“We may run, walk, stumble, drive, or fly, but let us never lose sight of the reason for the journey, or miss a chance to see a rainbow on the way.”
– Anonymous

Iditarod trivia facts will be posted on the first and third Tuesday of each month.  If you haven’t started using them in your classroom, now is the time to start.  After talking to some teachers at the Midwest Sled Dog Symposium and Iditarod Teacher Conference, I found out how some teachers are using this in the classroom.  Some teachers are putting the trivia right up on the Smart board for kids to work on in class.  Other teachers are printing the page off for their students to work on.  The trivia will always be posted with suggestions and questions to use in the classroom.  There will be a link for you to get to the answer.  A great idea would be to post all the trivia in your classroom throughout the year.

In the off-season, Aliy Zirkle competes in half marathons.  What a great way to stay in shape.  As a long distance musher, it is very important to be physically in shape.  Aliy Zirkle is a great role model for physical fitness.

Have your students work out some of these problems that relate to Aliy, half marathons, and the Iditarod.

How long is a half-marathon?

It took Aliy 3 hours 12 minutes and 18 seconds to finish the Skinny Raven Half Marathon back in the summer of 2013.  What was Aliy’s average pace (average minutes per mile)?

How many half marathons would Aliy have to run across the entire Iditarod trail?

If Aliy ran the Iditarod using her average pace you figured out earlier, how long would it take her to run the Iditarod trail?

I chose this trivia fact for this week because I am running the Chicago Marathon on Sunday, October 12.  My goal is to finish in 4 hours and 59 minutes.  What pace do I need to run in order to accomplish my goal?

How many marathons would someone need to run to cover the entire Iditarod trail?

Click here for the answer.