What is the Iditarod?
The Iditarod is an Alaskan dog race that begins on the first Saturday in March. According to James Kari, Assistant Professor, University of Alaska Native Language Center in 1979: “The name Iditarod came from an Ingalik and Holikachuk word hidedhod for the Iditarod River. This name means distant or distant place. This word is still known by elders in the villages of Shageluk, Anvik, Grayling and Holy Cross.” source: http://www.worldbookonline.com/wb/Media?id=lr004765&st=Iditarod (By subscription only) The Iditarod has 26 checkpoints and has 87 different musher teams. The Iditarod has different routes each year: one for- even years and another one for odd years. In order to win the race, at least 8 dogs and their musher must make to the finish line. At the very least, everyone gets a $1,049.00 prize.The reason why the prize is $1,049.00 is because there are at least 1,000 miles in the race and Alaska is the 49th state in the U.S.A. Joe Redington, Sr. is the father of the Iditarod. He is
The Iditarod is an annual dog sled race that takes place on the Iditarod Trail between Anchorage, Alaska and Nome, Alaska. The Iditarod isn’t just any race; it’s a race that pairs humans, or mushers, with their sled dogs as they make their way across well over 1100 miles (1769 kilometers) of some of the roughest, coldest wilderness in North America. The Iditarod has been called “The Last Great Race on Earth” and it got its start in 1973 with a total winning purse of $25,000 US Dollars (USD). An extraordinary race that mushers from all over the world and all walks of life participate in, the Iditarod was the brainchild of Dorothy G. Page. Conceived by her intrigue and interest with Alaskan history, Page approached a sled dog enthusiast, Joe Redington, Sr. with her idea of running a sled dog race over the Iditarod Trail, which was first used as a mail and supply route during Alaska’s earliest development. The race is designed to pay tribute to Alaska’s history and heroic mushers and dogs
