The Last
Great Race
What it Takes to Compete in the Annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog
Race
National Geographic Education
Topic: Training/Preparation, Trail,
Citation:
Thornton, Stuart. "The Last Great
Race." National Geographic.
National Geographic Society. Web. 31 Dec 2013.
<http://www.nationalgeographic.com/iditarod/
A 1,150-mile race over mountain passes, frozen rivers, and
inhospitable tundra, the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is one of the most
grueling competitions in the world. In fact, its nickname is “The Last Great
Race.”
The annual contest finds seasoned athletes, called mushers, steering dog sleds
pulled by between 12 to 16 sled dogs. The mushers and their teams race from
Alaska’s largest city, Anchorage, northward to Nome on the state’s far-flung
Seward Peninsula. The race always begins on the first Saturday in March. For
most teams, the Iditarod takes from 10 to 17 tiring days to complete. The Iditarod begins on Saturday, March 6, 2010.
Even though the terrain can be trying, Jeff King—a musher whose teams won the
1993, 1996, 1998, and 2006 Iditarod—says that
the landscape does not usually pose the biggest threat to the racing teams.
“Typically Alaska’s weather is one of the most predictable challenges and can be
so influential in the event,” he says.
Weather
King says that weather conditions during the 2009 Iditarod were
particularly harsh due to temperatures of 25 degrees below zero (Fahrenheit)
coupled with 40-mile-per-hour winds. Back in 1973, the year of the first race,
competitors in the Iditarod were racing in an event where wind-chill
temperatures hit 130 degrees below zero at times.
Besides bone-chilling temperatures, the Alaskan weather also contributes to the
conditions on the trail, which used to be a supply and mail route. The route
connected the state’s coastal towns to its interior mining camps. Now, airplanes
and snowmobiles have taken the place of dog sleds. The Alaskan weather can dump
inches of snow on the trail overnight, or leave the trail dry for days at a
time.
“Snow cover—too much snow or not enough snow—can turn just about any place into
the best or worst portion of the trail,” King says.
Many mushers dread the climb up to 3,160-foot-high Rainy Pass, the trail’s
highest point. Others are anxious about the so-called Happy River Steps. This
part of the trail is a steep trek down the Happy River Gorge. The area is said
to have “steps” because of the sharp turns and switchbacks. Both Rainy Pass and
the Happy River Steps are in the first part of the race.
Surprisingly, King does not cite either Rainy Pass or the Happy River Steps as
the Iditarod’s toughest spots. Rather, he notes that a section where dirt and
boulders can protrude through the snow is particularly challenging. The terrain
of “the Farewell Burn,” near the town of Nikolai, can beat up the mushers and
their dogs.
“There’s an area of the race called ‘The Burn’ . . . where we travel for many
miles on the game trails of the local bison herds,” he says. Because of the
local bison, sometimes called buffalo, this part of the trail is also known as
the Buffalo Tunnels. “Combined with low snow and high winds, this area is often
very sparse.
Trail
There are actually two Iditarod courses. In even-numbered years,
the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race goes north, while in odd-numbered years, the
race heads south. See
the divergent Iditarod trails here, in this trail map from the official site of
the Iditarod.
The northern route has 26 checkpoints the teams must pass through, and the
southern version has 27 checkpoints. At checkpoints, mushers can pick up food
for themselves and their dogs. These provisions are delivered by a team of bush
planes referred to as the “Iditarod Air Force.” In addition, veterinarians can
make sure all of the competing dogs are healthy before the teams continue.
During the race, teams are required to make three rest stops. One is a 24-hour
stop at a checkpoint of the musher’s choosing. The second is an eight-hour stop
at any checkpoint along the Yukon River. The last is another eight-hour break in
the village of White Mountain, which is located just 77 miles from the finish
line in Nome.
Preparation
Dr. Michael Davis, a veterinarian who has worked with the Iditarod on research
to benefit the race’s sled dogs, is wholly
impressed with the human athletes in the event. “If I were to list 10
characteristics of mushers, the first six would be ‘tough,’ because more than
anything, the race is incredibly grueling on the mushers,” he says. “It’s not
feats of strength or power lifting or anything like that. It’s just the ability
to keep going.”
Even though the mushers are superb athletes, Davis believes that the dogs in the
Iditarod are even more impressive. The original sled dogs were big Alaskan
malamutes, but the wiry Siberian husky became the most popular sled dog in the
early 20th century. Now, the favorite type of sled dog is the so-called
Alaskan husky. Alaskan huskies aren’t actually a breed and usually resemble a
larger version of the Siberian husky. Unlike true breeds, which are defined by
specific physical characteristics and ancestry, Alaskan huskies are defined by
one characteristic: their ability to pull sleds.
“Obviously, they have to have some pretty significant athletic capacity,” Davis
says. “They need to have a thick hair coat. They need to have a good temperament
to become the prototype ‘man’s best friend,’ in the context of if you ask them
to do something they will give it 110 percent simply because you asked them to.”
Four-time Iditarod champion King says that he prepares himself and his dogs for
the race throughout the year.
“The Iditarod is really thought of as more of a lifestyle than an event,” King
says. “There’s something to do year round. It’s not unlike [the training of] a
professional bike racer or professional football player. It’s a lifetime pursuit
of excellence.”
A California native who moved to Alaska after discovering the stories of Jack
London, King entered his first Iditarod back in 1981. As he prepares to compete
in his 22nd Iditarod, King still approaches the competition with reverence.
“It’s the Super Bowl of dog sled racing,” he says. “There’s lots of events, but
this is the crown jewel, and it’s the one that we are really working forward to
each year as a goal, kind of the grand finale, the crown jewel.”