Often referred to as "The Last Great Race on Earth," the Alaskan Iditarod Dog Sled Race began this past weekend. There was a ceremonial start on Saturday that began in Anchorage. Onlookers lined the route wishing mushers and dogs good luck. On Sunday, the official start began in Willow, Alaska, with almost 70 mushers participating in the approximately 1,000 mile race. It generally takes mushers around 8-14 days to complete the distance. There are two routes (north - even years and south - odd years) that are taken. This year, however, the southern route is being taken despite it being an even year. This is because of two consecutive years of the north route due to lack of snow in the southern region.
In Physical Education, students learned about this race and how it got started. (The delivery of life-saving medicine via dog sled was the inspiration for this event.) We discussed how the dogs are taken care of, how a lead dog is selected, the feeding and resting requirements for both the dogs and mushers, the veterinarian checks along the way, and the dangers that lie along the Iditarod Trail. Students also watched a short video.
In class we set up three Iditarod Trails. Students weaved their way through boulders, trees, water, mountains, and wild animals. One student was the musher and others were the dogs. The dogs had to wear booties on their feet. (In the real Iditarod, this protects the dogs from cuts on the rocks and ice.) We used Kix cereal as our dog food and the musher had to feed each dog before they rested. It was silly and fun.
Each class has selected 3 mushers in the real Iditarod. If their class comes closest to winning the official race, they will win a Winter popsicle party. Brrr! Good luck to all the classes. You can check current standings at Iditarod.com.
Straighten out your sled, musher, and beware of the bear.
Headed around the tree. Watch out for that bear cub.
The lead dog leads his team around the boulder.
The musher feeds her dogs.
Time for all the dogs to rest. It's been a long, hard trip.
Click here for some pictures of the Tuesday morning Iditarod.
Click here for some pictures of the Tuesday afternoon Iditarod.
Click here for some pictures of the Tuesday afternoon Iditarod.
