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The Idatarod

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The Idatarod

Picture this: You are going to travel over one thousand

miles across Alaska---by car?

by train? by plane? NO!! You are travelling by dogsled -

your only companions on this journey will be eleven to

fourteen of the most honest, loyal and strong dogs that you

can find. For over six grueling months, you and your

carefully selected dogs have been training, and now it is up

to you and your canine companions.

For sledders (or "mushers") this is a dream come true

because they are about to start the Iditarod - a name

possibly derived from the Indian word "Ingalik" meaning

"diezt place". Only half of the starting team of dogs

will finish. Those with the strongest heart and the will to

go on against overwhelming odds will complete the race.

The Iditarod is a dogsled race that takes place in Alaska

every year. It goes from Anchorage (Alaska's largest city)

to Nome, stretching over 1,000 miles of icy, snow-covered

ground. The Iditarod was begun in the 1960's when people

tried to restore tradition to Alaska. It was first run to

commemorate a trip that took place in 1925 to deliver

medicine to Nome. The race has two routes, the Northern and

the Southern. In even-numbered years, the Northern route is

used and in odd-numbered years, the Southern route is used.

The Iditarod is the hardest and toughest dogsled race there

is. Sometimes the mushers get so tired, they hallucinate.

What makes the race so demanding...

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Submitted by: 123student
Date Submitted: 10-05-2003
Category: Social Issues
Words: 1034
Pages: 4.14