By the look of the crowds lining the sidewalks of the main street of Anchorage you would think the entire city bundles up and comes down to watch this unbelievable event, now in it's 29th year. Celebrated as "The Last Great Race", the annual running of the Iditarod brings out thousands of cheering fans in mittens, parkas and boots! On the snow covered street, over 60 mushers ready their dog sleds with nearly 1000 beautiful huskies barking with anticipation. The mushers and sleds are loaded down with all the gear they will need for the next ten or so days of mushing over 1,100 miles through cold temperatures and some of the most beautiful, rugged, snow covered terrain in Alaska.

The dogs are especially entertaining to watch. They're full of energy, jumping and yapping, eager for their turn to go. They even get little fleece booties for the trip! After training all year for the big event, the dogs that get to run the race are the best and the fastest. What's really fascinating about the Iditarod race is its origin. In 1925 there was a diphtheria epidemic in Nome and the only way to get the vaccine there quickly was by dog sled. They had a relay of 20 mushers do the entire route from Anchorage to Nome and finished in about 5 days. Today, each musher must complete the entire trial on his or her own. The Iditarod Race record holder finished in just over 9 days.

Most of the mushers get only about 3 hours of sleep each night. Despite temperatures well below zero, many of them actually fall asleep over particularly long, flat, windswept portions of the trail while the dog team endures.