What is the Iditarod? | AK Explained

www.alaskapubli...
How long does the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race take to finish? Where does it go? What's with all those dogs? Alaska Public Media answers all of your questions about the most popular sporting event in Alaska.
Video
Eric Keto
Kaysie Ellingson
Story
John Norris
Eric Keto
Music
“brown&gold” by airtone ccmixter.org/fi...
“Brass Beat” by Blake ccmixter.org/fi...
“Words of Gratitude Soars Heart of Eye” by FACELESSIWONDER ccmixter.org/fi...
Photos
Frank K. commons.wikimed...
W. D. Harney commons.wikimed...
D. Sikes commons.wikimed...
Michael Phelps www.flickr.com...

[@DuBstepAnDa98]

I'm here because of Red Lantern. Never knew this was a thing. Fascinating.

[@csr326]

Togo and his musher Leonhard Seppala ran a total of 264 miles. All of those miles was though the hardest and roughest part of the run. Their story was finally told in the Disney movie “Togo”

[@lisavacanti8752]

Watch Togo. The only inaccuracy I notice between biography and movie is that Togo lived out his life in Alaska. He didn't he was sent to a kennel in Maine and used for breeding. Please note portion where Seppela can't get dog to ride in sled or stay home when injured. I get if you've never known an animal bred to do something that you don't get how hardwired that is. Then look him up Togo ran 264 miles all together. Balti was the last leg and actually from Seppelas kennels. Had Balto been the best lead he'd have been out.

[@carrieswank]

So cool! I wanted to show my 9 year old daughter what the race was all about. Very fun and informative. (Is “Mush” a verb?)

[@dmarie8743]

Hope your 9yr old daughter doesn’t learn how mistreated & neglected these dogs are. How ifduribg the race if one collapses due to extreme exhaustion & freezing temps that the owners will unalive that dog. Multiple die every race.

[@shydinosaurproductions9725]

Watched this in my class!

[@ThaoNguyen-uh1lk]

Shy Dinosaur Productions same

[@atti_9424]

HA LOL

[@coltharleydavidson3502]

Birch was just a puppy when she suffered a debilitating and painful spinal injury in a kennel owned by a former Iditarod champion. Instead of offering her veterinary care, her owner left her chained out in the open where she could only crawl through snow and ice. She was apparently afraid that someone would see her and conclude that the mushers were "too harsh on her", and left her struggling to try to get in and out of the wooden box that served as her only escape from the biting arctic wind. In just a few days, hundreds of dogs will be brought to the point of exhaustion, illness, injury and even death on the Iditarod, a race so deadly that its own official rules say dog ​​deaths are "unavoidable risks." We are determined to make this year the last of the dangerous race

[@ikichullo]

stfu hippie

[@Blue_Oceanic]

@@ikichullo agree

[@Blue_Oceanic]

Hippie

[@eburalik]

Hope these owner to suffer like what they did to their sled dogs..

[@CatWith-AHat]

Then we need to shut down Sturgis because of the dangers of bringing that many people to small town.

[@brianmckenna3915]

Why do they use these hound dogs for pulling sleds? They look like they will freeze to death in the cold. What happed to the real sled dogs?

[@plsstop7242]

These are the TRUE sled dogs. Alaskan Huskies. Purpose bred mixes with only ONE purpose - pulling!

[@brianmckenna3915]

The AKC does not recognize these mutts (mixed breeds) that were

[@plsstop7242]

Of course not! They're not your average cute blue eyed pet husky. They're working dogs. Just like bandogs, lurchers, bullherders. The Siberian Husky is not suitable for this, their coat is too warm and would make them overheat. The Alaskan Malamute is not suitable either, as they're too big and slow. The Alaskan Husky is made to do this. They ARE the true sled dogs.

[@plsstop7242]

Alaskan Huskies are the superior sled dog, that's why neither Siberian Huskies or Alaskan Malamutes (or Samoyed, Pomeranian, Laika etcetc) is used.

[@brianmckenna3915]

brought into the sport 30 years ago. The worst is once the dog is too old for the sport nobody wants them.

[@tyronewalker5764]

Saw this on the History Channel years ago. With the exception of space travel this is the last adventure.

[@pechenkinaea]

I am the daughter of Katia and my school says I have to watch this and it’s online learning right now.Coronavirus,you know!(I’m seven and a half)🐹

[@guidefisher7056]

One minute into this video and you already got four things wrong. In the future it would probably be better to spend a lot more time researching your facts and a little less on trying to make just a funny/cool-looking video. So sad.

[@MikeDunn]

In the time it took you to lecture people, you could have cited specifically what they got wrong.

[@lindsayhengehold5341]

Love the Iditarod!

[@learn1ngchannel]

Great.

[@isabelgreiner8156]

sarcastic?

[@dantebruno9656]

Wasn’t Balto the lead dog who shipped the medicine

[@The77SpaceMan]

Dante Bruno He was. Though he and his sled was supposed to be the penultimate, the last musher was asleep when they were supposed to change so they eventually continued and delivered the medicine.

