“Every journey starts with fear.” – Jake Gyllenhaal

Can you believe there are only 67 days left until the start of the 2015 Iditarod race? The last Iditarod Trivia Tuesday led you on a scavenger hunt of the rule book. This week you will use the Iditarod website to familiarize yourself with the 2015 mushers. This is a great time for you and your students to get to know the mushers of the Iditarod.

There are 80 mushers signed up for the race from all over the world. Familiar names, unfamiliar names, new names, and big names are among the list of names to make the over 1000-mile journey across Alaska. There are sisters, brothers, fathers, sons, husbands, and wives, too, that are on this impressive list of names. I can’t think of many other sports where you have 18-year old kids competing side-by-side with 70-year old veterans, or men competing side-by-side with women. The Last Great Race is a nondiscriminatory event where the rules are the same for everyone.

Below are a list of questions and a writing prompt to help familiarize your students with this long list of names. While you are getting familiar with the names, explore the website. To locate the list of mushers, go to iditarod.com. After you are there, click on the Race Center tab and scroll down to 2015 Musher Profiles. You can view this list in alphabetical order with pictures or by list in the order in which they’ll draw their bib numbers.  The mushers’ entrant numbers on this list determine the order in which they draw.  To find out more about the musher, click on the musher’s name. You will be able to view a small biography about the musher.  Another link that will be useful for the questions below is view full career in the archives.

Good Luck!

Trivia Questions:

1. Out of the 80 mushers signed up for the 2015 Iditarod, which musher has finished the Iditarod the most years?

2. Which of the current mushers has the fastest time in finishing an Iditarod?

3. Which of the current mushers has the slowest time in finishing an Iditarod?

4. How many father/son mushers are signed up for the 2015 Iditarod?

5. How many 2015 rookies have attempted the Iditarod before?

6. Which 2015 Iditarod musher is the oldest?

7. Which 2015 Iditarod musher is the youngest?

8. Which musher has won the most amount of prize money racing the Iditarod?

9. Take a look at the Race Archives. How many mushers signed up have a relative that has won the Iditarod?

10. Look at the career summaries of the mushers. Which musher do you feel has the best chance of winning the 2015 Iditarod?

11. Writing prompt: Defend your answer to number 10 with factual evidence from the website. Include at least 2 facts cited from the website. You must also include your opinion.

Click here for the answers

Printer friendly questions