thekozs: The Iditarod

Saturday (Mar. 3rd) was the begining of the 35th Iditarod. The Last Great Race, as it is called started in 1973 to bring back the Alaskan history of dog sledding. Originally it ran from Achorage to Nome. Now there is a cerimonial start in Anchorage (which was Saturday) and the official start was the next day north of a town called Wasilla. The trail they use is called the Iditarod Trail and is a national historical trail designated by Congress. The trail was used for transporting food, mail, supplies and in 1925 the diphtheria serum. That is where the story of Balto comes from. Each town along the route gave their best musher and team to carry the serum. Gunnar Kassen ran the final 2 legs through a blizzard and 80 mph winds behind his lead dog, Balto. They estimated 10,000 people there to watch this historic race today. People came from all over the world to participate in the race. To date there have been over 400 participants and this year there are 83 teams on their way!