Big crowds converged on Alaska’s largest city Saturday as hundreds of dogs and their humans kicked off the 47th running of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race with a ceremonial sprint along snow-heaped streets.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Big crowds converged on Alaska’s largest city Saturday as hundreds of dogs and their humans kicked off the 47th running of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race with a ceremonial sprint along snow-heaped streets.
The fan-friendly event in Anchorage brought spectators up close to the 52 musher-dog teams gearing up for the famed 1,000-mile (1,609-kilometer) race. Mushers are generally more relaxed here than they will be for the real thing. But the dogs barked furiously before setting off, jumping and straining against their sled lines in apparent excitement to get going on the 11-mile (18-km) dash.
Halana Hiatt of Denver was among the scores of fans who packed downtown to watch the action before she is set to return back home on Sunday. She is visiting the state with her Colorado-based mother, brother and grandmother after inviting them to experience the Iditarod, an item on her bucket list.
« It seemed like a big deal, » Hiatt said. « I wanted to come check it out. »
The serious, competitive portion of the wilderness trek starts Sunday in the small community of Willow, north of Anchorage. From there, the 14-dog teams will cross two mountain ranges, the frozen Yukon River and dangerous sea ice along the Bering Sea Coast.
