Festivals & events

Sled-dog races

Put on your parka and cheer for the huskies and mushers

By Leon Unruh / Alaska.com

	Books about The Iditarod

The racing season runs from January to mid-March, when the last Iditarod musher claims the Red Lantern at the finish line in Nome.

	Jason Barron heads out of the Rainy Pass checkpoint during the 2004 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. The annual event, billed as "The Last Great Race" challenges mushers and their teams on a 1,100 mile course between Anchorage in Southcentral Alaska and Nome in Western Alaska. Marc Lester / Anchorage Daily News

Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race
The most famous of Alaska’s races, this March contest begins in Anchorage and is won in Nome about 10 days later. The race is said to be 1,049 miles long, although the actual mileage is more than 1,100.

The race gets off to a ceremonial start in Anchorage, and after a short ride in the state’s biggest city, the dogs are put into the mushers’ trucks and taken north of Cook Inlet, where the race begins for real the next morning, usually at Wasilla.

Yukon Quest
The Yukon Quest is known for its difficulty as it runs between Fairbanks, Alaska, and Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. Mushers compete in often extreme cold during February, when the days are short.

In even-numbered years, the 1,000-mile race starts in Fairbanks. In odd-numbered years, it starts in Whitehorse.

	The Iditarod's ceremonial race start in downtown Anchorage draws crowds of race fans from all over the country. The race restarts the following day from Wasilla as mushers and their teams begin the 1,100 mile journey to Nome. Bob Hallinen / Anchorage Daily News

Kuskokwim 300
The Kuskokwim 300 runs on the mighty Kuskokwim River of southwestern Alaska. The January race starts in Bethel and runs 150 miles upriver to Aniak and back. It's often known as the Kusko 300.

Copper Basin 300
The Copper Basin 300 starts in Glennallen, near the Canadian border, and makes a loop. Many Iditarod mushers tune up for the big race here, and other mushers use it to prove their mettle.

Tustumena 200
The Kenai Peninsula’s big race is the Tustumena 200 in late January. After a ceremonial start on a Saturday morning in the city of Kenai, the race begins for real that afternoon at Kasilof's Tustumena Lodge.

Junior Iditarod
The Junior Iditarod, for mushers under 18, covers part of the Iditarod Trail, with mushers going from Wasilla to Yentna and back. The two-day race precedes the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

Fur Rendezvous
The World Championship sled-dog races are held during a weekend of Anchorage’s winter festival in February. The Fur Rondy sprint races start downtown, loop south into the forest and return to downtown.

North American Championships
Two February weekends in Fairbanks are dedicated to the North American Championships, the Limited and the Open. These are sprint races.