Racing

= = **Racing ** =__Iditarod History __=

"IDITAROD Alaskan sled-dog race, named for the now-deserted gold-rush town of Iditarod."

Long ago in Alaska's winter, traveling by dog team was one of the only means of transportation for many people, especially native villages, so the Iditarod Trail was commonly used for commute across Alaska. In 1964,a woman named Dorothy Page, chairman of the Wasilla-Knik Centennial Committee had the idea of holding a mushing race on the popular trail, and Joe Redington Sr. was her first main support for this idea. Redington and his wife were very interested in historical events involving the Iditarod Trail, and thought that the race would help preserve the historic gold rush and get it known nationally. The Pages and Redingtons worked very hard together to put together a sprint sled dog race. In 1967 and 1969 a two heat, 56 mile race between Big Lake and Knik took place, but after that the interest was gone. Joe Redington stayed motivated, and envisioned the first long-distance race. Mushers discussed for hours and hours, and 2 of those mushers were Tom Johnson, and Gleo Hyuck. Joe Redington, Tom Johnson, and Gleo Hyuck generated the first long distance race, and by 1973 a whole new race was born. This was the first time the Iditarod race went all the way to Nome. Joe Redington's two reasons for designing this long distance race was first, to save the mushing culture, and secondly to preserve the historical Iditarod trail.

=__Iditarod Today __=

Today, the Iditarod Sled Dog Race starts in Anchorage, Alaska on the first Saturday of March. Mushers leave the starting line in 2 minute intervals, and the race ends when the last musher racing crosses the finnish line in Nome. There are usually 65 dog teams who compete, and they normally finnish in 9-12 days. Many mushers train very hard every year for this race. It is know as "the last great race on earth". It starts in Anchorage, and weaves through Alaska all the way to Nome. It is the most popular sporting event in Alaska, and is 1,049 miles long.

=__Sportsmanship __=

Gear is critical in mushing, and if certain things go wrong, or gear is lost, a musher can be in serious trouble. Good sportsmanship in racing is a very important thing to have, and even if they are your greatest competitor, it is the obvious right thing to do if they need help. Alaska has many natural obstacles, so when traveling by dog team all the way across it, it is common to run in to tough situations. At the end of the race, the Fred Meyer Sportsmanship award is givin to one of the mushers, chosen by the other mushers based on who had the best sportmanship. Even though people and their dog teams are competitivlely racing across Alaska, the mushers have a certain bond with each other, and understanding of what everyone else is going through. For these reasons, they would not question helping someone, or even saving someones life even if it meant losing time.

=__Training a Dog Team to Mush __= Training dogs for long distance races is a long process, and a lot of hard work for both the musher and the dogs. Here are the steps that go into training new sled dogs.

-When you first start training your dog team for the Iditarod, mushers must start with short 1 mile runs at night so it is cooler, and start working up to longer runs. -Make sure to train every day. Don't train for more that 25 miles on a 4 wheeler at a time. -Start training on sleds when it snows, and increase the work out by 5 miles each time. -By December 1st, dogs should be able to run 50 miles at a time. Practice running 50 miles, rest 6 hours, and run another 50. -Start practicing staying overnight with the team, and managing the gear. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">-Start having the dogs be able to run 100 miles at a time, until you're ready for the qualifying race, and then the Iditarod.

__**<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Dogs Training **__
<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">To get the idea of this video, only watch the first 20 seconds or so.

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