Iditarod Ceremonial Start

Adam arrived late Friday night. The following morning was the ceremonial Iditarod start in Anchorage. I say ceremonial because the Iditarod trail does not actually connect from Anchorage to Nome. Instead the runners have a ceremonial start Saturday and then restart for the real race the following day in Willow, AK.

Adam and I

The race alternates routes. Every other year, the route alternates between a northern and southern course. North goes through the towns of Cripple, Ruby and Galena; south heads to Iditarod, Shageluk and Anvik. The northern route is run on even years and the south route is run on odd years. This year they use the north route.

snow, snow, and more snow with the America, Canada, New Zeland, Norway, and Alaska flags at the starting line.

Adam and I arrived downtown an hour and a half early thinking we would beat the rush but the parking ramp was already ¾ full, and people were lined up along the fence that outlined 4th street. It was 30˚F which was actually a comfortable temperature for me. We waited and watched all the pre-race activities including special guest speakers including the Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan, Alaska governor Sean Parnell, and former governor Sara Palin.

People lined up along the street

Colorguard

Eagerly awaiting to go

Pre-run snack!

I wonder what she is thinking...

After the ribbon cutting by Governor Sean Parnell, the national anthem was sung by local girl Cody Beltrami a junior at Service High School in Anchorage AK. From there the color guard began their march down 4th street followed by a snowmachine (snowmobile-- I never know what to call them anymore).

The first team lined up and the countdown began 3…2…1…GO! And the dogs ran down the chute. All of the snow is brought in to cover 4th street. This year we had no problem finding snow since it has been the snowiest season on record. We have so much snow that the city of Anchorage has run out of places to dump the snow as the normal “dumping grounds” are full. It seems contradictory to me. They remove all the snow only to fill the streets again this first Saturday in March. But I guess it’s necessary.

And they're off!

Pretty dogs!

Cheering them on

They run with their mouths open

The mushers are released one team every two minutes. The first run is not a race but just plain fun. The teams run from Anchorage to the Campbell Airstrip which is 20 miles up the trail. Once there, there is a lot of excitement as the mushers unharness their teams. After a good night's sleep, the mushers take the dogs by truck to Willow, where the race officially starts the following day.

There they go

It was fun to see the mushers and take part in such a historic event. I was glad to share it with my fiancée Adam, and glad for the warm (well 30*) snowy weather.