Where does the race run?
Although the old Iditarod trail actually started in Seward, the race currently starts in Anchorage and runs to Nome, the traditional northern end of the Iditarod Trail. The race trail crosses the Alaska Mountain Range at Rainy Pass, the highest point on the trail at elevation 3,500 feet, and then crosses the Alaskan interior to meet the Yukon River. The race trail takes one of two routes as it crosses the interior and runs on the Yukon River. In even numbered years, the race heads north from the cold camp of Ophir and reaches the Yukon at Ruby. The trail turns down river for 150 miles to Kaltag. In odd numbered years, the trail heads south from Ophir and meets up with the Yukon River just south of the village of Anvik. From Anvik, the trail follows the Yukon up river for 150 miles to Kaltag Once at Kaltag, the two trails meet and are the same to Nome. From Kaltag, the trail follows the Old Woman Portage to Unalakleet on the Bering Sea Coast. From Unalakleet, the trail follows the Berin
