Iditarod

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is an annual long-distance sled dog race held in Alaska, widely regarded as the most famous sled dog event in the world. The race typically runs each March, covering roughly 1,000 miles between Anchorage and Nome, with mushers and teams of up to sixteen dogs travelling through mountains, forests, frozen rivers and Arctic tundra.

First run in 1973, the race was created to test the skill of mushers and the endurance of their dogs while commemorating the historic freight routes that once connected remote communities across Alaska. These trails were originally used by Indigenous peoples and later by miners and traders during the late-nineteenth-century gold rush.

Today the Iditarod is both a major sporting event and a celebration of Alaska’s mushing heritage. Teams typically take 8 to 15 days to complete the journey, racing from checkpoint to checkpoint across some of the most challenging winter terrain in North America. The event attracts international attention each year and remains one of the defining traditions of modern sled dog racing.