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Iditarod

Dogs & Mushers Team Up to Challenge Nature

Each year on the first Sunday in March a ritual of stamina and courage begins.

In Anchorage, Alaska teams of huskies - 16 to each sled - and the mushers who guide them, join to run the Iditarod.

A grueling run through the Alaskan landscape that covers a route first used by early settlers to transport supplies is now one of the most popular dogsled races in the world.

The Iditarod has a long and colorful history. The first Iditarod Race began on March 3, 1873 with 34 teams. At the end of the race, 32 days later, only 22 teams crossed the finish line. This is no race for the faint hearted. The race crosses two mountain ranges, follows the Yukon River and leads the sleds over the frozen waters of Norton Sound.

The route alternates every year. In even numbered years the Iditarod is run heading North from Ophir through Cripple, Ruby and Galena. In odd-numbered years the dogsleds head South from Ophir through Iditarod, Shageluk, and Anvik.

The dogsled teams have twenty six checkpoints on the route. Three of those checkpoints are in such harsh country that the only time people are there is during the race. The rest of the year they are uninhabited.

Iditarod History & Trivia

Who are the people who have the endurance to run the Iditarod?

The youngest mushers to compete in the Iditarod were Tim Osmar, who turned 18 just three weeks before the race in 1985, and Ellie Claus who turned 18 just 12 days before the 2004 race began.

Col. Norman D. Vaughan competed in 1992 at the age of 86 making him the oldest musher ever. Compared to him the 63 year old Jim Lanier, the oldest entrant in 2004, was a youngster.

The race was an informal affair for years. The Iditarod became so popular that an official race was born and in 1973 records started being kept. The record for the slowest winner of the modern race is held by Carl Huntington. He won the race in 20 days, 15 hours, two minutes and seven seconds in 1974. In 2002 Martin Buser won with the fastest recorded time of eight days, 22 hours, 46 minutes and two seconds. That's some fast mushing!

If you think running the Iditarod is a once in a lifetime affair, ask Rick Swenson who has completed the course 26 times. Martin Buser & DeeDee Jonrowe have run 20 Iditarods apiece. Rick Mackey has 19 runs to his credit and John Barron & Bill Cotter are 17 time Iditarod mushers.

The closest finish was in 1978, when Mackey’s time -- 14 days, 18 hours, 52 minutes and 24 seconds -- beat Swenson by one second. Rick Swenson is the only five-time Iditarod winner, the only musher to win in three decades and the only musher to complete 26 of 31 Iditarods. Susan Butcher and Doug Swingley, both four-time champions, are the only two mushers to have won three consecutive races.

The dogs and mushers don't compete just for the thrill or the glory. The Iditarod traditionally pays the highest purse in sled dog racing, a total of US$7,622,049 has been paid out in 31 races. Martin Buser is the all time money winner, having won $539,531 in his 20 races.

But if you think anyone would compete in an Iditarod just for the prize, you should plan on a visit to Alaska during the race. The entire countryside that the race covers focuses on providing support and encouragement to the dogsled teams. Visitors who come to enjoy the race are welcomed with enough warmth to thaw the frozen Alaskan landscape, but not before the Iditarod goes by!

Visit These Related Web Sites to Learn More About the Iditarod...

Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race

The Iditarod @ WorkingDogWeb

Travel Alaska - State of Alaska Travel & Vacation Information

also see -> Dogs & Puppies | Dogsledding