[@formz_curious3479]

Dante Bruno ohhh

[@formz_curious3479]

Dante Boobs

[@Shadywolf09]

Balto wasn't the only one. There were 20 teams (1 driver did not go, this being why Gunnar Kaasen moved on a head to drive all the way home) While Balto (Kaasen's lead) was the "hero" for coming in to the town with the medicine, Togo ( Leonhard Seppala's lead) and his half brother Fritz were not recognized for doing the most work, running 84 miles, the most out of all the teams and Togo being the old age of 12 years old. Balto led the last 53 mile stretch out of more than 600 miles of travel from the first driver, William Shannon, all the way to Kaasen, the 19th and last driver. Gunnar's team was Balto, Fox, Billy, Tillie, Sye, Old Moctoc, and Alaska Slim. Fox, who was a lead adjacent to Balto, was not fully credited because papers did not want to confuse people reading the story that "a fox" led the team to victory. Balto was named the hero to cover up any confusion and his name sounded better for headline purposes.

[@Juliaflo]

@@The77SpaceMan There's a statue of Balto in New York's Central Park.

[@coopmdlck]

That's awesome

[@atti_9424]

I KNOW RHITE

[@carnylaw5872]

Has Mushing or dog sled racing ever been considered for a Winter Olympics sport?

[@fivebrosstopmos]

I wish it would! Sadly, the snowflakes and vegans will probably prevent it from happening, USA, Norway, and Canada would dominate too! (Probably in that order.)

[@christinajackson6309]

@@fivebrosstopmos Honestly I doubt that. It probably wouldn’t be considered an Olympic sport since the dogs are doing a lot of the work (I personally would love to see that though).

[@fivebrosstopmos]

@@christinajackson6309 The musher is also running the entire way and driving the dogs. I mean horse jumping is an Olympic sport.

[@user-spspsp]

Excellent. Даже я from Russia понял что к чему)

[@formz_curious3479]

Wow how do you survive in this freezing cold I was in school and we read a book for reading about the Iditarod and it could take 11 days it was 42below zero this is crazy they started at Ancharey to Nome

[@hydrolito]

Do they have a prize for everyone that finishes if not how about 2nd and 3rd and any others? A lot of work especially if win nothing.

[@stonedinupiaq6490]

the funny thing is I was born in nome then moved anchorage I lived near east high school and then moved from there to south Carolina then moved to Arizona and haven't been to Alaska since me and my family moved from there

[@sevilyamamedova9366]

alaska is the best

[@doggodoggo3000]

Im from South Carolina and now I mush dogs. Weird how that works. I think sled dog racing needs to be banned though I see a ton of issues on the competitive end.

[@orlandolv-st8qf]

Who else is here because of class 😅👍🏻

[@atti_9424]

Not me

[@Sushi77899]

Me

[@anasiabrown8501]

Me

[@DetroitSarita]

ME

[@Emansium]

Me

[@isabelgreiner8156]

catch me in that race in the future ;)

[@roryjoey1778]

Won it twice it's too easy. Coming next year again. Watch

[@Juliaflo]

Jehosaphat! This coming January 3 will mark 60 years since Alaska was admitted to the Union.

[@pixelydrawsfnaf701]

my school watched this about Iditarod​ btw it park brook

[@sevilyamamedova9366]

cool did you guys choose whos going to win

[@YourMom-ut3of]

Pixely Draws fnaf same

[@hasnarachid6601]

cool

[@moplum]

Should be ran as a relay race like the original dog sled teams did delivering the medicine to Nome. The there would not be any dog cruelty comtlaints, and it would be true tho the historic original run to Nome. Even NASCAR runs teams now days.

[@katrinawoodard4475]

cool!!!!

[@neat-_-2377]

i have to watch this for school and i wanna die

[@MikeDunn]

sounds like two unrelated subjects

[@edmundverwey617]

It's simple. The Iditarod is a race to see how many dogs can survive. It's NOT about the guy standing on the sled, it's about the dogs. If they win the musher gets a prize then discard the dogs who won him the race. Any monkey can work that one out. How about swapping the role? The musher pulls and the dogs stand on the sled? Let's see how far he gets. Stupid and cruel "sport"? Not a sport for the dogs but for the mushers only. The dogs are WAY too loyal. Come play rugby and see how tough you are.

[@yvonneschwartz3929]

Fuck torture! You are sick for neglecting animals like that. The horrors behind this entertainment for humans is a disgrace to humanity!

[@universalvindicator]

Dogs here die.

[@Plutonium_94]

LOL, nahhh

[@atti_9424]

I LOVE WOLFS AND HUSKYS AND who else thinks this is abuse

[@satyabhandari5540]

Please stop this kind of harassment to animals

[@maryjoyberger3078]

Don't talk about what you don't know!

[@laurasopalca8433]

Iditaroid is cruel and so are you

[@Plutonium_94]

not really. get a fact checker.

[@shannarotellini9766]

Fake news

[@mikamee5459]

Yea basically this should be banned. Dogs being forced to suffer so that some a lazy a hole on sled can be declared the winner for making these animals suffer.

[@Plutonium_94]

fact check? i think not.

[@Jinsoulkimlipchoerryfamilia]

ANIMAL CRUELTY

[@Plutonium_94]

i think not. fact check? nope. try again, buddy.

[@DumpTrump4TRE45ON]

The Iditorad commemorates the distribution of VACCINES - which save lives - and it was a relay with well kept people's pets - not a run of 1,000 miles per dog.