, eighteen minutes.

The Willow 300 is somewhat unique in that all the teams set off at once.  In most races, teams start on a staggered schedule.  The mass start took place Thursday morning at Willow Lake.  Teams then made their way through checkpoints at Scary Tree, Deshka, Amber Lake, and Trapper Creek before heading for the finish line at Susitna Landing.

Petit’s run put him across the finish line about half an hour before second-place finisher Brenda Mackey. Cim Smyth finished third, Tim Pappas finished fourth, and Jim Lanier finished fifth.

An earlier version of this story mistakenly stated that Travis Beals finished second in the 2020 Willow 300.  Beals did not compete in this year’s race.