2014 IDITAROD BY: MADELEINE H.

INTRODUCTION The Iditarod is a sled dog race. The dogs pull a sled from Anchorage, Alaska to Nome, Alaska. The dog’s owners are on the sleds.

DOGS Dogs are very important in the Iditarod! You have to have 16 dogs to run the Iditarod. Lots of the dogs are Siberian Huskies. They sometimes wear booties so their paws don’t get wet, cut, or sore. We wouldn’t be able to have the Iditarod race without the dogs.

MUSHER My musher is DeeDee Jonrowe. She is 60 and still running the Iditarod! She was born in Frankfort Germany and then moved to Alaska with her family in She is a kennel owner and a dog racer. In her spare time she enjoys trail running, mountain biking, triathlons, pure bred Labradors, Pekingese rescue, and gardening. DeeDee says “ Participating in the Iditarod has become my life’s passion.”

ROUTES Is there only 1 route? No, there are actually 2 routes. The path is the same in the beginning, but then it splits into 2 parts. The parts are called the northern route and the southern route. On even years, you take the northern route, and on odd years, you take the southern route.

AWARDS There are lots of awards in the Iditarod! There is a good Sportsmanship Award for someone who has good sportsmanship and a Red Lantern Award for the last place finisher. And, of course, there is a prize for the musher who comes in first place.

WEBLIOGRAPHY Iditarod.com