The Iditarod Alphabet 2017
E is for Establish

The Iditarod was established, or started, in 1973 by Joe Redington, Sr.  Joe is known as the ‘Father of the Iditarod’ and he established the race for two reasons.  The first reason was to save the sled dog culture
 that was being phased out because of the gaining population of snow machines in Alaska.  The second reason Joe established the race was to preserve the historic Iditarod trail between Seward and Nome.  This year will be the 45^th running of the Iditarod.

E is for Establish

A very snow Joe Redington, Sr. statue at Iditarod Headquarters

The last few days I have spent time at schools giving presentations about the Iditarod.  A question that came up quite a bit was why was the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race created?  And what a great question that is!

Most people believe that the Iditarod started to commemorate the historic serum run, in which Balto led his team to Nome.  While this is a great event that is part of Alaska’s history, it is not why the race exists.  The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race was actually established by Joe Redington, Sr. in 1973.  Redington established the race for two reasons.  The first reason was to save the sled dog culture that was being phased out because of the gaining population of snow machines in Alaska.  The second reason Joe established the race was to preserve the historic Iditarod trail between Seward and Nome.

The winner of the first Iditarod was Rick Wilmarth, and he finished in just under three weeks.  Since that first running of the race, the Iditarod has continued to grow and evolve.  Mary Shields was the first woman to finish the race in 1974, and Libby Riddles was the first woman to win the Iditarod in 1985.  Dallas Seavey currently has four wins, along with holding the fastest time at 8 days 11 hours and 20 minutes. 

There are many records and awards the mushers can win along the trail.  To learn more about records and awards visit the Iditarod website.