News Release
“Mush” excitement builds in Anchorage, Alaska: Iditarod fans get ready for the start of The Last Great Race
Anchorage, Alaska – Feb. 18, 2009 – In less than two weeks, the world’s toughest human and canine athletes will begin their epic journey in one of the most demanding races on the planet during the 37th Annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race®, beginning March 7, 2009, at 10 a.m. AST.
The annual 1,049-mile trek across Alaska’s wilderness pits man and dog against nature. Teams will brave treacherous mountains, deadly river overflows and bone-chilling cold before the race is over and a new champion is crowned under the burled arch in Nome, Alaska. The stakes are high, the competition is fierce, and the terrain and weather can be unforgiving.
Preparing for a 1,049-mile trip
Straw and food drops in preparation for the Iditarod began on Feb. 12, 2009 and will continue through Feb. 19. Bags of food for mushers and dogs are flown out to the checkpoints along the trail. Each bag are marked with the mushers name so they are distributed to the right team when they arrive at each checkpoint. The Iditarod veterinary check will take place March 4, 2009, to make sure every dog is fit to race. The musher’s meeting and banquet is scheduled for March 5. For more information about all of the events leading up to the Iditarod start visit www.iditarod.com.
Iditarod’s Big Wild Start
Anchorage, Alaska, is home to the Ceremonial Start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race®. Each year, on the first Saturday in March, thousands of spectators line Anchorage’s Fourth Avenue to cheer on the teams as they dash towards the Bering Sea Coast. This year’s field of 68 sled dog teams includes 54 race veterans and 14 rookies.
The ceremonial start in Anchorage is part of the winter trio, three exciting events that take place over 10 days in Alaska’s largest city. Anchorage Fur Rendezvous, a winter festival, kicks off the winter trio running from Feb. 27 – March 8, 2009. Fur Rondy includes dozens of events and activities unique to Alaska. To learn more visit www.furrondy.net. The winter fun continues with the Iditarod start and culminates with the Tour of Anchorage, one of the largest and longest running citizens cross country ski races in the United States. The Tour takes place March 8, 2009 and features 25, 40 and 50K race divisions. For details, visit www.tourofanchorage.com.
Commemorating the Great Race of Mercy
The Iditarod Trail, now a National Historic Trail, had its beginnings as a mail and supply route from the coastal towns to Interior Alaska mining camps and Western Alaska communities. Mail and supplies went up the line; precious gold came down – all via dog sled.
In 1925, part of the Iditarod Trail became a life saving highway for epidemic-stricken Nome. Diphtheria threatened the small northern city, and Nome residents desperately needed the diphtheria antitoxin to stave off the deadly disease. Airplanes were unreliable for flight in the winter so the safest way to get the antitoxin to Nome was by dog sled. Three hundred thousand units of antitoxin were shipped to Nenana, Alaska (near Fairbanks) by rail. There, dog teams took over. More than 20 heroic mushers, like Leonhard Seppala and Gunnar Kaasen, and their faithful hard-driving dogs, including famed lead dogs Togo and Balto, braved the harsh Alaska winter, running the serum, relay-style, up the coast in time to save the city. It took them five and a half days to get the life-saving medicine from Nenana to Nome.
The Iditarod is a commemoration of this unforgettable event, originally known as the Great Race of Mercy.
The first Iditarod began on March 3, 1973, and ended 20 days, 49 minutes, 41 seconds later, when Dick Wilmarth of Red Devil, Alaska, arrived in Nome. Wilmarth won a purse of $12,000.
In 2008, Lance Mackey, of Fairbanks, Alaska, won the Iditarod in nine days, 11 hours, 47 minutes, taking home $69,000 in prize money and a new Dodge truck.
For more about the Iditarod and Anchorage’s Big Wild Life™, explore www.Anchorage.net/Iditarod.
The Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau’s (ACVB) mission is to attract and serve visitors to the Municipality of Anchorage as a Destination Marketing Organization (DMO). ACVB’s marketing functions are funded by one-third of the bed tax collected by lodging associations. One-third goes to the Municipality’s general fund, a contribution established in 1978, and one-third to service the bond debt and operations of the Anchorage Convention Centers. ACVB receives no state or federal funds. Explore www.Anchorage.net for more information.
Media Contacts:
Jeanette Anderson Moores
Public Relations
Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau
jmoores@anchorage.net
(907) 276-4118
Explore www.Anchorage.net
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