The 2021 Iditarod will be unlike any other. Covid-19 has altered almost every aspect of our lives. Even now, it has altered the historic race route for the Iditarod. Fans of the race understand the historical irony. In 1925, a diphtheria epidemic prompted The Serum Run. A relay of dog teams gained worldwide attention as the diphtheria antitoxin made its way to Nome.

Mushers of the 2020 Iditarod started the race in a normal world, but returned to one that had greatly changed. In just a 2 week span of time, the nation was gripped with fear as a little understood illness began to ravage it’s way and spread rapidly. While still out on the trail, mushers were learning that other major sporting events were being halted. Then schools started to close. Then businesses. A shocking transformation in such a short time. And yet, upon return to the “real world,” many mushers were told, myself included, that the Iditarod had become a beacon of hope during a dark time. It was perhaps the only major sporting event happening in the entire world – a reminder of some degree of normal for race fans.

The world has continued to change much in 2020. Many look to 2021 with enormous hope for a brighter future. Much of this is because a vaccine is now available and there is a very real likelihood that Covid-19 will soon be in the rearview mirror. The world has also, thankfully, changed much since the 1925 Serum Run, which relied on dog heroes to save a village from disease. 2020 heroes are scientists who invented and tested the vaccine. Heroes in Alaska include rugged pilots who will ensure the Covid-19 vaccine becomes available to every remote area in Alaska. And yet, the symbolism of the Iditarod Race in the midst of this pandemic is one that can continue to inspire our greatest hopes for the future.

Larry Daugherty, age 45 lives in Eagle River, AK with his wife Prairie and 5 kids (Bailey, Calvin, Azalea, Conrad and Charlie). The goal of his team is to inspire hope to Alaska. Hope for Alaska. Hope for our world. A world beyond Covid-19. Larry is a physician, a radiation oncologist at the Anchorage Radiation Oncology Center (AROC) and has seen first hand many of the impacts of Covid-19. Larry’s goal this year is mush the Covid-19 vaccine on the Iditarod Trail. He will be met by the Mayor of Shageluk at the checkpoint of Iditarod to “relay” the vaccine to the native villages. Larry’s team would like to thank the scientists who have made a cure possible, the race organizers who have made this unique race possible and the many sponsors who have come together to make the “Covid-19 Relay” a reality.