Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race

Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, annual dogsled race run in March between Anchorage and Nome, Alaska, U.S. The race can attract more than 100 participants and their teams of dogs, and both male and female mushers (drivers) compete together. A short race of about 25 miles (40 km) was organized in 1967 as part of the centennial celebration of the Alaska Purchase and evolved in 1973 into the current race. The architects of the race were Dorothy G. Page, chairman of one of Alaska’s centennial committees, and Joe Redington, Sr., a musher and kennel owner; they are known as the mother and father of the Iditarod. Enthusiasts call it the “last great race on Earth.”

2010 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race

The course of the race, roughly 1,100 miles (1,770 km) long, partially follows the old Iditarod Trail dogsled mail route blazed from the coastal towns of Seward and Knik to the goldfields and mining camps of northwestern Alaska in the early 1900s. Sled teams delivered mail and supplies to such towns as Nome and Iditarod and carried out gold. The trail declined in use in the 1920s, when the airplane began to replace the dogsled as the primary means of crossing the difficult terrain. But when no capable pilot was available during Alaska’s diphtheria epidemic of 1925, a team of mushers battled blizzard conditions and rushed serum to icebound Nome. This heroic action, called the “Great Race of Mercy,” brought renewed international fame to the trail and the dog teams, particularly to Balto, the lead dog of the team that finally reached Nome. In memory of the serum run’s principal musher, Leonhard Seppala, the Iditarod was originally called the Iditarod Trail Seppala Memorial Race. Today’s race commemorates both the serum run and Alaska’s frontier past, and it is patterned after the famed All Alaska Sweepstakes Race between Nome and Candle that began in 1908.

The Iditarod crosses two mountain ranges (the Alaska and the Kuskokwim ranges), runs along the Yukon River for 150 miles (241 km), and crosses frozen waterways, including the pack ice of Norton Sound. The course length and route vary slightly from year to year, and the middle third takes alternate routes in odd and even years. Beginning with the 2008 race, the ceremonial start in Anchorage was shortened by 7 miles (11 km), and the competitive starting point was officially moved 30 miles (48 km) north from Wasilla to Willow because of the effects of global warming on the Alaskan snow cover. In 2015, because of the lack of snow south of the Alaska Range, the competitive starting point was moved north to Fairbanks, which changed the course and shortened its length by more than 100 miles (160 km). The original Iditarod Trail was designated a national historic trail in 1978.

The race has been criticized by animal-rights activists and others concerned about fatalities and injuries to the dogs. These critics claim that at least 114 dogs died during the first three decades of the race. But no top teams have ever lost a dog, and superior performance by a dogsled team is a reflection of superior day-to-day care on the trail. The Iditarod has increased mandatory rest stops, the amount of dog food at race checkpoints, and the authority of race veterinarians and officials to protect dogs.

Dallas Seavey

The Iditarod is the premier event in dogsled racing. The greatest challenge of the Iditarod is putting together a team of 12–16 dogs and a musher capable of overcoming all the obstacles and unexpected problems that present themselves along the course. In its early years the race was a 20-day event, but today most teams finish in less than 10 days. The increased speed can be attributed to enhanced nutrition for the dogs and the run/rest strategy that mushers employ. There have been some changes to the equipment, but the basics of sleds and harnesses are the same as they were years ago. Among the race’s greatest mushers are Rick Swenson, Susan Butcher, Doug Swingley, and Dallas Seavey.

The Iditarod has grown in fame and media attention over the years, and many of the mushers today enjoy corporate sponsorship. But, for the participants, the romance of the race remains firmly rooted in the haunting beauty of the frozen and inhospitable landscape experienced with just a dog team for company.