Iditarod - Definition and Overview

The original 1925 route through Nenana is in gray, and the southern route of the modern race is in red (part of the National Historic Iditarod Trail.

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, usually called the "The Iditarod" and known as "The Last Great Race", is an annual Alaskan dog sled race, which runs more than 1,000 miles (1,600 km), frequently through blizzards and sub-zero weather, from Anchorage to Nome, in the United States. The race is the most popular sporting event in the state, and is a symbolic link to its early history. The Iditarod became famous largely because of media attention directed at Libby Riddles, a longshot who became the first woman to win the race in 1985; and then at Susan Butcher, who became the second woman to win the race in 1986, and went on to dominate the race for half a decade, winning a total of four out of five sequential races. The 2005 Iditarod race will start on March 5, at 10 AM Alaska Standard Time (UTC-9).

Route

The route was chosen to test the mettle of the sled dogs and their drivers ("mushers"), and passes through largely unpopulated tundra. While always longer than 1,000 miles, the trail is actually composed of a northern route, which is run on even-numbered years; and a southern route, which is run on odd-numbered years. Exact measured distances vary, but according to the official website the northern route is 1,036 miles long [1] (http://www.iditarod.com/n-miles.html), and the southern route is 1,131 miles long [2] (http://www.iditarod.com/s-miles.html). The length of the race is frequently rounded to either 1,050, 1,100, or 1,150 miles, or set at 1,049 miles, which honors Alaska's status as the 49th state. There are 26 checkpoints on the northern route, and 27 on the southern route.

The two routes follow the same route for 444 miles, from Anchorage to Ophir, where they diverge and then rejoin at Kaltag, 441 miles from Nome. The race originally used the northern route, but the southern route was added to distribute the impact of the event on the small villages in the area, none of which have more than a few hundred inhabitants. Passing through the historic town of Iditarod is a secondary benefit.

The race begins on Fourth Street, in downtown Anchorage. The drivers depart starting at 10 AM, separated by 2 minute intervals. The official finish line is the Red "Fox" Olson Trail Monument, more commonly known as the "burled arch", in Nome. The original burled arch lasted from 1975, until it was destroyed by dry rot and years of inclement weather in 2001. The new arch is a spruce log with two distinct burls, similar but not identical to the old arch. While the old arch spelled out "End of the Iditarod Dog Race", the new arch has an additional word: "End of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race".

A "Widow's Lamp" is lit and remains hanging on the arch until the last competitor crosses the finish line. The tradition is based on the kerosene lamp lit and hung outside a roadhouse, when a musher carrying goods or mail was enroute.

On the way to the arch, each musher passes down Front Street and past a saloon once owned by Wyatt Earp. The city's fire siren is sounded as each musher crosses the finish line. While the winner of the first race in 1973 completed the competition in just over 20 days, preparation of the trail in advance of the dog sled teams, and improvements in dog training have dropped the winning time to under 10 days, in every race since 1996. An awards banquet is held the Sunday after the winner's arrival.

History

The Iditarod started in 1967 as a 25-mile race near Anchorage, which celebrated the history and importance of dog sleds in Alaska. In 1973 the course was extended to Nome, and part of it followed the old Iditarod trail.

Statue in Anchorage of Balto, the lead sled dog during the final stretch of the serum run

The course from Anchorage to Nome is reminiscent of the famous diphtheria run of 1925, which relayed diphtheria serum from Anchorage to Nome to combat an outbreak of the disease. The antitoxin left Anchorage by train on January 26, and arrived at Nenana the next day. From there, a series of dog mushers carried it overland for a total of 260 miles, reaching Nome on February 2, 127.5 hours later. Although the Iditarod was not originally started to commemorate the diphtheria run, and the trail for the race does not follow the route the antitoxin took in 1925, the race is now inseparably connected with it.

The race is named for the ghost town of Iditarod, which it passes through. Iditarod was an Athabaskan Native American 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.

Controversy

The event is criticized by animal rights activists, most prominently by Margery Glickman, because dogs have died and been injured during the race. The practice of tethering dogs on short chains, which is commonly used by mushers at checkpoints and dog drops, is also criticized.

Records and awards

Dick Wilmarth won the first race in 1973, in 20 days, 0 hours, 49 minutes, and 41 seconds. The fastest winning time is Martin Buser's 2002 finish, in 8 days, 22 hours, 46 minutes, and 2 seconds. The closest finish was the 1978 victory by Dick Mackey. The win is controversial, because while the nose of his lead dog crossed the finish line one second ahead of Rick Swenson's lead dog, Swenson's body crossed the finish line first.

The first musher to win four races was Rick Swenson, in 1982. In 1991 he became the only person to win five times, and the only musher to win the race in three different decades. Susan Butcher, Doug Swingley, and Martin Buser are the only four-time winners.

Mary Shields was the first woman to complete the race, in 1974. In 1985 Libby Riddles was the only musher to brave a blizzard, becoming the first woman to win the race. She was featured in Vogue, and named the Professional Sportswoman of the Year by the Women's Sports Foundation. Susan Butcher withdraw from the same race after two of her dogs were killed by a moose, but became the second woman to win the race the next year, and subsequently won three of the next four races. Butcher is the second musher to win four races, and the only musher to place in either first or second place for five straight years.

Doug Swigley of Montana was the first non-Alaskan to win the race, in 1995. While mushers from 14 countries have competed in Iditarod races, the 2003 win by the Norwegian Robert Sorlie is the first and only time a non-American has won the race.

The "Golden Harness" is given to the lead dog or dogs of the winning team. The "Rookie of the Year" award is given to the musher who places the best among those finishing their first Iditarod. A red lantern signifying perseverance is awarded to the last musher to cross the finish line. The top 20 finishers get a cash prize.

List of Iditarod winners

See also

• Mushing
• Sled dog
• Dogsled
• Balto

External links

• The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race (http://www.iditarod.com/). (official site)
  • "The 1925 Serum Run to Nome (http://www.iditarod.com/serum_run.html)"
• Sled Dog Action Coalition (http://www.helpsleddogs.org/). Margery Glickman, Director. (website against the Iditarod)
  • "The Iditarod: fact, not fiction (http://sunhusky.com/Facts/)". John Bramante. (rebuttal)