Recently, it’s been hard to rely on many things that would normally be routine. Among many springtime traditions that will not occur this year, the Iditarod Trail Committee announced late last week that the ceremonial start of the race in Anchorage would not take place. It turns out one thing that could still be relied upon in the mushing world, though, is Nic Petit winning the Willow 300 sled dog race.
Petit has won every iteration of the Willow 300 since it began just a few years ago. In past years, the race began with a mass start, meaning all the teams set off at once. This year, the Willow 300 began in the way most other races do, with mushers leaving the starting line at Deshka Landing every two minutes.
After setting off on Thursday, Nic Petit crossed the finish line at Sheep Creek Lodge early Saturday after noon. He was about twenty-five minutes ahead of second-place finisher Travis Beals.
A total of thirty-one teams and mushers finished this year’s race, including Talkeetna resident and Iditarod veteran Anja Radano , who finished twentieth. The race’s final finisher, Eric Kelly, made it to Sheep Creek lodge early Sunday afternoon, almost exactly seventy-two hours after the Willow 300 began.
