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The Last Great Race on Earth

© Meg Greene Malvasi

Howling winds do not stop them. Nor do blinding snowstorms, jagged mountain ranges, frozen rivers or the threat of wild animal attacks. Battling the elements and themselves, the teams of "mushers" and their dogs from all over the world come to compete in a grueling, 1151 mile contest between Anchorage and Nome, Alaska. At stake: bragging rights and the personal satisfaction to have competed in what many people call the "Last Great Race on Earth" the Iditarod.

It is unlike any other race in the world and a race possible only in Alaska. Besides taking on some of the most challenging physical terrain in North America, dog teams and their drivers must also contend with below-zero temperatures, winds that can cause a complete loss of visibility and long hours of darkness. From Anchorage, in south central Alaska, to Nome on the western Bering Sea coast, each team of 12 to 16 dogs and their "musher," or driver, cover over 1150 miles. The racecourse crosses two mountain ranges, the Alaska and the Kuskokwim, runs along the Yukon River for 150 miles, and crosses frozen waterways. But besides being an exciting competition, the Iditarod symbolizes something much more important. It is a reminder to the people of Alaska of some of the most exciting times of their history; a history that was in danger of becoming completely forgotten.

The Iditarod refers to the Iditarod Trail which during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries served as a mail and supply route from the coastal towns of Alaska such as Seward, to the interior mining camps and towns and on to the west coast settlements such as Nome. Mail and supplies went transported in, while gold was carried out. Carrying these precious commodities were dog teams, then the fastest form of transportation available in frontier Alaska. In 1925, the Iditarod Trail took on an even more important task; people stricken with diphtheria in Nome relied on the life-saving serum brought in by the dog mushers and their hard working dog teams.

The idea of having a race over the Iditarod Trail was the brainstorm of the late Dorothy G. Page. In 1967 Page was working on projects to celebrate Alaska's Centennial Year and was intrigued by the stories of the courageous dog teams that were so important to the settling of the state. Page also realized that by this time, most Alaskans were not even aware of the role that the Iditarod Trail or the dog teams played in Alaskan history. With the help of Joe Redington, a noted kennel owner in the area, Page's enthusiasm soon caught on and in 1967 a short dog sled race was run, followed by another short race in 1969. In 1973, thanks to the U.S. Army, who had cleared and marked much of the trail for winter exercises the year before, the first Iditarod race was run. 34 mushers started the 1049 mile race. The winning team completed the rigorous journey arriving in Nome in only 20 days. Three years later, in 1976 the U.S. Congress designated the original Iditarod Trail as a National Historic Trail, adding to the slowly growing prestige of the race.

The copyright of the article The Last Great Race on Earth in History For Children is owned by Meg Greene Malvasi. Permission to republish The Last Great Race on Earth in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.