The 40th running of The Iditarod: The Last Great Race on Earth starts in Anchorage, Alaska next Saturday.
The official (ceremonial) start, as usual, will take place in downtown Anchorage. Then the dogs and sleds will be trucked to Willow Lake where the real race begins on March 4th; it's called the re-start.
Last year's winner, John Baker, is back to defend his title. Since this is an even numbered year, the racers will travel the northern route:
The trail is composed of two routes: a northern route, which is run on even-numbered years, and a southern route, which is run on odd-numbered years. Both follow the same trail for 444 miles (715 km), from Anchorage to Ophir, where they diverge and then rejoin at Kaltag, 441 miles (710 km) from Nome. The race used the northern route until 1977, when the southern route was added to distribute the impact of the event on the small villages in the area, none of which have more than a few hundred inhabitants. Passing through the historic town of Iditarod was a secondary benefit.Here's a map of the northern route:
For more information on the Iditarod and its history, click HERE.
