Iditarod

   

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The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, usually called "the Iditarod", is an annual dog sled race in Alaska. It started in 1967 as a 25 mile race near Anchorage to celebrate the history and importance of dog sleds in Alaska. In 1973 the course was extended to Nome with part of it following the old Iditarod trail. The course from Anchorage to Nome is reminiscent of the famous diphtheria run of 1925. This was a relay to transport diphtheria antitoxin from Anchorage to Nome to combat an outbreak of the disease. The antitoxin went by train from Anchorage to Nenana then a series of dog mushers took it overland a total of 260 miles in 127-1/2 hours. Although the Iditarod was not originally started to commemorate the diphtheria run the race is now inseparably connected with it.

The trail for the race does not follow the route the vaccine took in 1925 but, instead, a trail through largely unpopulated tundra that was chosen to test the mettle of the sled dogs and their drivers. It is named for the ghost town of Iditarod, Alaska, it passes through, which was an Athabascan Indian village before gold was discovered nearby in 1908; a town was built there which became the center of the Iditarod Mining District in 1910, but it did not outlast the local gold-rush.

In 1982 Rick Swenson became the first musher to win four races. On March 20, 1985 Libby Riddles became the first woman to win the race. In 1986 Susan Butcher became the second woman to win the race. She subsequently won three of the next four races becoming the second musher to win four races. The Iditarod became famous largely because of media attention directed at Susan Butcher. In 1991 Rick Swenson won a fifth time, the only musher to do so.

Controversy

The event is criticized by animal rights activists, as dogs dying because of exhaustion during the trail are rather common. In the Iditarod, dogs are forced to run 1,150 miles, which is the approximate distance between Winnipeg and Montreal, Canada or between New York City and Miami, FL, USA, over a grueling terrain in 8 to 15 days. Dog deaths and injuries are common in the race.

Iditarod winners

Past winners: ( Musher & Lead dog(s) - Duration day-h-min-s)


Image:iditarod_map.jpg
1925 route through Nenana in gray
Race trail through Iditarod in red

See also

External links

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