The Iditarod

The Iditarod, known as the Last Great Race on Earth, covers over 1150 miles from Anchorage to Nome. Each musher has a team of 12 to 16 dogs.

Joe Redington, Sr., is known as the father of the Iditarod. Redington, a native of Oklahoma, moved to Alaska in 1948 after serving in World War II. In Alaska, the Oklahoma homesteader was a big game guide, bush pilot, commercial fisherman, boat builder, fish plant manager, and mountain climber. His big love, however, was dogs and dog mushing. In 1979, at 

age 62, he mushed a dog team to the summit of Mount McKinley. Thanks to his tenacity, the Iditarod evolved into the event it is today.

The Iditarod has evolved into a highly competitive sport. In 1973, the winning time was 20 days, 49 minutes, and 41 seconds. In 2009, Lance Mackey covered the same distance in 9 days, 21 hours, 38 minutes, and 40 seconds! Mackey, who is a cancer survivor, won the race in 2007, 2008, and 2009.

Several women have won the race as well--some more than once. The most famous one is Susan Butcher. 

Tom got the feel of dog sledding by riding behind eight dogs at the Alaska Iditarod headquarters. The dogs pulled a rubber-tired cart around a short track while the musher steered from the back of the cart.

Anita fell in love with some future sled dogs, two of a litter of five pups. Dogs used in the Iditarod are selectively and specifically bred for the race. They represent a winning mushers' kennel. Obviously, winning the Iditarod does great things for the value of your kennel's pups.