What is the Iditarod? The Iditarod is a race that happens in Alaska. The race is done by a person on a dog sled, with dogs pulling the racer. The traditional dog is an Alaskan husky, but not all of them are. The Iditarod race covers about 1,000 miles. It starts in Willow, Alaska and ends in Nome, Alaska on the Bering Sea coast.

In 1925, part of the Iditarod trail became a life saving highway for an epidemic-stricken Nome. Diphtheria threatened the people and serum had to be brought in. This was done by dog mushers and their hard-driving dogs because there were no roads to the village of Nome. Throughout the years, the sled dogs were important to day to day life for the villages and throughout Alaska, because the lack of roads. There were two reasons for organizing the long-distance Iditarod race: to save the sled dog culture and Alaskan Huskies. They were being phased out of existence due to the introduction of snowmobiles in Alaska. Another reason was to preserve the historic Iditarod trail between Willow and Nome. The Iditarod dog sled race has grown over time and helped to accomplish the goals of preserving the tradition of the Alaskan culture.

This year the race starts on March 5th at 2pm. Normally the race takes 9 to12 days. The mushers and dogs can be followed online.

Referenced from http://www.Iditarod.com