Iditarod Race Route
The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, named after the now-abandoned town of Iditarod, commemorates the last great goldrush in America to the Iditarod gold fields and the critical role that dogs played in the settlement and development of Alaska. It is a common myth that the race commemorates the dogsled relay known as the 1925 "Serum Run" from Nenana to Nome. The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race was first established by Joe Redington, Sr. in the early 1970s to encourage the designation of the Iditarod Trail as a National Historic Trail, bring the dying tradition of dogsledding back to the villages of Alaska, and promote the sport of competitive dogsled racing.
Today the race follows much of the primary route of the Iditarod National Historic Trail, with a segment alternating north or south, depending on the year. (These segments are also part of the Iditarod National Historic Trail). Every odd year (i.e., 2011), the race travels the south route from Ophir to Kaltag through the ghost town of Iditarod. On even years, the race travels north from Ophir through Ruby and Galena to Kaltag. The 1925 Serum Run followed 500 miles (800 km) of trail (now designated as the Iditarod National Historic Trail system) between Ruby and Nome.
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Famous quotes containing the words race and/or route:
“I’ve always wondered why European politicians as a group seemed brighter than American politicians as a group. Maybe it’s because many American politicians have the race issue to fall back on. They become lazy, suspicious of innovative ideas, and as a result American institutions atrophy.”
—Ishmael Reed (b. 1938)
“In the mountains the shortest route is from peak to peak, but for that you must have long legs. Aphorisms should be peaks: and those to whom they are spoken should be big and tall of stature.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)