This winter, on the first day of March 2002, my travels will take me back to Anchorage, Alaska to watch the preparations and the kick-off of the Iditarod, a musher's race, which starts Saturday, March 2, 2002. I have either attended the race or watched it on television religiously for the last ten years and attending again this year will be a thrill for me.

You can't compare the Iditarod to any other competitive event in the world! It's a race of over 1150 miles (actually over 1000 miles plus 49 token miles added to signify Alaska as our 49th state) of the roughest, most beautiful terrain Mother Nature has to offer. She throws jagged mountain ranges, frozen river, dense forest, desolate tundra and miles of windswept coast at the mushers and their dog teams. Add to that temperatures far below zero, winds that can cause a complete loss of visibility, the hazards of overflow, long hours of darkness and treacherous climbs and side hills, and you have the Iditarod. A RACE EXTRAORDINAIRE, a race only possible in Alaska.

From Anchorage, in south central Alaska, to Nome on the western Bering Sea coast, each team of 12 to 16 dogs and their musher cover over 1150 miles in 10 to 17 days. It has been called the "Last Great Race on Earth" and it has won worldwide acclaim and interest. German, Spanish, British, Japanese and American film crews have covered the event. Journalists from the outdoors magazines, adventure magazines, newspapers and wire services flock to Anchorage and Nome to record the excitement. It's not just a dog sled race; it's a race in which unique men and woman compete. Mushers enter from all walks of life. Fishermen, lawyers, doctors, miners, artists, natives, Canadians, Swiss, French and others; men and women each with their own story, each with their own reasons for going the distance. It's a race organized and run primarily by volunteers, thousands of volunteers, men and women, students and village residents. They man headquarters at Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Nome and Wasilla, act as checkers and fly volunteers, veterinarians, dog food and supplies, coordinators, and family supporters of each musher.

The Iditarod, 'The Last Great Race on Earth', is the spirit of Alaska! More than a race, it's a commemoration, a race that pits man and animal against nature, against the wildness of Alaska at her best. As each mile is covered, a tribute to Alaska's past is issued. The Iditarod is a tie to a commemoration of that colorful past.

The Iditarod Trail, now a National Historic Trail, had its beginnings as a mail and supply route from the coastal towns of Seward and Knik to the interior mining camps at Flat, Ophir, Ruby and beyond to the west coast communities of Unalakleet, Elim, Golovin, White Mountain and Nome. Mail and supplies went in. Gold came out. All via dog sled. Heroes were made and legends were born.

In 1925, part of the Iditarod Trail became a life saving highway for epidemic-stricken Nome. Diphtheria threatened and serum had to be brought in; again by intrepid dog mushers and their faithful hard-driving dogs. The Iditarod is a commemoration of those yesterdays, a not so distant past that Alaskans honor and are proud of.

Every other year, the race route is alternated. The even years the race goes north through Cripple, Ruby and Galena. The odd years the race goes south through Iditarod, Shakeup, and Anvil. This year I'll be there to help kick-off the event for all Alaska. I'll be at the starting line, Anchorage, a city of over 250,000 people, streetlights, freeways and traffic. From there the field of dog teams which grow in number each year, this year runs the route north encompassing large metropolitan areas and small native villages. It causes a yearly spurt of activity, increased airplane traffic and excitement to areas otherwise quiet and dormant during the long Alaskan winter. Everyone gets involved; from very young school children to the old timers who relive the colorful Alaskan past they've known as they watch each musher and his team. The race is an educational opportunity and an economic stimulus to these small Alaskan outposts, which beckons the teams west through the arctic tundra.

EDITOR'S NOTE:
The Iditarod Race is Nate's passion and he will be writing a series about that event up to the time of the race itself.