The Iditarod - the last great race

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race first ran to Nome in 1973, after two short races (approx 28 miles) on part of the Iditarod Trail in 1967 and 1969. The idea of having a race over the Iditarod Trail was conceived.

To date, there have been over 400 finishers. Mushers have come from all over the world.  The race has started in downtown Anchorage since 1983. The teams leave the start line at the corner of 4th and "D" streets at two minute intervals, starting at 10:00 a.m. the first Saturday in March. The mushers follow bike trails through Anchorage and out to Tudor Road. They mush along the Glenn Highway into the VFW Post 9785 in Eagle River, about 17 miles from the start. From there the dogs are loaded into dog trucks and taken home for the night. While the race actually starts in Anchorage, in 1995, the rules were changed so that the Anchorage to Eagle River portion does not count in the overall time to Nome.

A "widow's lamp" is lit in Nome, at the trails end, at the start of the race 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. The lamp hangs at the official finish line and following trail traditions, will remain lit until the last musher crosses the finish line. On Sunday, mushers will again line up at the designated restart location. At 10:00 a.m., the first team will depart on its way to Nome. Teams leave the starting line at two-minute intervals.

The race route is alternated every other year. Even years going north from Ophir through Cripple, Ruby and Galena. Odd years going south from Ophir through Iditarod, Shageluk, and Anvik.

No one knows the true distance of the race for sure, because the trail weaves through the natural terrain and its routing is often affected by weather. Race officials use 1,049 as the symbolic distance (Alaska was the 49th state to be admitted to the union) but most estimates suggest the trail is at least 1,100 miles long. One characteristic emerging in the first Iditarod has persisted. The race is for everybody, the fast and the slow. For many, the most coveted prize of all is earning an Iditarod finisher's belt buckle.