2. By: Julia Ca.

3.  Welcome to Alaska, home of the Iditarod Dog Sled Race! Have you wondered how the race started? Let me explain. In the 1920s, in the town of Nome, Alaska was hit by a terrible disease called Diphtheria. Two children got very sick. The doctor didn’t have the medicine he needed. Without the medicine the sickness would spread to many people in Nome. All the people would die too. A hospital in Anchorage, Alaska had the medicine the people needed. The hospital sent the medicine by train, but the train got stuck in a blizzard. So, dog sled teams went checkpoint to checkpoint carrying the medicine. It took 5 days to get the medicine from Anchorage to Nome.

4.  Jessie Royer  Age 38  Bib Number 3  Grew up in Idaho  Hobbies horseback riding, hunting, mounted shooting, and photography

5.  Start with 16 dogs  Huskies or dogs from Alaska only  Must wear harnesses and booties

6.  19 checkpoints  The checkpoints are: Anchorage, BLM, Fairbanks, Nenana, Manley, Tanana, Ruby, Galena, Huslia, Koyukuk, Nulato, Katag, Unalakleet, Shaktoolik, Koyuk, Elim, White Mountain, Safety, and Nome

7.  PenAir Spirit of Alaska- Presented to the first musher to reach McGrath.  GCI Dorothy G. Page Halfway- Presented to the first musher to reach the halfway checkpoint.  Wells Fargo Bank Alaska Gold Coast- Presented to the first musher to reach the “Gold Coast” community of Unalakleet.  Red Lantern- Presented to the last musher to cross the finish line.