Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, usually just called the Iditarod, is an annual sled dog race in Alaska, where mushers and teams of typically 16 dogs cover 1,161 miles (1,868 km) in eight to fifteen days from Willow (near Anchorage) to Nome. The race begins on the first Saturday in March -- the 2010 race will begin on March 6th. The Iditarod began in 1973 as an event to test the best sled dog mushers and teams, evolving into the highly competitive race it is today. The current fastest winning time record was set in 2002 by Martin Buser with a time of 8 days, 22 hours, 46 minutes, and 2 seconds