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 | General Information
In 1925, a diphtheria epidemic threatened the town of Nome. The much needed serum was raced from Nenana to Nome by dog team. Twenty teams relayed the medicine 674 miles in 127.5 hours!
Today this historic event is commemorated with the world famous Iditarod Sled Dog Race. The competition starts in Anchorage on the first Saturday in March. The first musher arrives in Nome approximately 9-11 days later.
The Trail
Once used by ancient hunters, then by early 20th century gold seekers, the Iditarod is actually a network of more than 2,300 miles of trails now known as the Iditarod National Historic Trail.
The trail takes its name from the 19th century Athabascan Indian village on the Iditarod River near the site of a 1908 gold discovery. By 1910 a gold rush town flourished for a time and was the center of the Iditarod Mining District. Trails used for trade and commerce by Ingalik and Tanaina Indians were improved by and for the miners.
The southern terminus of the trail begins at Seward. White settlers entering the Territory at the port trekked through heavily forested lands, now part of the Chugach National Forest. The route eventually was surveyed by the railroad to connect Anchorage with Seward.
Gold seekers often bought provisions in Anchorage or the town of Knik as a prelude to sledding, hiking or snow-shoeing across Rainy Pass enroute to the various mining districts following news of each new strike.
Other adventurers actually started their travels in Nome. They may have worked the beaches panning for gold for a time before moving south. As the two end portions of the trail developed they met in the interior at the Iditarod Mining District.
The trail was officially surveyed by the U.S. Army's Alaska Road Commission in 1910 and dubbed the Seward to Nome Mail Trail. It was used as a major route until 1924 when the airplane came into use.
But in 1925, the dog team and driver recaptured the attention of the nation in a dramatic episode of courage and stamina. A diphtheria epidemic threatened the town of Nome, which was low on serum to inoculate the community. Plans to send a plane were thwarted by weather. Instead a relay of dog teams was dispatched from the town of Nenana down the Tanana and Yukon rivers to the Iditarod Trail. Twenty mushers carried the serum the 674 miles in 127 1/2 hours. The mushers became heroes. President Coolidge sent medals and Balto, the lead dog of the finishing team, was immortalized in statues across the country. The era of the sled dog went out in a blaze of glory.
The Iditarod Trail was forgotten for more than forty years until the 1960s when interest in racing was renewed. In 1967 the first Iditarod race was staged between Knik and Big Lake and return on nine miles of the old Iditarod Trail. Another race was held there in 1969. Then in 1973 the race was run between Anchorage and Nome.
History of the Red Lantern
During the days of Alaska sled dog freighting and mail carrying, dog drivers relied on a series of roadhouses between their village destinations. Since these mushers ventured out in all types of weather they decided to use a "flight plan." Word was relayed ahead that a musher and team were on the trail, and a kerosene lamp was lit and hung outside the roadhouse. It not only helped the dog driver find his destination at night, but more importantly, it signified that a team or teams were somewhere out on the trail. The lamp was not extinguished until the musher safely reached his destination.
Beginning in 1986, the tradition continued with the hanging of a "Red Lantern," as it is known today, on the burl arch in Nome. Each year the lantern is lit at the beginning of the race and hung on the finish line, not to be extinguished until the very last musher crosses the finish line. Once the musher crosses the line, (s)he then extinguishes the lantern, signifying the official end of the race. Thus, the last musher in the race is called the "Red Lantern" musher.
Iditarod
It is believed that the early Athabascan Indians called their inland hunting ground Haiditarod, "the distant place." Later when gold was discovered in the same area the miners founded the town at the Indians hunting camp, which they spelled Iditarod. In 1910 the Alaska Roads Commission brushed out and marked a trail from Nome through Iditarod and on to Seward, the major seaport in southcentral Alaska. Originally called the Seward Trail, it later became known as the Iditarod Trail.
Fact & Figures
Start Date:
The first Saturday in March each year
Entry Fee:
$1,850
Prize Money:
$650,000 ($68,571 to first place)
First Race:
Left Anchorage March 3, 1973. Won by Dick Wilmarth in just over 20 days.
Shortest Completed Time:
8 days,22 hours and 46 minutes in 2002 by Martin Buser.
Closest Finish:
1978 -- after two weeks on the trail, Dick Mackey beat Rick Swenson by only one second!
Distance:
1,049 is a symbolic figure. (A thousand mile race in the 49th State.) The actual milage is closer to 1,200 miles, depending upon the route taken. The Iditarod is the longest dog sled race in the world.
Checkpoints:
There are over 20 checkpoints along the trail where mushers must sign in and where each musher's 2,500 pounds of dog food has been distributed. A veterinarian is stationed at each checkpoint to provide care to the dogs.
First Woman to Win the Race:
Libby Riddles in 1985
Age Range of Mushers:
18 to 81 years
Possible Temperature Extremes During Race:
+45 ° F to -60 ° F
Iditarod Highlights
There are 27 checkpoints, the first in Anchorage, the last in Nome.
There are two routes, the Northern and the Southern. The trail alternates each year.
The teams average 16 dogs in size, which means that more than 1,000 dogs leave Anchorage for Nome each year.
The most mushers to finish the race was 63 in 1992.
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