THE IDITAROD
TRAIL INVITATIONAL
A human powered ultra-marathon
The world's longest winter ultra race. This is a No Frills, Limited
Support Race put on by Racers for Racers. Choose 350 miles or 1100
miles Knik to mcGrath or Knik to Nome. Starts
in February
A Non-Profit Race put on by Racers for Racers.
Click Here for details
Jr.
Iditarod - February
Blazing the Trail for Future
Generations
In 1975 Eric Beeman, Rome Gilman, Mark Couch, Susan Wagnon, Clint
Mayeur, Carl Clawson, and Jessee Reynolds, had a dream of starting
a competitive race and providing a training ground for young mushers
like themselves interested in distance racing. During the next two
years other young people including Kenny Pugh, Jeff and Kirsten
Pralle, Clarence Shockley, Randy Rader and others joined them and
turned this dream from extended camping trips into the beginnings
of the premiere race we know today.
Joe Redington Sr.,
after discussing the idea with these young people, advised them
to "go for it" and that was the beginning of the Jr. Iditarod.
This dedicated group
of young mushers, with the help of their parents and other interested
adults, worked very hard and saw their dream realized when the first
Jr. Iditarod Trail Race took place in March of 1978. From then on,
the race has grown in stature and professionalism to an event of
approximately 160 miles in length. It is held on the weekend immediately
preceding the start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and draws
young mushers from all over Alaska and from outside the state as
well as Europe with Thomas Krejci of Czechoslovakia being our first
international entrant in 1992.
Serum
Run - February
THE COMMEMORATIVE 1925 SERUM RUN EXPEDITION
The Serum Run 25 is a dog team/snow machine journey from Nenana to
Nome, a distance of 776 miles. The first commemorative race was run
in 1997. The reason for this annual trip is two fold. First, it is
to commemorate the twenty men and their dog teams who relayed crucial
diphtheria serum to Nome, saving countless lives. Second, and more
importantly, it is to widen the awareness throughout Alaska of the
need for inoculations for every single child.
At each school, in each village, the story of the original serum
run will be told and questions will be answered. More importantly,
there will also be discussions with children and their parents regarding
the need not only to be inoculated, but to also practice good health.
We are fortunate to still have links to the original serum run.
At the end of the first commemorative run in 1997, the group arrived
in Nome to be met by a lady named Edyth. She proclaimed "In
1925, I was 2 years old and had diphtheria. I was doomed to die.
My father heard about the dog team arriving. He rushed me to the
hospital. I was inoculated and it saved my life. I am 73 years old
and am happy to have you tell all of the students in each village
this gem of Alaska history. It was being lost through time and now
they will not forget. They will remember."
Iron Dog, the world’s longest snow machine race
2000 miles - February THIS is racing, putting man and machine
against the harsh elements of Alaska's dark and grueling winter,
with riding conditions from tough to almost impossible. No pubs,
no gas stations, no streetlights, no cell phone coverage. Just you,
your teammate, and two sleds.
Click Here for
Details
Iditarod
Sled Dog
Race - March
The Iditarod Sled Dog Race starts the first Saturday in March in
ANCHORAGE, 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 outdoor 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. They fly volunteers, veterinarians,
dog food and supplies. They act as checkers, coordinators, and family
supporters of each musher.
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Details
What
should the Iditarod National Historic Trail, Inc. be doing?
Your sugesstions
are earnestly solicited. Drop us an e-mail
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