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March 7 - 17, 2009. Since 1973, the world’s top mushers have gathered in Alaska to tackle the Iditarod’s 1,150-mile trail, which stretches from Anchorage to Nome, across mountain ranges, frozen rivers, dense forests, desolate tundra and windswept coastline.

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, known as the “Last Great Race”, is an annual dog sled race in Alaska, where mushers and teams of dogs cover more than 1,000 miles in less than two weeks, frequently through blizzards causing whiteout conditions, and sub-zero weather and gale-force winds which can cause the wind chill to reach minus 100 F.

This year, seventy-three mushers have signed up to run the race including 18 women. Keep an eye on some of the veteran female competitiors including DeeDee Jonrowe who has been mushing for over 20 years; Judy Currier, a member of the Two Rivers Dog Mushers; Aliy Zirkle winner of the Yukon Quest in 2000; and Oregonian http://www.rachaelscdoris.com/">Rachel Scdoris who is legally blind.

The youngest woman to compete in the Iditarod is 19 year old Melissa Owens and the oldest is 58 year old Nancy Yoshida. A Junior Iditarod was run last week for mushers 14 -17 years of age and this year the field boasted more girls than boys.

On the trail, every musher has a different tactic. Each one has a special menu for feeding and snacking the dogs. Each one has a different strategy — some run in the daylight, some run at night. Each one has a different training schedule and his own ideas on dog care, dog stamina and his own personal ability.

Some mushers spend an entire year getting ready and raising the money needed to get to Nome. Some prepare around a full-time job. In addition to planning the equipment and feeding needs for up to three weeks on the trail, hundreds of hours and hundreds of miles of training have to be put on each team.

The adventure starts this Saturday. Follow along at the official site of the Iditarod.

Fast Facts

Did You Know?
Iditarod dogs are not driven with reins, but by spoken commands. The leader of the team must understand all that is said to him and guide the others accordingly. An intelligent leader is an absolute necessity. At times it appears that there is ESP between musher and lead dog. Don’t be surprised if you hear a musher have an in-depth conversation with her lead dog.

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