Iditarod how long

The length can also vary from year to year based on course conditions. Read More. The race traditionally begins on the first Saturday in March, starting in Anchorage and ending in Nome. The beginning of the race in Anchorage is considered a ceremonial start. The competitive part of the race usually begins the next day in Willow, but depends on weather conditions. There may be only one musher person who drives the sled per team.

There are dogs on each team. The most popular breed of dog is the Alaskan Husky, according to National Geographic. The animals get tested for strength and endurance before being selected. There are about 25 checkpoints at which each participant must stop. The musher must make a mandatory 24 hour stop at some point during the race.

The route alternates every other year, one year going north through Cripple, Ruby, and Galena, the next year going south through Iditarod, Shageluk, and Anvik. Most Consecutive Wins - Lance Mackey won four consecutive times from Most Wins - Rick Swenson won five times, in , , , and Dallas Seavey also won five times, in , , , and Fastest winning time - Mitch Seavey finished the race in eight days, 3 hours, 40 minutes, 13 seconds.

By race rules, all dogs preparing to compete in the Iditarod are required to be identified by a microchip. Those not already having a chip from previous races will receive one at the time of their pre-race blood work and ECG recordings. Veterinarians or veterinary technicians perform Microchipping. Typical costs to the owner include the veterinary charges for implanting the chip and a registration fee.

A registry is maintained by AVID for locating owners of found animals. Access to this information is attained via an number, twenty-four hours a day. Owners pay a one-time fee for registration. There are no annual fees; but there is a charge for information changes such as change of address. Change of ownership requires a new registration. In the Iditarod Race, dogs are marked in two ways, by the microchip identification system and by collar tags. Each tag has the bib number of the musher and a letter of the alphabet.

The musher puts the tags on the dogs prior to the start in Anchorage on Saturday. The returned dog coordination office at the Millennium Hotel has a copy of this list and if for any reason they cannot get a scan on a dog, they can use the tag.

However, the musher must be careful to make sure that the information is accurate. When a musher leaves a dog at a checkpoint, he fills out a form on that dog and the checker scans the dog for the microchip and checks the collar tag. The prisons also have a copy of the paperwork and a microchip reader.

Each dog is rechecked when picked up to insure the correct dog is released to the handler. November 14, In , she broke her own record by finishing in 11 days, 2 hours, 5 minutes and 13 seconds. She broke her record again in when she finished in 11 days, 1 hour, 53 minutes and 23 seconds.

In , Jeff King broke all previous records by running the first 10 day race, finishing in 10 days, 15 hours, 38 minutes and 15 seconds. In , Martin Buser again set the record in 10 days, 13 hours, 2 minutes and 39 seconds. In , Doug Swingley of Sims, Montana, broke two records when he became the first musher from out of Alaska to win the Iditarod and running the first 9 day race, finishing in 9 days, 2 hours, 42 minutes and 19 seconds. In , Martin Buser broke the previous record again, running the first 8 day race and crossing the finish line in 8 days, 22 hours, 46 minutes and 2 seconds.

In , John Baker became the first Inupiaq to win the Iditarod and finished in 8 days, 18 hours, 46 minutes and 39 seconds. In , Dallas Seavey broke the previous record, winning in 8 days, 13 hours, 4 minutes and 19 seconds. In , Dallas broke his own record, finishing in 8 days, 11 hours, 20 minutes and 16 seconds. In , Mitch Seavey broke all previous records by finishing in 8 days, 3 hours, 40 minutes and 13 seconds, which currently stands as the fastest winning time for the Iditarod.

Carl Huntington won the race with the slowest winning time, 20 days, 15 hours, two minutes and seven seconds. Racing events were veritable holidays, with schools and businesses closed early or all-together and courts adjourned. The first notable sled dog race the All Alaska Sweepstakes, held between and The course was laid out along a telephone line so that bulletins from the race could be transmitted back to Nome and posted in public places.

The Iditarod Sled Dog Race carries on the racing tradition started in those early days. It commemorates those intrepid mushers including Seppala and their dogs, who fought through blizzard conditions to bring a life-saving diphtheria serum to Nome in And it also captures the spirit of a long-ago mushing lifestyle, which began to fade away as airplanes and snowmachines made travel between villages and larger towns faster and more convenient.

Joe Redington Sr.