Musher Details

2005 Iditarod » Mushers » Bill Cotter

Bill Cotter

Bib Number: 71
Hometown: Nenana, Alaska


Biography

Bill Cotter, 63, was born in New Hampshire. He moved to Alaska in 1970 and settled in Nenana in 1980. A retired electrician, Bill has been running dogs since 1971. He said at that time, Joe Redington, Sr. was his neighbor and Joe got him interested in dogs. He says, " I'm addicted to sled dogs and dog racing. I have raced dogs since 1971 and I still enjoy training and racing my dogs. I had a stroke in 2005 and was not able to race for two years. During that time, I raised and trained a new team and they are ready for the Iditarod and so am I." He won the Yukon Quest in 1987 and has completed 19 Iditarods, his best finish being third in 1995. He also won the Alaska Airlines Humanitarian award. He lists his hobbies as biking and fishing.

Sponsors

Ophir Gold Nutritional Products, WA
Parts Rack/Jon Brobst, WA
Merriam Family, CT


2005 Standings

Checkpoint Time In Dogs In Time Out Dogs Out Rest Time Previous Layover Status Distance
Enroute Time Speed (mph) 8hr 24hr
Anchorage 3/05 10:00:00 12 3/05 12:34:00 12 2h 34m
Campbell Airstrip 3/05 13:28:00 12 0h 54m
Willow 3/06 14:00:00 16 3/06 16:18:00 16 2h 18m 59
Yentna 3/06 20:06:00 16 16 3h 48m 11.84 45
Skwentna 3/06 23:18:00 16 3/07 05:17:00 16 5h 59m 34
Finger Lake 3/07 10:06:00 16 3/07 14:05:00 15 3h 59m 4h 49m 9.34 45
Rainy Pass 3/07 18:00:00 15 3/07 22:22:00 15 4h 22m 3h 55m 7.66 30
Rohn 3/08 04:30:00 15 3/08 12:31:00 14 8h 1m 6h 8m 7.83 48
Nikolai 3/09 04:02:00 14 3/09 04:24:00 14 0h 22m 15h 31m 5.99 93
McGrath 3/09 19:25:00 14 3/10 19:50:00 14 24h 25m 15h 1m 3.20 ✔ 48
Takotna 3/10 21:50:00 14 3/10 21:50:00 14 0h 0m 2h 0m 11.50 ✔ 23
Ophir 3/11 00:15:00 14 3/11 05:37:00 14 5h 22m 2h 25m 15.72 ✔ 38
Iditarod 3/11 23:17:00 14 3/12 06:55:00 14 7h 38m 17h 40m 5.09 ✔ 90
Shageluk 3/12 20:48:00 14 3/13 04:54:00 14 8h 6m 13h 53m 4.68 ✔ ✔ 65
Anvik 3/13 09:22:00 14 4h 28m 5.60 ✔ ✔ Scratched 25